Load paths
UDL on a beam from tributary area
Turn a floor pressure into a uniform line load on a beam: multiply the tributary width by the load. Here is the method, beam self-weight, and the two-way equivalent UDL.
Sam Rivera··5 min
Tag
Beams
8 posts tagged “Beams”.
Load paths
How to calculate beam reactions from a slab
A slab loads a beam, and the beam passes that load to its end supports as reactions. Here is how to find them by statics, for uniform, triangular and trapezoidal loads.
Elena Marchetti··4 min
Load paths
Lintel load calculation, explained
A lintel carries the wall and floor above an opening. Here is how to find its load, the triangular masonry-load idea, and a worked example for a door or window head.
Sam Rivera··5 min
Fundamentals
One-way vs two-way slabs: which tributary model to use
Whether a slab spans one way or two changes how load reaches the beams, and what shape the tributary areas take. Here is how to tell them apart and when the distinction actually changes your numbers.
Sam Rivera··6 min
Fundamentals
Triangular and trapezoidal loads on beams
A two-way slab loads its beams with triangles and trapezoids set out by the 45-degree rule. Here is where the shapes come from, the equivalent UDL, and a worked example.
Sam Rivera··4 min
Fundamentals
Tributary width for a beam, explained
A beam's tributary width is half the spacing to the parallel member on each side. Multiply it by the floor load for the uniform load on the beam. Here is the method with numbers.
Sam Rivera··4 min
Fundamentals
How loads transfer from a slab to beams
A slab hands its load to the beams that support it, as a uniform strip in one-way action or as triangles and trapezoids in two-way action. Here is how, with the load shapes.
Sam Rivera··5 min
Fundamentals
Beam tributary width calculator (free)
Get a beam's tributary width and uniform line load without the sketch. StructLoads is a free tool that computes the strip each beam collects and turns it into a UDL.
Elena Marchetti··4 min