
1. Entering our key properties
First, we enter the key properties of our beam. No need to touch the beam size yet, we will come back to it later. We enter the total length of 35 feet. Let’s conservatively assume that the beam is only braced at supports. Since we expect we’ll be using a regular wide flange beam, we keep the yield strength at 50 ksi for A992 steel. We use L/360 for deflection limit, which is the limit specified by the International Building Code for normal floors. We also impose an absolute limit of 2 inches on deflection.

2. Supports
We now enter the supports for the beam. As previously specified, we have two spans, the first 20 feet long and the second 15 feet long. Let’s enter this in our supports table. For the support at the end of the beam, we can also enter “L” for the support location. The support location will then automatically update to the length of the beam.
3. Load details
Since our beam is located inside, we don’t have to worry about wind and snow loads. We enter the tributary width as 10 feet - by default entering the tributary width at the start (left end) will also make it equal at the end (right end). Again, since the loads are applied over the length of the beam, we enter the start and end locations as 0 and “L” respectively. For dead load, we have a 6” slab (150 pcf concrete) and a 25 psf super-imposed dead load. We can let ClearCalcs calculate the slab dead load in PSF by entering “150 pcf * 6 in”. ClearCalcs will handle units for you.



4. Section selection
At this point, we are ready to choose our ideal section. We go back to our Key Properties tab and click on the blue member selector button:

5. Summary of results and internal force diagrams
Once we’ve got our beam design, we can quickly glance at relevant values to make sure everything corresponds to what we’d expect. On the right panel is the summary section, where we find things such as the critical moment demand and capacity (taking into account lateral-torsional buckling and C b values), shear, deflections, etc. The dead load deflection is also provided should the beam need to be cambered.

- A more in-depth look
