Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T07:21:11.798Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Catenary Graphs and their Uses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2016

N.W. Honey
N.W. Honey*
Affiliation:
Royal Corps of Naval Constructors
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The curve formed by any flexible uniform chain supported at both ends, in equilibrium under the action of gravity, is the catenary

y = a cosh x/a,

where a is the distance of the lowest point of the catenary above the horizontal x-axis. If the curve is required to pass through the origin, its equation becomes

y = a (cosh x/a - 1)

and it is known that a = H/w, where H is the horizontal force applied at the ends of the catenary, and w is the weight per unit length of the chain.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 37 , Issue 319 , February 1953 , pp. 10 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1953

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)