“BEAMANAL” is an MS-Excel based spreadsheet program that is specifically designed for analyzing either single-span or continuous-span beams depending on virtually any type of loading configuration.
With this spreadsheet, it is possible to compute beam end reactions, maximum moments and deflections. Plots of all of the diagrams are generated along with a tabulation of the shear, moment, slope, and deflection for the beam or each individual span. Toward structural steel, single-span beams an AISC 9th Edition (ASD) Code check is done for X-axis bending and shear.
The program comprises of following four worksheets
Doc This documentation sheet
Single-Span Beam – Single-span beam analysis for simple, propped, fixed and cantilever beams
Single-Span Beam & Code Check – Single-span beam analysis and AISC 9th Ed. Code Check for X-axis bending.
Continuous-Span Beam – Continuous-span beam analysis for 2 through 5 span beams
Program Assumptions and Limitations
To form this program, the following reference is applied:-
1- Modern Formulas for Statics and Dynamics, A Stress-and-Strain Approach by Walter D. Pilkey and Pin Yu Chang, McGraw-Hill Book Company (1978), pages 11 to 21.
2- This program employs the following three (3) assumptions as a root for analysis:-
a- Beams should be made of constant cross-section (E and I are constant for whole span length).
b- Deflections should not considerably modify the geometry of the problem.
c- Stress must remain inside the elastic region.
3- On the beam or each separate span, this program will deal with a full-length uniform load and up to eight (8) partial uniform, triangular, or trapezoidal loads, up to fifteen (15) point loads, and up to four (4) applied moments.
4- For single-span beams, this program guesses a specific orientation for two (2) of the four (4) different types for all the times. Particularly, the fixed end of either a propped or cantilever beam is always accepted to be on the exact end of the beam.
