An experimental program for structural engineering application

Continuous Beam Calculator

Purpose: compute / plot digrams: deflection, slope, bending moment, and shear force
Compatible web browsers: (Google) Chrome, Safari, Opera

Beam's properties and its arrangement

Two-span stepped continuous beam

NA

Input data for beam properties:
 Description  Symbol  Input value
 Full continuous beam length,
 L = L1+L2 (m) 
 L =  12
 Positioning of intermediate support,
 at this percentage of full length L:
 L1 = c*L/100  ;  L2 = L-L1
 c =  50
 Beam's section area moment of inertia
 (x 10-6 m4
 I =  50.0
 Young's modulus
 (x 109 N/m2
 E =  200.0

Beam's ends support types

Choices Support type
 pin - roller    
NA
 fixed - fixed    
NA
 fixed - roller    
NA
 roller - fixed    
NA
 free - fixed    
NA
 fixed - free    
NA
 guided - fixed    
NA
 fixed - guided    
NA

Beam's intermediate support

Select support type

Support type Deflection Slope Bending reaction Vertical force reaction
 horizontal roller   0 yes 0 yes
 vertical guided roller   yes 0 yes 0

Optional stepped-up segment settings

Multiplier (k) for k*EI of the stepped-up segment

Select value of k larger than 1.00 to enable stepped beam cases
Beam's cross section Span 1 (k1) Span 2 (k2)
Uniform beam  1.00   1.00 
Stepped beam  1.25   1.25 
Stepped beam  1.50   1.50 
Stepped beam  1.75   1.75 
Stepped beam  2.00   2.00 

Position of stepped-up segment

Select position of stepped-up segment
(When k is larger than 1.00, the selected item will be considered)
Shape Span 1 Span 2
   Center  
NA
 Center  
NA
   Left end  
NA
 Left end  
NA
   Both ends  
NA
 Both ends  
NA
   Right end  
NA
 Right end  
NA

Length of the stepped-up segment of the beam

If k is larger than 1.00, the selected length of stepped-up segment below will be considered.
For 'Both ends' case (2 stepped-up parts), the selected length is the sum of 2 parts.
Span 1 Span 2
 1/4 × L1   1/4 × L2 
 1/3 × L1   1/3 × L2 
 1/2 × L1   1/2 × L2 
 3/4 × L1   3/4 × L2 

Loading on beam

Multiple loads (max. 2 point, +2 UDL, and +2 bending loads) can be superposed on this beam.

Key diagram for point loads


NA
Input data for 0-2 point loads:
    #1  #2   ← check/uncheck to enable/disable load(s)
 Point load (kN)  P =  +|– 
10.0
+|– 
10.0
 ← check to signify negative value of P
 ← slide to get the desired value of P
 ← current value of P (kN)
 Distance from left (m)   a =  0.5 1.0  ← slide to get the desired value of a
 ← current value of a (m);  a ≤ L

Key diagram for UDLs


NA
Input data for 0-2 distributed loads:
    #1  #2   ← check/uncheck to enable/disable load(s)
 Uniformly distributed load (kN/m)  q =  +|– 
+|– 
 ← check to signify negative value of q
 ← select a value for q
 Left unfilled distance (m)   a =   ← Condition: (a+b) < L
 Right unfilled distance (m)   b =   ← Condition: (a+b) < L

Key diagram for bending moments


NA
Input data for 0-2 bending moment loads:
    #1  #2   ← check/uncheck to enable/disable load(s)
 Bending moment load (kN.m)  M =  +|– 
+|– 
 ← check to signify negative value of M
 ← select a value for M
 Distance from left (m)   a =   ← Condition: a ≤ L


Click 'Execute' button below to proceed:
  


Restart beam calculator

©2016 Swatchai Kriengkraipet, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok