Beam quick check guide: supported inputs and limits

For its idealized standard cases, the calculator reports support reactions and preliminary estimates of maximum shear and maximum absolute bending moment.

• Simply supported: the standard symmetric cases produce vertical reactions at both supports.
• Fixed-fixed: the standard symmetric cases produce vertical reactions and opposing support moments.
• Cantilever: the fixed support carries the standard vertical reaction and support moment.

The calculator presents standard support reactions and preliminary maximum shear and maximum absolute bending-moment estimates for the selected scenario.

• The shear and bending-moment values are estimates for the idealized load and support cases listed here.
• The tool does not turn these estimates into a member-capacity or design decision.

Choose metric SI or US customary units. The span may be entered in metres or feet; it is converted before the supported range is checked.

• The supported span is 0.1–100 m after conversion.
• Metric: span m, point load kN, distributed load kN/m, reactions kN, and moments kN·m.
• US customary: span ft, point load kip, distributed load kip/ft, reactions kip, and moments kip·ft.
• Metric material inputs: cross-sectional area m² and material unit weight kN/m³; US customary: area in² and unit weight lb/ft³.
• Limits after normalization: span 0.1–100 m; point load 0.001–10,000 kN; distributed load 0.001–1,000 kN/m.

The calculator accepts three support conditions, three material choices, and downward point or uniformly distributed loads.

• Supports: simply supported, fixed-fixed, and cantilever.
• Materials: structural steel, timber, and reinforced concrete.
• Loads: a point load at midspan for supported beams or at the cantilever free end; a uniformly distributed load covers the full span.
• Section area and material unit weight are used to estimate the beam self-weight, which is included as a full-span distributed load.
• Metric material inputs are area in m² and unit weight in kN/m³; US customary inputs are area in² and unit weight lb/ft³.

This is a preliminary check and does not replace qualified professional engineering judgment.

• Reference material unit weights are sample assumptions. Confirm project-specific properties, dimensions, and loads with a qualified engineer.
• It does not check stress, capacity, stiffness, deflection, buckling, connections, code compliance, or final design.

The calculator requires a complete scenario before it will call the authenticated calculation route.

• Blank, non-finite, zero, negative, or out-of-range span and loads are rejected inline.
• The span unit must match SI/US, and the load unit must also match point/distributed load type.
• A point-load value must be in kN or kip; a distributed value must be in kN/m or kip/ft.