Beam Calculator Lite

This tool lets you to predict the deflection and stress of Beam. Unlike other tools, draw non-standard beam cross section or you can select beam cross section from standard shapes, or directly input/enter sectional properties to predict the performance of beam.

The deflection and stress levels predictions are required for beam design for a given shape, load, boundary and materials. Use the tool to design beam for any uniform pressure, local pressure or point loadings.

Beam is a basic structural element used in many engineering applications to resist bending or flexural loading. Beam is designed to support loads from floor, deck or slab. Even tall structures, aircraft wing, etc., can be designed starting with beam formulas.

Usually, for a given Length, Width, load, boundary, we change the material and thickness to meet the deflection or strength criterion. Deflection limit depends on aesthetic (span/20), pop out, design limits (span/250, span/400, span/600), etc. Stress limit depends on the linear elastics stress, yield stress, ultimate failure stress, etc. A factor safety is usually added as per the Design codes. Creep, fatigue and stress relaxation can also be factored.

Steps to use the tool

1) First Input Beam Cross-Sectional (c/s) details.

Select cross-section input from Manual, Standard or Arbitrary.

Manual:- Directly enter beam cross sectional properties.

Standard:- Select from a list of standard shapes such as I, C, L, Rectangle...

Arbitrary:- Draw non-standard shapes to calculate sectional properties.

2) Define Beam Length, Support, load and Materials:-

Enter the Beam length.

Select Material type and enter Modulus.

Select Boundary condition.

Fixed

Simply Supported

Cantilever

Select Load type and enter Load value.

Uniformly Distributed Load(UDL)

Uniformly Increasing Load

Point Load

Select the Analysis type.

3) Getting Final Results:-

Tap on “Beam” to get the results.

The results will show,

Cross Sectional Area (CSA),

Moment of Inertia about X-Axis centroid (Ixx),

Centroidal Distance (Yc),

beam length,

material type,

Modulus of Elasticity of selected materials,

Boundary conditions,

load,

analysis type, and

deflection, stress results.

Assumptions:

The cross section is uniform throught the length

The beam has at least one longitudinal plane of symmetry.

The beam is long in proportion to its depth or width

The beam is assumed to be thin beam and The through thickness shear effects are not considered.

Theory:

The general governing differential equation of one dimensional beam, relating the load, rigidity and deformation is used for linear isotropic beam performance prediction.

Beam equations including the effect of loads and forces in the middle plane are used for geometrical nonlinear performance prediction.

Similarly, orthotropic governing equation is also considered for orthotropic beam performance prediction.

Analytical solution for the above type of governing equations was compiled for various type of beam, boundary, loading conditions and is used for the performance prediction. The results predicted by Beam Calculator are also compared with numerical simulations. The analytical results predicted by app matches closely with the industry standard numerical finite element analysis solver results.

The beam lite is limited by number of standard shapes to 6 out of 12 and the arbitrary input for drawing complex shapes is restricted to max 50 points. For unlimited use get beam PRO.

For additional support or help

visit: http://apps.atoa.com/atoa-apps/Beam-Calculator-lite

mail: BeamLite@apps.atoa.com