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Glossary » Beams » Simply Supported » Uniformly Distributed Load » Three Equal Spans » Wide Flange Steel I Beam » W18 × 76
Wide Flange Steel I Beam | Single Span | Two Equal Spans | Three Equal Spans | Four Equal Spans

For a simply supported beam in three equal spans, we compute the displacement at the middle of the first and the third spans, and the maximum normal stress stress_max occuring at the second and third supports of the beam.
The tabulated data listed in this page are calculated based on the area moment of inertia (Ixx = 1330 in4) for the W18 × 76 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
L = 150 ft
   
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 3.00 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 1.79 × 10-6 5.62
80.0 1.88 × 10-6 5.91
90.0 2.11 × 10-6 6.65
100 2.35 × 10-6 7.39
200 4.70 × 10-6 14.8
300 7.05 × 10-6 22.2
400 9.40 × 10-6 29.6
500 1.17 × 10-5 37.0
600 1.41 × 10-5 44.4
700 1.64 × 10-5 51.8
800 1.88 × 10-5 59.1
900 2.11 × 10-5 66.5
1000 2.35 × 10-5 73.9
2000 4.70 × 10-5 148
3000 7.05 × 10-5 222
4000 9.40 × 10-5 296
5000 1.17 × 10-4 370
6000 1.41 × 10-4 444
7000 1.64 × 10-4 518
8000 1.88 × 10-4 591
9000 2.11 × 10-4 665
1.00 × 104 2.35 × 10-4 739
2.00 × 104 4.70 × 10-4 1480
3.00 × 104 7.05 × 10-4 2220
4.00 × 104 9.40 × 10-4 2960
5.00 × 104 0.00117 3700
6.00 × 104 0.00141 4440
7.00 × 104 0.00164 5180
8.00 × 104 0.00188 5910
9.00 × 104 0.00211 6650
1.00 × 105 0.00235 7390
2.00 × 105 0.00470 1.48 × 104
3.00 × 105 0.00705 2.22 × 104
4.00 × 105 0.00940 2.96 × 104
5.00 × 105 0.0117 3.70 × 104
6.00 × 105 0.0141 4.44 × 104
7.00 × 105 0.0164 5.18 × 104
8.00 × 105 0.0188 5.91 × 104
9.00 × 105 0.0211 6.65 × 104
1.00 × 106 0.0235 7.39 × 104
2.00 × 106 0.0470 1.48 × 105
3.00 × 106 0.0705 2.22 × 105
4.00 × 106 0.0940 2.96 × 105
4.02 × 106 0.0944 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 5.00 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 1.38 × 10-5 15.6
80.0 1.45 × 10-5 16.4
90.0 1.63 × 10-5 18.5
100 1.81 × 10-5 20.5
200 3.63 × 10-5 41.1
300 5.44 × 10-5 61.6
400 7.25 × 10-5 82.2
500 9.06 × 10-5 103
600 1.09 × 10-4 123
700 1.27 × 10-4 144
800 1.45 × 10-4 164
900 1.63 × 10-4 185
1000 1.81 × 10-4 205
2000 3.63 × 10-4 411
3000 5.44 × 10-4 616
4000 7.25 × 10-4 822
5000 9.06 × 10-4 1030
6000 0.00109 1230
7000 0.00127 1440
8000 0.00145 1640
9000 0.00163 1850
1.00 × 104 0.00181 2050
2.00 × 104 0.00363 4110
3.00 × 104 0.00544 6160
4.00 × 104 0.00725 8220
5.00 × 104 0.00906 1.03 × 104
6.00 × 104 0.0109 1.23 × 104
7.00 × 104 0.0127 1.44 × 104
8.00 × 104 0.0145 1.64 × 104
9.00 × 104 0.0163 1.85 × 104
1.00 × 105 0.0181 2.05 × 104
2.00 × 105 0.0363 4.11 × 104
3.00 × 105 0.0544 6.16 × 104
4.00 × 105 0.0725 8.22 × 104
5.00 × 105 0.0906 1.03 × 105
6.00 × 105 0.109 1.23 × 105
7.00 × 105 0.127 1.44 × 105
8.00 × 105 0.145 1.64 × 105
9.00 × 105 0.163 1.85 × 105
1.00 × 106 0.181 2.05 × 105
1.45 × 106 0.262 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 10.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 2.20 × 10-4 62.4
80.0 2.32 × 10-4 65.7
90.0 2.61 × 10-4 73.9
100 2.90 × 10-4 82.2
200 5.80 × 10-4 164
300 8.70 × 10-4 246
400 0.00116 329
500 0.00145 411
600 0.00174 493
700 0.00203 575
800 0.00232 657
900 0.00261 739
1000 0.00290 822
2000 0.00580 1640
3000 0.00870 2460
4000 0.0116 3290
5000 0.0145 4110
6000 0.0174 4930
7000 0.0203 5750
8000 0.0232 6570
9000 0.0261 7390
1.00 × 104 0.0290 8220
2.00 × 104 0.0580 1.64 × 104
3.00 × 104 0.0870 2.46 × 104
4.00 × 104 0.116 3.29 × 104
5.00 × 104 0.145 4.11 × 104
6.00 × 104 0.174 4.93 × 104
7.00 × 104 0.203 5.75 × 104
8.00 × 104 0.232 6.57 × 104
9.00 × 104 0.261 7.39 × 104
1.00 × 105 0.290 8.22 × 104
2.00 × 105 0.580 1.64 × 105
3.00 × 105 0.870 2.46 × 105
3.62 × 105 1.05 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 15.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.00112 140
80.0 0.00117 148
90.0 0.00132 166
100 0.00147 185
200 0.00294 370
300 0.00441 555
400 0.00587 739
500 0.00734 924
