Analyze span, stiffness, inertia, and loading together. Review deflection limits, reactions, moments, and slopes instantly. Download clean outputs for checks, documentation, and team sharing.
| Case | Span (m) | E (GPa) | I (cm4) | Load | Max Deflection (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simply Supported + Midspan Point | 6.00 | 200.00 | 8,500.00 | 20.00 | 5.294 |
| Simply Supported + Full Uniform | 6.00 | 200.00 | 8,500.00 | 12.00 | 11.912 |
| Cantilever + Free-End Point | 3.50 | 200.00 | 5,200.00 | 8.00 | 10.994 |
| Cantilever + Full Uniform | 3.50 | 200.00 | 5,200.00 | 4.00 | 7.215 |
Beam deflection depends on load pattern, span, elastic modulus, and second moment of area. The core stiffness term is EI, where E is material elasticity and I is section inertia.
Simply supported with midspan point load: δmax = P L³ / (48 E I)
Simply supported with full uniform load: δmax = 5 w L⁴ / (384 E I)
Cantilever with free-end point load: δmax = P L³ / (3 E I)
Cantilever with full uniform load: δmax = w L⁴ / (8 E I)
Deflection limit check: δallow = L / selected ratio
This calculator also reports slope, bending moment, and support actions using standard linear elastic beam relations for small deflection behavior.
This calculator gives a fast elastic estimate for steel beam serviceability. It helps compare common boundary conditions and load cases without manual substitution into beam tables. The output is useful for early sizing, study work, checking homework steps, and reviewing whether a trial member passes a chosen deflection limit.
Because the page also reports slope, reactions, fixed-end actions, and bending moment, it supports more than a basic one-line answer. The plotted curve makes the deformation pattern easier to understand, especially when comparing a simply supported member against a cantilever with the same stiffness and span.
For design decisions, always compare results with the governing code, actual load combinations, local stability checks, connection behavior, and any section property reductions required by your project method.
It estimates maximum elastic deflection, slope, bending moment, and support actions for selected steel beam cases. It also checks the result against a user-chosen deflection limit.
Use meters for span, gigapascals for elastic modulus, centimeters to the fourth power for inertia, kilonewtons for point load, and kilonewtons per meter for distributed load.
Elastic modulus measures material stiffness. A higher modulus means the beam resists bending more strongly, so predicted elastic deflection becomes smaller for the same geometry and load.
Moment of inertia describes how section area is distributed about the bending axis. Larger inertia increases flexural stiffness and reduces deflection under the same loading.
It is a serviceability rule written like L/360 or L/240. The span is divided by that ratio to produce an allowable movement for comparison.
No. This page uses standard linear elastic beam equations. It does not model yielding, second-order effects, cracking, residual stress, or geometric nonlinearity.
Yes, if you enter the correct elastic modulus and section inertia. Still, strength checks depend on grade, compactness, and design code, which are outside this tool.
You can shorten the span, reduce load, increase section inertia, add support points, change the beam layout, or select a stiffer overall system.
Important Note: All the Calculators listed in this site are for educational purpose only and we do not guarentee the accuracy of results. Please do consult with other sources as well.