Beams, Columns and Trusses

These calculators check structural members. Find beam deflection and the largest load, draw shear and moment diagrams, check a column against Euler buckling, solve truss member forces and get a section’s moment of inertia.

Tools in this group

• Beam Deflection Calculator — Enter the span, supports, loads and the beam's E and I (or pick a section) to get the maximum deflection, its position and the deflected shape.
• Beam Load Calculator — Pick a beam section, span and supports, then enter the allowable bending stress to find the largest load it can carry and what governs.
• Centroid Calculator — List the rectangles, triangles and circles that make up your shape, with holes as negatives, to find its centroid, area and moments of area.
• Column Buckling Calculator (Euler Buckling Formula) — Enter the column length, end fixity, material and section to get the critical buckling load, the slenderness ratio and which formula governs.
• Moment of Inertia Calculator — Choose a cross-section and enter its dimensions to get the area moment of inertia about both axes, the section modulus and the centroid.
• Shear Moment Diagram Calculator — Add the loads on a simply supported, cantilever or overhanging beam to get the reactions and the shear force and bending moment diagrams.
• Truss Calculator — Pick a truss type, span, height and panel loads to get the force in every member, tension or compression, drawn on the truss.