Welcome to the Beam Calculator. A free, online beam calculator to generate shear force diagrams, bending
moment diagrams, deflection curves and slope curves for simply supported and cantilvered beams.
Select a beam and enter dimensions to get started. Then scroll down to see shear force diagrams, moment
diagrams, deflection curves, slope and tabulated results.
This calculator is based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. The Euler-Bernoulli equation describes a
relationship between beam deflection and applied external forces.
The simplest form of this equation is as follows:
`EI((d^4w)/dx^4)=q(x)`
The Shear Force and Moment can be expressed, respectively, as:
`Q=-EI((d^3w)/dx^3), M=-EI((d^2w)/dx^2)`
Beam Moment and Shear Force Calculator
We use these equations along with the boundary conditions and loads for our beams to derive closed-form
solutions to the beam configurations shown on this page (simply supported and cantilver beams). The
beam calculator uses these equations to generate bending moment, shear force, slope and defelction
diagrams.
The beam calculator is a great tool to quickly validate forces in beams. Use it to help you design
steel, wood
and concrete beams under various loading conditions. Also, remember, you can add results from beams
together
using
the method of
superposition.
Steel, Wood and Concrete Beam Calculator
Of course, it is not always possible (or practical) to derive a closed-form solution for some beam
configurations. If you have a steel, wood or concrete beam with complex boundary conditions and loads
you're better off solving the problem numerically with one of our finite element analysis tools. If
you're not
worried about design codes and comparing beam demand and beam capacity, try out our easy to use
Shear & Moment Calculator.
If you need full design checks via AISC 360, NDS, ASD and LRFD for steel or wood beam design
and you want to design your next beam in minutes, you might like our
Beam Designer tool.
Free AISC Steel and NDS Wood Beam Design
Our goal with WebStructural is to give back to the engineering community by providing a free,
cloud-based steel and wood beam design app. There's nothing to install, simply navigate to our
Free Steel and Wood Beam Designer and start designing! If you like the
tool
and decide you'd like to save and print projects you can upgrade for $19
monthly.
There's no long-term contract. Cancel anytime, we'll save your projects and you can resubscribe later
to access them.
More Free Online Calculators
We make elegant, powerful structural engineering and structural analysis software. Try some of our
other free tools:
