Notes for Strength of Materials, ET 200

Beam Design

Steel Beam Design Six Easy Steps Steel beam design is about selecting the lightest steel beam that will support the load without exceeding the bending strength or shear strength of the material, and without exceeding the maximum allowable deflection for the beam. We want the lightest beam because it is generally the cheapest. We can solve these problems with a 6-step process.
Step 1 Identify all loads and design constraints (yield strength,

maximum allowable deflection max, beam length L, etc.).

Step 2 Draw the load diagram and calculate all reactions. Step 3 Draw the shear and moment diagrams, and calculate Vmax

and Mmax. If the loading conditions are right, use the Formula Method to find these values.

Step 4 Calculate the plastic section modulus Zx required to sup-

port the applied moment. Select the lightest steel beam from the Appendix that supports Mmax and has enough stiffness to limit max (if deflection is a constraint).
Step 5 Include the beam weight in new drawings of the load,

shear, and moment diagrams. Check that the beam can support the applied loads and its own weight, and that it still meets the maximum deflection constraint.
Step 6 Calculate the shear strength of the selected beam, and

check that the beam will support more shear load than is applied. Example #1 Select the lightest W-beam that will support a uniformly distributed load of 3 kip/ft. on a simply-supported span of 20 ft. The beam is rolled high-strength, low-alloy steel (HSLA).
Step 1 We know the loading and length; the steel has a yield

strength ! YS = 50 ksi . The maximum beam deflection max is not specified.

3 kip 20 ft. = 60 kips . Since ft. the loading is symmetrical, R A = R B = 30 kips .

Step 2 The total load on the beam is

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Notes for Strength of Materials, ET 200

Beam Design

Step 3 The shear diagram for a uniform distributed load is two

triangles. The moment diagram is a parabola, where Mmax is the area of the shear diagram up to the midspan, or the area of the lefthand triangle. Since the area of a triangle is the base times the 30 kips ! 10 ft. height divided by two, M max = = 150 kip ft. 2

Step 4 The moment strength of a steel beam is M R = 0.6! YS Z x .

We can rewrite the equation to find the value of Zx required to support the applied moment.

Beam W1840 W1250 W1054 W1636 W1240

Zx (in.3) 78.4 72.4 66.6 64.0 57.5

M 1.67M Required Z x = = 0.6! YS ! YS = 1.67 " 150 kip ft. in.2 12 in. 50 kips ft.
3

= 60.1 in.

Appendix I lists W-beams in decreasing order of plastic section modulus Zx. Look for a beam with a slightly larger Zx than the required value. In this case, the lightest beam is W1636, with a weight of 36 lb./ft., or 0.036 kips/ft.
Step 5 We can add the beam weight to the applied uniform dis-

tributed load, for a total of 3.036 kips/ft. The total load on the 3.036 kip 20 ft. beam is = 60.72 kips . Since the loading is symft. metrical, R A = R B = 30.36 kips . The maximum moment is 30.36 kips ! 10 ft. M max = = 151.8 kip ft. 2

1.67 ! 151.8 kip ft. in.2 12 in. = 60.8 in.3 , which 50 kips ft. is less than Zx of the selected beam. As long as we have more than we need, the beam will survive. If the new required Zx had been 66 in.3, then we would have to select a different beam. Required Z x =
Step 6 We know the beam will support the load without exceeding

its bending strength; now we need to check shear strength. For wide-flange steel W-beams, Vapplied ! 0.4" YS dt w where d is the beam depth and tw is the thickness of the web. Find these dimensions in Appendix A. A W1636 beam can support a shear load of kips 0.4 ! 50 2 ! 15.86 in. ! 0.295 in. = 93.6 kips . Since the actual in. shear load of 30.36 kips is less than 93.6 kips, the beam will not fail in shear.

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Notes for Strength of Materials, ET 200

Beam Design

Example #2 Select the lightest W-beam that will support a uniformly distributed load of 3 kip/ft. on a simply-supported span of 20 ft. and deflect no more than 0.6 inches. The beam is rolled high-strength, low-alloy steel (HSLA).
Steps 1-4 The first few steps are identical to Example #1 because

the beam loading and length are the same. However, we have an additional constraint of ! max = 0.6 in. From Appendix H, Case #1, the maximum deflection for a simply-supported beam with a uni5wL4 form distributed load is ! max = . We can rewrite the equa384EI tion to find the moment of inertia required to limit the maximum deflection.

