engineering fundamentals
Wide Flange Steel I Beam: W18 × 55
Home | Directory | Career | News | Industrial




Materials
Design
Processes
Units
Formulas
Math
Glossary » Beams » Simply Supported » Uniformly Distributed Load » Single Span » Wide Flange Steel I Beam » W18 × 55
Wide Flange Steel I Beam | Single Span | Two Equal Spans | Three Equal Spans | Four Equal Spans

For a simply supported beam in a single span, the maximum displacement w_max and the maximum normal stress stress_max occur at the center of the beam.
The tabulated data listed in this page are calculated based on the area moment of inertia (Ixx = 890 in4) for the W18 × 55 Wide Flange Steel I Beam and the typical Young's modulus (E = 3.046 × 107 psi) of steels. Note that the typical yielding stress Yield of steels can range from 1.015 × 104 to 2.970 × 105 psi. The purpose of this page is to give a rough estimation of the load-bearing capacity of this particular beam, rather than a guideline for designing actual building structures. Please check your local building codes for regulatory requirements.

Note: The weight of the beam itself is not included in the calculation.
L = 3 ft
L = 5 ft
L = 10 ft
L = 15 ft
L = 20 ft
L = 25 ft
L = 30 ft
L = 40 ft
L = 50 ft
L = 60 ft
L = 70 ft
L = 80 ft
L = 90 ft
L = 100 ft
L = 125 ft
   
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 3.00 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 3.70 × 10-6 7.55
60.0 4.03 × 10-6 8.24
70.0 4.71 × 10-6 9.61
80.0 5.38 × 10-6 11.0
90.0 6.05 × 10-6 12.4
100 6.72 × 10-6 13.7
200 1.34 × 10-5 27.5
300 2.02 × 10-5 41.2
400 2.69 × 10-5 54.9
500 3.36 × 10-5 68.7
600 4.03 × 10-5 82.4
700 4.71 × 10-5 96.1
800 5.38 × 10-5 110
900 6.05 × 10-5 124
1000 6.72 × 10-5 137
2000 1.34 × 10-4 275
3000 2.02 × 10-4 412
4000 2.69 × 10-4 549
5000 3.36 × 10-4 687
6000 4.03 × 10-4 824
7000 4.71 × 10-4 961
8000 5.38 × 10-4 1100
9000 6.05 × 10-4 1240
1.00 × 104 6.72 × 10-4 1370
2.00 × 104 0.00134 2750
3.00 × 104 0.00202 4120
4.00 × 104 0.00269 5490
5.00 × 104 0.00336 6870
6.00 × 104 0.00403 8240
7.00 × 104 0.00471 9610
8.00 × 104 0.00538 1.10 × 104
9.00 × 104 0.00605 1.24 × 104
1.00 × 105 0.00672 1.37 × 104
2.00 × 105 0.0134 2.75 × 104
3.00 × 105 0.0202 4.12 × 104
4.00 × 105 0.0269 5.49 × 104
5.00 × 105 0.0336 6.87 × 104
6.00 × 105 0.0403 8.24 × 104
7.00 × 105 0.0471 9.61 × 104
8.00 × 105 0.0538 1.10 × 105
9.00 × 105 0.0605 1.24 × 105
1.00 × 106 0.0672 1.37 × 105
2.00 × 106 0.134 2.75 × 105
2.16 × 106 0.145 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 5.00 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 2.85 × 10-5 21.0
60.0 3.11 × 10-5 22.9
70.0 3.63 × 10-5 26.7
80.0 4.15 × 10-5 30.5
90.0 4.67 × 10-5 34.3
100 5.19 × 10-5 38.2
200 1.04 × 10-4 76.3
300 1.56 × 10-4 114
400 2.08 × 10-4 153
500 2.59 × 10-4 191
600 3.11 × 10-4 229
700 3.63 × 10-4 267
800 4.15 × 10-4 305
900 4.67 × 10-4 343
1000 5.19 × 10-4 382
2000 0.00104 763
3000 0.00156 1140
4000 0.00208 1530
5000 0.00259 1910
6000 0.00311 2290
7000 0.00363 2670
8000 0.00415 3050
9000 0.00467 3430
1.00 × 104 0.00519 3820
2.00 × 104 0.0104 7630
3.00 × 104 0.0156 1.14 × 104
4.00 × 104 0.0208 1.53 × 104
5.00 × 104 0.0259 1.91 × 104
6.00 × 104 0.0311 2.29 × 104
7.00 × 104 0.0363 2.67 × 104
8.00 × 104 0.0415 3.05 × 104
9.00 × 104 0.0467 3.43 × 104
