For engineers
Engineering tools
Design modules for single elements. Each one shows the calculation step by step, with the equation, the numbers put into it and the code clause it comes from, so every result can be checked by hand.
- Steel beamSimply supported W-shape under uniform and point loads: flexure with lateral-torsional buckling segment by segment (Cb from the moment diagram), flange compactness, shear, deflection; the lightest section that passes. The same checks the building engine's bare beams are sized by.AISC 360-16 §F2, §F3, §G2, §L3 · ASCE 7-16 §2.3.1
- Steel columnW-shape or square / rectangular HSS: buckling about both axes, B1 and the H1 interaction; the lightest section that passes.AISC 360-16 §E3, §E4, §E7, §F7, §H1.1 · ASCE 7-16 §2.3.1
- Web openings in steel beamsRectangular and circular penetrations in steel or composite beams, with or without bars: flexure, Vierendeel shear, interaction, spacing, bars and welds, added deflection.AISC Design Guide 2 (all four worked examples reproduced) · AISC 360-16
- Steel plate in bendingFlat plate loaded through its thickness: cantilever, simply supported or fixed, with a pressure, a line load and a point load. Flexure, shear, deflection and self weight; picks the thinnest standard plate.AISC 360-16 §F11, §G · ASCE 7-16 §2.3.1
- Steel-framed stairsIBC or OSHA stair from the floor-to-floor height: risers and treads, minimum opening, checkered-plate treads, stringers, intermediate landing beams with posts or hangers, guard and handrail, optional seismic.AISC Design Guide 34 (Chapter 10 examples reproduced) · AISC 360-16 · ASCE 7-16
- Steel lintelSteel angles (one per wythe) or a W-shape over an opening: arching, loads on the wall above, beam seats at 2:1, deflection under the masonry, torsion of loose angles.AISC 360-16 §F10, §G3, §H2, §H3 · BIA TN 31B
Preliminary design aids. A licensed structural engineer checks the loads, the inputs and the results before they are relied on.