Required I = =

5wL4 384E! max

Beam
4 2 3

(12 in.) = 600 in.4 5 3 kip ( 20 ft.) in. 384 ft. 30 " 10 3 kip 0.6 in. ft.3
4

Zx (in.3) 78.4 72.4 66.6 64.0 57.5

Ix (in.4) 612 394 303 448 310

W1840 W1250 W1054 W1636 W1240

The moment of inertia of a W1636 is 448 in. , which is not enough. Instead, we need to select a beam with a moment of inertia greater than 600 in.4, such as W1840, which has a weight of 40 lb./ft. or 0.040 kip/ft.

Step 5 Add the beam weight to the applied uniform distributed

load, for a total of 3.040 kips/ft. The total load on the beam is 3.040 kip 20 ft. = 60.8 kips . Since the loading is symmetrical, ft. R A = R B = 30.4 kips . The maximum moment is 30.4 kips ! 10 ft. M max = = 152 kip ft. 2

1.67 ! 152 kip ft. in.2 12 in. = 60.9 in.3 , which 50 kips ft. is less than Zx of the selected beam, so the beam is strong enough in bending. Required Z x =
Checking for deflection,

Required I =

(12 in.) = 608 in.4 5 3.04 kip ( 20 ft.) in. 3 384 ft. 30 ! 10 kip 0.6 in. ft.3
4 2 3

Since the beams moment of inertia is more than the required value, the beam meets the deflection criterion.

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Beam Design

Step 6 Use Vapplied ! 0.4" YS dt w to find the shear strength. A

W1840 beam can support a shear load of kips 0.4 ! 50 2 ! 17.9 in. ! 0.315 in. = 113 kips . Since the actual in. shear load of 30.4 kips is less than 113 kips, the beam will not fail in shear. Examples #1 and #2 are the easiest types to solve because the weight of the beam is a uniform distributed load, therefore the load, shear, and moment diagrams have the same shape after the beam weight is included. Example #3 Select the lightest W-beam that will support a point load of 40 kips at the midspan of a simply-supported 30 foot span.
Step 1 P = 40 kips , L = 30 ft. , ! YS = 50 ksi , max is not speci-

fied.
Step 2 The total load on the beam is 40 kips. Since the loading is

symmetrical, R A = R B =

40 kips = 20 kips . 2

Step 3 The shear diagram for a point load at the midspan is two

rectangles. The moment diagram is a triangle, where Mmax is the area of the shear diagram up to the midspan, or the area of the lefthand rectangle: M max = 20 kips ! 15 ft. = 300 kip ft.
Step 4 Calculate the needed plastic section modulus:

Required Z x =

1.67M 1.67 " 300 kip ft. in.2 12 in. = ! YS 50 kips ft.
3

Beam W2162 W1474 W1860 W2150

Zx (in.3) 144 126 123 110

= 120.2 in.

Select W1860, with a weight of 60 lb./ft., or 0.06 kips/ft.

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Beam Design

Step 5 Redraw the load, shear, and moment diagrams to include

the weight of the beam. Add the beam weight to the point load for 0.06 kip 20 ft. a total load of 40 kips + = 41.8 kips . Since the ft. loading is symmetrical, R A = R B = 20.9 kips .

V1 = R A = R B = 20.9 kips 0.06 kip 15 ft. V2 = V1 ! = 20 kips ft. V3 = V2 ! 40 kips = !20 kips V4 = V3 + 20.9 kips = 0 kips
The maximum moment is the area of the left-hand trapezoid, which is the average height times the base:

M max =

20.9 kips + 20 kips 15 ft. = 306.75 kip ft. 2

1.67 ! 306.75 kip ft. in.2 12 in. = 122.9 in.3 , 50 kips ft. which is slightly less than Zx of the selected beam, so the beam is strong enough in bending. Required Z x =
Step 6 Use Vapplied ! 0.4" YS dt w to find the shear strength. A

W1860 beam can support a shear load of kips 0.4 ! 50 2 ! 18.24 in. ! 0.415 in. = 151 kips . Since the actual in. shear load of 20.9 kips is less than 151 kips, the beam will not fail in shear. Another way to solve this problem is to use the Formula Method and Superposition. For Step 2 and Step 3 , Case #5 in Appendix H gives us

R A = R B = Vmax = M max

P 40 kips = = 20 kips 2 2 PL 40 kips ! 30 ft. = = = 300 kip ft. 4 4

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Beam Design

Solve Step 4 as before. For Step 5, we can add the reaction forces for the two cases:

RA = RB =

P wL 40 kips 0.06 kips 30 ft. + = + = 20.9 kips 2 2 2 ft. 2

The maximum shear load occurs at the same place in both shear diagrams (the ends of the beams) and is equal to the reactions, so Vmax = R A = R B = 20.9 kips . The maximum moment occurs at the same place in both moment diagrams (the midspan), so we can add the maximum moments for both cases:

M max =

PL wL2 40 kips ! 30 ft. 0.06 kips ( 30 ft.) + = + 4 8 4 ft. 8 = 306.75 kip ft.

