Selecting the Right 3D Printer

Discover how to choose the right 3D printer for your needs and the key performance attributes to consider.

3D Scanners

A white paper to assist in the evaluation of 3D scanning hardware solutions.

STEM Career Outlook

Wages, employment opportunities, and growth projections for STEM jobs.

Mechanical Engineers Outlook

Guide for those interested in becoming a mechanical engineer. Includes qualifications, pay, and job duties.

more free publications

Materials

Design

Processes

Units

Formulas

Math
Glossary » Beams » Simply Supported » Uniformly Distributed Load » Four Equal Spans » Wide Flange Steel I Beam » W5 × 16
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 = 21.3 in4) for the W5 × 16 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
   
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 3.00 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 2.17 × 10-5 21.8
20.0 2.72 × 10-5 27.2
30.0 4.08 × 10-5 40.8
40.0 5.44 × 10-5 54.4
50.0 6.80 × 10-5 68.0
60.0 8.16 × 10-5 81.6
70.0 9.51 × 10-5 95.2
80.0 1.09 × 10-4 109
90.0 1.22 × 10-4 122
100 1.36 × 10-4 136
200 2.72 × 10-4 272
300 4.08 × 10-4 408
400 5.44 × 10-4 544
500 6.80 × 10-4 680
600 8.16 × 10-4 816
700 9.51 × 10-4 952
800 0.00109 1090
900 0.00122 1220
1000 0.00136 1360
2000 0.00272 2720
3000 0.00408 4080
4000 0.00544 5440
5000 0.00680 6800
6000 0.00816 8160
7000 0.00951 9520
8000 0.0109 1.09 × 104
9000 0.0122 1.22 × 104
1.00 × 104 0.0136 1.36 × 104
2.00 × 104 0.0272 2.72 × 104
3.00 × 104 0.0408 4.08 × 104
4.00 × 104 0.0544 5.44 × 104
5.00 × 104 0.0680 6.80 × 104
6.00 × 104 0.0816 8.16 × 104
7.00 × 104 0.0951 9.52 × 104
8.00 × 104 0.109 1.09 × 105
9.00 × 104 0.122 1.22 × 105
1.00 × 105 0.136 1.36 × 105
2.00 × 105 0.272 2.72 × 105
2.18 × 105 0.297 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 5.00 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 1.68 × 10-4 60.5
20.0 2.10 × 10-4 75.6
30.0 3.15 × 10-4 113
40.0 4.20 × 10-4 151
50.0 5.24 × 10-4 189
60.0 6.29 × 10-4 227
70.0 7.34 × 10-4 265
80.0 8.39 × 10-4 302
90.0 9.44 × 10-4 340
100 0.00105 378
200 0.00210 756
300 0.00315 1130
400 0.00420 1510
500 0.00524 1890
600 0.00629 2270
700 0.00734 2650
800 0.00839 3020
900 0.00944 3400
1000 0.0105 3780
2000 0.0210 7560
3000 0.0315 1.13 × 104
4000 0.0420 1.51 × 104
5000 0.0524 1.89 × 104
6000 0.0629 2.27 × 104
7000 0.0734 2.65 × 104
8000 0.0839 3.02 × 104
9000 0.0944 3.40 × 104
1.00 × 104 0.105 3.78 × 104
2.00 × 104 0.210 7.56 × 104
3.00 × 104 0.315 1.13 × 105
4.00 × 104 0.420 1.51 × 105
5.00 × 104 0.524 1.89 × 105
6.00 × 104 0.629 2.27 × 105
7.00 × 104 0.734 2.65 × 105
7.86 × 104 0.824 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 10.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 0.00268 242
20.0 0.00336 302
30.0 0.00503 453
40.0 0.00671 605
50.0 0.00839 756
60.0 0.0101 907
70.0 0.0117 1060
80.0 0.0134 1210
90.0 0.0151 1360
100 0.0168 1510
200 0.0336 3020
300 0.0503 4530
400 0.0671 6050
500 0.0839 7560
600 0.101 9070
700 0.117 1.06 × 104
800 0.134 1.21 × 104
900 0.151 1.36 × 104
1000 0.168 1.51 × 104
2000 0.336 3.02 × 104
3000 0.503 4.53 × 104
4000 0.671 6.05 × 104