1.00 × 105 0.0519 3.82 × 104
2.00 × 105 0.104 7.63 × 104
3.00 × 105 0.156 1.14 × 105
4.00 × 105 0.208 1.53 × 105
5.00 × 105 0.259 1.91 × 105
6.00 × 105 0.311 2.29 × 105
7.00 × 105 0.363 2.67 × 105
7.79 × 105 0.404 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 10.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 4.57 × 10-4 83.9
60.0 4.98 × 10-4 91.6
70.0 5.81 × 10-4 107
80.0 6.64 × 10-4 122
90.0 7.47 × 10-4 137
100 8.30 × 10-4 153
200 0.00166 305
300 0.00249 458
400 0.00332 610
500 0.00415 763
600 0.00498 916
700 0.00581 1070
800 0.00664 1220
900 0.00747 1370
1000 0.00830 1530
2000 0.0166 3050
3000 0.0249 4580
4000 0.0332 6100
5000 0.0415 7630
6000 0.0498 9160
7000 0.0581 1.07 × 104
8000 0.0664 1.22 × 104
9000 0.0747 1.37 × 104
1.00 × 104 0.0830 1.53 × 104
2.00 × 104 0.166 3.05 × 104
3.00 × 104 0.249 4.58 × 104
4.00 × 104 0.332 6.10 × 104
5.00 × 104 0.415 7.63 × 104
6.00 × 104 0.498 9.16 × 104
7.00 × 104 0.581 1.07 × 105
8.00 × 104 0.664 1.22 × 105
9.00 × 104 0.747 1.37 × 105
1.00 × 105 0.830 1.53 × 105
1.95 × 105 1.62 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 15.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 0.00231 189
60.0 0.00252 206
70.0 0.00294 240
80.0 0.00336 275
90.0 0.00378 309
100 0.00420 343
200 0.00840 687
300 0.0126 1030
400 0.0168 1370
500 0.0210 1720
600 0.0252 2060
700 0.0294 2400
800 0.0336 2750
900 0.0378 3090
1000 0.0420 3430
2000 0.0840 6870
3000 0.126 1.03 × 104
4000 0.168 1.37 × 104
5000 0.210 1.72 × 104
6000 0.252 2.06 × 104
7000 0.294 2.40 × 104
8000 0.336 2.75 × 104
9000 0.378 3.09 × 104
1.00 × 104 0.420 3.43 × 104
2.00 × 104 0.840 6.87 × 104
3.00 × 104 1.26 1.03 × 105
4.00 × 104 1.68 1.37 × 105
5.00 × 104 2.10 1.72 × 105
6.00 × 104 2.52 2.06 × 105
7.00 × 104 2.94 2.40 × 105
8.00 × 104 3.36 2.75 × 105
8.65 × 104 3.63 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 20.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 0.00730 336
60.0 0.00797 366
70.0 0.00930 427
80.0 0.0106 488
90.0 0.0120 549
100 0.0133 610
200 0.0266 1220
300 0.0398 1830
400 0.0531 2440
500 0.0664 3050
600 0.0797 3660
700 0.0930 4270
800 0.106 4880
900 0.120 5490
1000 0.133 6100
2000 0.266 1.22 × 104
3000 0.398 1.83 × 104
4000 0.531 2.44 × 104
5000 0.664 3.05 × 104
6000 0.797 3.66 × 104
7000 0.930 4.27 × 104
8000 1.06 4.88 × 104
9000 1.20 5.49 × 104
1.00 × 104 1.33 6.10 × 104
2.00 × 104 2.66 1.22 × 105
3.00 × 104 3.98 1.83 × 105
4.00 × 104 5.31 2.44 × 105
4.87 × 104 6.46 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 25.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 0.0178 525
60.0 0.0195 572
70.0 0.0227 668
80.0 0.0259 763
90.0 0.0292 858
100 0.0324 954
200 0.0648 1910
300 0.0973 2860
400 0.130 3820
500 0.162 4770
600 0.195 5720
700 0.227 6680
800 0.259 7630
900 0.292 8580
1000 0.324 9540
2000 0.648 1.91 × 104
3000 0.973 2.86 × 104
4000 1.30 3.82 × 104
5000 1.62 4.77 × 104
6000 1.95 5.72 × 104
7000 2.27 6.68 × 104
8000 2.59 7.63 × 104
9000 2.92 8.58 × 104
1.00 × 104 3.24 9.54 × 104
2.00 × 104 6.48 1.91 × 105
3.00 × 104 9.73 2.86 × 105
3.11 × 104 10.1 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 30.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 0.0370 755
60.0 0.0403 824
70.0 0.0471 961
80.0 0.0538 1100
90.0 0.0605 1240
100 0.0672 1370
200 0.134 2750
300 0.202 4120