This use of the Formula Method and Superposition only works for shear loads when the maximum values of the two cases occur at the same location; likewise for maximum moment. For example, if the initial loading is a point load which is not at the midspan as in Case #6, then the maximum shear load Vmax = R A , but the maximum moment is not at the midspan. You can add the maximum shear loads of Cases #1 and #6 because they coincide, but you cannot add the maximum moments because they do not coincide.

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Notes for Strength of Materials, ET 200

Beam Design

Example #4 Select the lightest W-beam that will support a point load of 5 kips 3 feet from the end of a 10-foot cantilever beam. The maximum deflection is 0.50 inches.
Step 1 P = 5 kips , L = 10 ft. , location of the point load a = 3 ft. ,

! YS = 50 ksi , ! = 0.5 in. .

Step 2 The total load on the beam is 5 kips, so the force reaction

R B = P = 5 kips . The point load is 7 feet from the wall, so the moment reaction M B = 5 kips ! 7 ft. = 35 kip ft.
triangle, where Mmax is the area of the shear diagram: M max = !5 kips " 7 ft. = !35 kip ft.
Step 4 Calculate the needed plastic section modulus:

Step 3 The shear diagram is a rectangle. The moment diagram is a

Required Z x =

1.67M 1.67 " 35 kip ft. in.2 12 in. = = 14.0 in.3 ! YS 50 kips ft.

Beam W824 W1216 W625 W1012

Zx (in.3) 23.2 20.1 18.9 12.6

Ix (in.4) 82.8 103 53.8 53.8

W625 has a Zx of 18.9 in.3, which meets the requirements, but W1216 is 36% lighter, with a weight of 16 lb./ft., or 0.016 kips/ft.

We also need to calculate the required moment of inertia so that the beam does not deflect more than 0.50 inches. From Case #13 Pb 2 in Appendix H, ! max = ( 3L " b ) . Recalculating, we get 6EI

Required I = =

Pb 2 6E! max
2 2

5 kips ( 7 ft.) (12 in.) = 0.39 in.4 in.2 3 6 30 " 10 kip 0.5 in. ft.2 The selected beam easily passes this requirement.

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Notes for Strength of Materials, ET 200

Beam Design

Step 5 Redraw the load, shear, and moment diagrams to include

the weight of the beam. Draw an Equivalent Load Diagram to find RB and MB. Add the beam weight to the point load for a total load 0.016 kip 10 ft. of R B = 5 kips + = 5.16 kips . The moment reacft. tion M B = 5 kips ! 7 ft. + 0.16 kips ! 5 ft. = 35.8 kip ft. The shear diagram consists of a triangle and a trapezoid.

!0.016 kip 3 ft. = !0.048 kips ft. V2 = V1 ! 5 kips = !5.048 kips 0.016 kip 7 ft. V3 = V2 ! = !5.16 kips ft. V4 = V3 + 5.16 kips = 0 kips V1 =
The moment diagram consists of two parabolas.

!0.048 kip 3 ft. = !0.072 kip ft. 2 5.048 kips + 5.16 kips 7 ft. M 2 = M1 ! = !35.8 kip ft. 2 M 3 = M 2 + 35.8 kip ft. = 0 kip ft.. M1 =
The maximum moment is M B = 35.8 kip ft. .

1.67 ! 35.8 kip ft. in.2 12 in. = 14.3 in.3 , which 50 kips ft. is less than Zx of the selected beam, so the beam is strong enough in bending. Required Z x =
Step 6 Use Vapplied ! 0.4" YS dt w to find the shear strength. A

W1216 beam can support a shear load of kips 0.4 ! 50 2 ! 11.99 in. ! 0.220 in. = 53 kips . Since the actual in. shear load of 5.16 kips is less than 53 kips, the beam will not fail in shear. Symbols, Terminology, & Typical Units YS a b d E I L M P S tw Z Beam deflection Yield strength Distance along a beam from the left end to the point load Distance along a beam from the point load to the right end Beam depth Youngs modulus (modulus of elasticity) Moment of inertia Length Moment Point load Section modulus Web thickness (of a beam) Plastic section modulus in. psi, ksi ft., in. ft., in. in. psi, ksi ft.lb., ft.kips lb., kips lb./ft., kip/ft. lb., kips in.3 in. in.3 mm MPa m, mm m, mm mm GPa kNm N, kN N/m, kN/m N, kN mm3 mm mm3

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