vertical compression of support beam?

Question

A steel beam is placed vertically in the basement of a building to keep the floor above from sagging. The load on the beam is 5.8 × 104 N, the length of the beam is 2.8 m, and the cross-sectional area of the beam is 7 × 10-3 m2. Find the vertical compression of the beam.

A steel beam is placed vertically in the basement of a building to keep the floor above from sagging. The load on the beam is 5.8 × 104 N, the length of the beam is 2.8 m, and the cross-sectional area of the beam is 7 × 10-3 m2. Find the vertical compression of the beam. .... I know i need young's modulus but i dont know it and that is what is stopping me :o(

Answer 1

In solid mechanics, Young's modulus (E) is a measure of the stiffness of a given material. It is also known as the Young modulus, modulus of elasticity, elastic modulus or tensile modulus (the bulk modulus and shear modulus are different types of elastic modulus). It is defined as the ratio, for small strains, of the rate of change of stress with strain.[1] This can be experimentally determined from the slope of a stress-strain curve created during tensile tests conducted on a sample of the material. Young's modulus is named after Thomas Young, the 18th Century British scientist.

Young's modulus Wrought iron and steel in GPa:190-210
in lb/in^2 30,000,000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young%27s_modulus#Force_exerted_by_stretched_or_compressed_material

Answer 2

You need to know what Young's Modulus is for steel to do this problem.

F = (Y A) / L0 * dL

where Y is Young's Modulus.