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Glossary » Beams » Simply Supported » Uniformly Distributed Load » Four Equal Spans » Wide Flange Steel I Beam » W4 × 13
Wide Flange Steel I Beam | Single Span | Two Equal Spans | Three Equal Spans | Four Equal Spans

For a simply supported beam in four equal spans, we compute the displacement at the middle of the first and fourth spans, and the maximum normal stress stress_max occuring at the second and fourth supports of the beam.
The tabulated data listed in this page are calculated based on the area moment of inertia (Ixx = 11.3 in4) for the W4 × 13 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
   
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 3.00 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 3.33 × 10-5 27.7
20.0 5.12 × 10-5 42.6
30.0 7.69 × 10-5 63.9
40.0 1.02 × 10-4 85.2
50.0 1.28 × 10-4 106
60.0 1.54 × 10-4 128
70.0 1.79 × 10-4 149
80.0 2.05 × 10-4 170
90.0 2.31 × 10-4 192
100 2.56 × 10-4 213
200 5.12 × 10-4 426
300 7.69 × 10-4 639
400 0.00102 852
500 0.00128 1060
600 0.00154 1280
700 0.00179 1490
800 0.00205 1700
900 0.00231 1920
1000 0.00256 2130
2000 0.00512 4260
3000 0.00769 6390
4000 0.0102 8520
5000 0.0128 1.06 × 104
6000 0.0154 1.28 × 104
7000 0.0179 1.49 × 104
8000 0.0205 1.70 × 104
9000 0.0231 1.92 × 104
1.00 × 104 0.0256 2.13 × 104
2.00 × 104 0.0512 4.26 × 104
3.00 × 104 0.0769 6.39 × 104
4.00 × 104 0.102 8.52 × 104
5.00 × 104 0.128 1.06 × 105
6.00 × 104 0.154 1.28 × 105
7.00 × 104 0.179 1.49 × 105
8.00 × 104 0.205 1.70 × 105
9.00 × 104 0.231 1.92 × 105
1.00 × 105 0.256 2.13 × 105
1.40 × 105 0.357 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 5.00 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 2.57 × 10-4 76.9
20.0 3.95 × 10-4 118
30.0 5.93 × 10-4 177
40.0 7.91 × 10-4 237
50.0 9.88 × 10-4 296
60.0 0.00119 355
70.0 0.00138 414
80.0 0.00158 473
90.0 0.00178 532
100 0.00198 591
200 0.00395 1180
300 0.00593 1770
400 0.00791 2370
500 0.00988 2960
600 0.0119 3550
700 0.0138 4140
800 0.0158 4730
900 0.0178 5320
1000 0.0198 5910
2000 0.0395 1.18 × 104
3000 0.0593 1.77 × 104
4000 0.0791 2.37 × 104
5000 0.0988 2.96 × 104
6000 0.119 3.55 × 104
7000 0.138 4.14 × 104
8000 0.158 4.73 × 104
9000 0.178 5.32 × 104
1.00 × 104 0.198 5.91 × 104
2.00 × 104 0.395 1.18 × 105
3.00 × 104 0.593 1.77 × 105
4.00 × 104 0.791 2.37 × 105
5.00 × 104 0.988 2.96 × 105
5.02 × 104 0.993 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 10.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 0.00411 308
20.0 0.00633 473
30.0 0.00949 710
40.0 0.0127 946
50.0 0.0158 1180
60.0 0.0190 1420
70.0 0.0221 1660
80.0 0.0253 1890
90.0 0.0285 2130
100 0.0316 2370
200 0.0633 4730
300 0.0949 7100
400 0.127 9460
500 0.158 1.18 × 104
600 0.190 1.42 × 104
700 0.221 1.66 × 104
800 0.253 1.89 × 104
900 0.285 2.13 × 104
1000 0.316 2.37 × 104
2000 0.633 4.73 × 104
3000 0.949 7.10 × 104
4000 1.27 9.46 × 104
5000 1.58 1.18 × 105
6000 1.90 1.42 × 105
7000 2.21 1.66 × 105
8000 2.53 1.89 × 105
9000 2.85 2.13 × 105
1.00 × 104 3.16 2.37 × 105
1.26 × 104 3.97 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 15.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 0.0208 692
20.0 0.0320 1060
30.0 0.0480 1600
40.0 0.0641 2130
50.0 0.0801 2660
60.0 0.0961 3190
70.0 0.112 3730
80.0 0.128 4260
90.0 0.144 4790
100 0.160 5320
200 0.320 1.06 × 104
300 0.480 1.60 × 104
400 0.641 2.13 × 104
500 0.801 2.66 × 104
600 0.961 3.19 × 104
700 1.12 3.73 × 104
800 1.28 4.26 × 104
900 1.44 4.79 × 104
1000 1.60 5.32 × 104
2000 3.20 1.06 × 105
2600 4.16 1.38 × 105
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 20.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 0.0658 1230
20.0 0.101 1890
30.0 0.152 2840
40.0 0.202 3790
50.0 0.253 4730
60.0 0.304 5680
70.0 0.354 6620
80.0 0.405 7570
90.0 0.455 8520
100 0.506 9460
200 1.01 1.89 × 104
300 1.52 2.84 × 104
400 2.02 3.79 × 104
500 2.53 4.73 × 104
600 3.04 5.68 × 104
700 3.54 6.62 × 104
800 4.05 7.57 × 104
822 4.16 7.78 × 104
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 25.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 0.161 1920
20.0 0.247 2960
30.0 0.371 4440
40.0 0.494 5910
50.0 0.618 7390
60.0 0.741 8870
70.0 0.865 1.03 × 104
80.0 0.988 1.18 × 104
90.0 1.11 1.33 × 104
100 1.24 1.48 × 104
200 2.47 2.96 × 104
300 3.71 4.44 × 104
337 4.16 4.98 × 104
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 30.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 0.333 2770
20.0 0.512 4260
30.0 0.769 6390
40.0 1.02 8520
50.0 1.28 1.06 × 104
60.0 1.54 1.28 × 104
70.0 1.79 1.49 × 104
80.0 2.05 1.70 × 104
90.0 2.31 1.92 × 104
100 2.56 2.13 × 104
162 4.16 3.46 × 104
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 40.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 1.05 4920
20.0 1.62 7570
30.0 2.43 1.14 × 104
40.0 3.24 1.51 × 104
50.0 4.05 1.89 × 104
51.4 4.16 1.94 × 104
Steel I Beam: W4 × 13 (Wide Flange 4 inch tall × 13 lbf/ft)
L = 50.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
13.0 2.57 7690
20.0 3.95 1.18 × 104
21.0 4.16 1.24 × 104
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