400 0.269 5490
500 0.336 6870
600 0.403 8240
700 0.471 9610
800 0.538 1.10 × 104
900 0.605 1.24 × 104
1000 0.672 1.37 × 104
2000 1.34 2.75 × 104
3000 2.02 4.12 × 104
4000 2.69 5.49 × 104
5000 3.36 6.87 × 104
6000 4.03 8.24 × 104
7000 4.71 9.61 × 104
8000 5.38 1.10 × 105
9000 6.05 1.24 × 105
1.00 × 104 6.72 1.37 × 105
2.00 × 104 13.4 2.75 × 105
2.16 × 104 14.5 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 40.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 0.117 1340
60.0 0.127 1470
70.0 0.149 1710
80.0 0.170 1950
90.0 0.191 2200
100 0.212 2440
200 0.425 4880
300 0.637 7330
400 0.850 9770
500 1.06 1.22 × 104
600 1.27 1.47 × 104
700 1.49 1.71 × 104
800 1.70 1.95 × 104
900 1.91 2.20 × 104
1000 2.12 2.44 × 104
2000 4.25 4.88 × 104
3000 6.37 7.33 × 104
4000 8.50 9.77 × 104
5000 10.6 1.22 × 105
6000 12.7 1.47 × 105
7000 14.9 1.71 × 105
8000 17.0 1.95 × 105
8520 18.1 2.08 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 50.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 0.285 2100
60.0 0.311 2290
70.0 0.363 2670
80.0 0.415 3050
90.0 0.467 3430
100 0.519 3820
200 1.04 7630
300 1.56 1.14 × 104
400 2.08 1.53 × 104
500 2.59 1.91 × 104
600 3.11 2.29 × 104
700 3.63 2.67 × 104
800 4.15 3.05 × 104
900 4.67 3.43 × 104
1000 5.19 3.82 × 104
2000 10.4 7.63 × 104
3000 15.6 1.14 × 105
3490 18.1 1.33 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 60.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 0.592 3020
60.0 0.645 3300
70.0 0.753 3850
80.0 0.861 4400
90.0 0.968 4940
100 1.08 5490
200 2.15 1.10 × 104
300 3.23 1.65 × 104
400 4.30 2.20 × 104
500 5.38 2.75 × 104
600 6.45 3.30 × 104
700 7.53 3.85 × 104
800 8.61 4.40 × 104
900 9.68 4.94 × 104
1000 10.8 5.49 × 104
1680 18.1 9.25 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 70.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 1.10 4110
60.0 1.20 4490
70.0 1.40 5230
80.0 1.59 5980
90.0 1.79 6730
100 1.99 7480
200 3.99 1.50 × 104
300 5.98 2.24 × 104
400 7.97 2.99 × 104
500 9.96 3.74 × 104
600 12.0 4.49 × 104
700 14.0 5.23 × 104
800 15.9 5.98 × 104
900 17.9 6.73 × 104
909 18.1 6.80 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 80.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 1.87 5370
60.0 2.04 5860
70.0 2.38 6840
80.0 2.72 7810
90.0 3.06 8790
100 3.40 9770
200 6.80 1.95 × 104
300 10.2 2.93 × 104
400 13.6 3.91 × 104
500 17.0 4.88 × 104
533 18.1 5.20 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 90.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 3.00 6800
60.0 3.27 7420
70.0 3.81 8650
80.0 4.36 9890
90.0 4.90 1.11 × 104
100 5.45 1.24 × 104
200 10.9 2.47 × 104
300 16.3 3.71 × 104
333 18.1 4.11 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 100 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 4.57 8390
60.0 4.98 9160
70.0 5.81 1.07 × 104
80.0 6.64 1.22 × 104
90.0 7.47 1.37 × 104
100 8.30 1.53 × 104
200 16.6 3.05 × 104
218 18.1 3.33 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 55 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 55 lbf/ft)
L = 125 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
55.0 11.1 1.31 × 104
60.0 12.2 1.43 × 104
70.0 14.2 1.67 × 104
80.0 16.2 1.91 × 104
89.4 18.1 2.13 × 104
Additional Information
Related Pages
Home  About Us  Privacy  Disclaimer  Contact  Copyright © 2009 eFunda, Inc.