5000 0.839 7.56 × 104
6000 1.01 9.07 × 104
7000 1.17 1.06 × 105
8000 1.34 1.21 × 105
9000 1.51 1.36 × 105
1.00 × 104 1.68 1.51 × 105
1.97 × 104 3.30 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 15.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 0.0136 544
20.0 0.0170 680
30.0 0.0255 1020
40.0 0.0340 1360
50.0 0.0425 1700
60.0 0.0510 2040
70.0 0.0595 2380
80.0 0.0680 2720
90.0 0.0765 3060
100 0.0850 3400
200 0.170 6800
300 0.255 1.02 × 104
400 0.340 1.36 × 104
500 0.425 1.70 × 104
600 0.510 2.04 × 104
700 0.595 2.38 × 104
800 0.680 2.72 × 104
900 0.765 3.06 × 104
1000 0.850 3.40 × 104
2000 1.70 6.80 × 104
3000 2.55 1.02 × 105
4000 3.40 1.36 × 105
5000 4.25 1.70 × 105
5900 5.01 2.01 × 105
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 20.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 0.0430 967
20.0 0.0537 1210
30.0 0.0805 1810
40.0 0.107 2420
50.0 0.134 3020
60.0 0.161 3630
70.0 0.188 4230
80.0 0.215 4840
90.0 0.242 5440
100 0.268 6050
200 0.537 1.21 × 104
300 0.805 1.81 × 104
400 1.07 2.42 × 104
500 1.34 3.02 × 104
600 1.61 3.63 × 104
700 1.88 4.23 × 104
800 2.15 4.84 × 104
900 2.42 5.44 × 104
1000 2.68 6.05 × 104
1870 5.01 1.13 × 105
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 25.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 0.105 1510
20.0 0.131 1890
30.0 0.197 2830
40.0 0.262 3780
50.0 0.328 4720
60.0 0.393 5670
70.0 0.459 6610
80.0 0.524 7560
90.0 0.590 8500
100 0.655 9450
200 1.31 1.89 × 104
300 1.97 2.83 × 104
400 2.62 3.78 × 104
500 3.28 4.72 × 104
600 3.93 5.67 × 104
700 4.59 6.61 × 104
764 5.01 7.22 × 104
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 30.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 0.217 2180
20.0 0.272 2720
30.0 0.408 4080
40.0 0.544 5440
50.0 0.680 6800
60.0 0.816 8160
70.0 0.951 9520
80.0 1.09 1.09 × 104
90.0 1.22 1.22 × 104
100 1.36 1.36 × 104
200 2.72 2.72 × 104
300 4.08 4.08 × 104
369 5.01 5.01 × 104
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 40.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 0.687 3870
20.0 0.859 4840
30.0 1.29 7260
40.0 1.72 9670
50.0 2.15 1.21 × 104
60.0 2.58 1.45 × 104
70.0 3.01 1.69 × 104
80.0 3.44 1.93 × 104
90.0 3.87 2.18 × 104
100 4.30 2.42 × 104
117 5.01 2.82 × 104
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 50.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 1.68 6050
20.0 2.10 7560
30.0 3.15 1.13 × 104
40.0 4.20 1.51 × 104
47.8 5.01 1.81 × 104
Steel I Beam: W5 × 16 (Wide Flange 5 inch tall × 16 lbf/ft)
L = 60.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
16.0 3.48 8710
20.0 4.35 1.09 × 104
23.0 5.01 1.25 × 104
Additional Information
Related Pages
FREE Publications
Selecting the Right 3D Printer

Discover how to choose the right 3D printer for your needs and the key performance attributes to consider.

3D Scanners

A white paper to assist in the evaluation of 3D scanning hardware solutions.

STEM Career Outlook

Wages, employment opportunities, and growth projections for STEM jobs.

Mechanical Engineers Outlook

Guide for those interested in becoming a mechanical engineer. Includes qualifications, pay, and job duties.

more publications