600 0.00881 1110
700 0.0103 1290
800 0.0117 1480
900 0.0132 1660
1000 0.0147 1850
2000 0.0294 3700
3000 0.0441 5550
4000 0.0587 7390
5000 0.0734 9240
6000 0.0881 1.11 × 104
7000 0.103 1.29 × 104
8000 0.117 1.48 × 104
9000 0.132 1.66 × 104
1.00 × 104 0.147 1.85 × 104
2.00 × 104 0.294 3.70 × 104
3.00 × 104 0.441 5.55 × 104
4.00 × 104 0.587 7.39 × 104
5.00 × 104 0.734 9.24 × 104
6.00 × 104 0.881 1.11 × 105
7.00 × 104 1.03 1.29 × 105
8.00 × 104 1.17 1.48 × 105
9.00 × 104 1.32 1.66 × 105
1.00 × 105 1.47 1.85 × 105
1.61 × 105 2.36 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 20.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.00353 250
80.0 0.00371 263
90.0 0.00418 296
100 0.00464 329
200 0.00928 657
300 0.0139 986
400 0.0186 1310
500 0.0232 1640
600 0.0278 1970
700 0.0325 2300
800 0.0371 2630
900 0.0418 2960
1000 0.0464 3290
2000 0.0928 6570
3000 0.139 9860
4000 0.186 1.31 × 104
5000 0.232 1.64 × 104
6000 0.278 1.97 × 104
7000 0.325 2.30 × 104
8000 0.371 2.63 × 104
9000 0.418 2.96 × 104
1.00 × 104 0.464 3.29 × 104
2.00 × 104 0.928 6.57 × 104
3.00 × 104 1.39 9.86 × 104
4.00 × 104 1.86 1.31 × 105
5.00 × 104 2.32 1.64 × 105
6.00 × 104 2.78 1.97 × 105
7.00 × 104 3.25 2.30 × 105
8.00 × 104 3.71 2.63 × 105
9.00 × 104 4.18 2.96 × 105
9.04 × 104 4.20 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 25.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.00861 390
80.0 0.00906 411
90.0 0.0102 462
100 0.0113 513
200 0.0227 1030
300 0.0340 1540
400 0.0453 2050
500 0.0567 2570
600 0.0680 3080
700 0.0793 3590
800 0.0906 4110
900 0.102 4620
1000 0.113 5130
2000 0.227 1.03 × 104
3000 0.340 1.54 × 104
4000 0.453 2.05 × 104
5000 0.567 2.57 × 104
6000 0.680 3.08 × 104
7000 0.793 3.59 × 104
8000 0.906 4.11 × 104
9000 1.02 4.62 × 104
1.00 × 104 1.13 5.13 × 104
2.00 × 104 2.27 1.03 × 105
3.00 × 104 3.40 1.54 × 105
4.00 × 104 4.53 2.05 × 105
5.00 × 104 5.67 2.57 × 105
5.79 × 104 6.56 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 30.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.0179 562
80.0 0.0188 591
90.0 0.0211 665
100 0.0235 739
200 0.0470 1480
300 0.0705 2220
400 0.0940 2960
500 0.117 3700
600 0.141 4440
700 0.164 5180
800 0.188 5910
900 0.211 6650
1000 0.235 7390
2000 0.470 1.48 × 104
3000 0.705 2.22 × 104
4000 0.940 2.96 × 104
5000 1.17 3.70 × 104
6000 1.41 4.44 × 104
7000 1.64 5.18 × 104
8000 1.88 5.91 × 104
9000 2.11 6.65 × 104
1.00 × 104 2.35 7.39 × 104
2.00 × 104 4.70 1.48 × 105
3.00 × 104 7.05 2.22 × 105
4.00 × 104 9.40 2.96 × 105
4.02 × 104 9.44 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 40.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.0564 999
80.0 0.0594 1050
90.0 0.0668 1180
100 0.0743 1310
200 0.149 2630
300 0.223 3940
400 0.297 5260
500 0.371 6570
600 0.446 7890
700 0.520 9200
800 0.594 1.05 × 104
900 0.668 1.18 × 104
1000 0.743 1.31 × 104
2000 1.49 2.63 × 104
3000 2.23 3.94 × 104
4000 2.97 5.26 × 104
5000 3.71 6.57 × 104
6000 4.46 7.89 × 104
7000 5.20 9.20 × 104
8000 5.94 1.05 × 105
9000 6.68 1.18 × 105
1.00 × 104 7.43 1.31 × 105
2.00 × 104 14.9 2.63 × 105
2.26 × 104 16.8 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 50.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.138 1560
80.0 0.145 1640
90.0 0.163 1850
100 0.181 2050
200 0.363 4110
300 0.544 6160
400 0.725 8220
500 0.906 1.03 × 104
600 1.09 1.23 × 104
700 1.27 1.44 × 104
800 1.45 1.64 × 104
900 1.63 1.85 × 104
1000 1.81 2.05 × 104
2000 3.63 4.11 × 104
3000 5.44 6.16 × 104
4000 7.25 8.22 × 104
5000 9.06 1.03 × 105
6000 10.9 1.23 × 105
7000 12.7 1.44 × 105
8000 14.5 1.64 × 105
9000 16.3 1.85 × 105
1.00 × 104 18.1 2.05 × 105
1.45 × 104 26.2 2.97 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 60.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.286 2250
80.0 0.301 2370
90.0 0.338 2660
100 0.376 2960
200 0.752 5910
300 1.13 8870
400 1.50 1.18 × 104
500 1.88 1.48 × 104
600 2.26 1.77 × 104
700 2.63 2.07 × 104
800 3.01 2.37 × 104
900 3.38 2.66 × 104
1000 3.76 2.96 × 104
2000 7.52 5.91 × 104
3000 11.3 8.87 × 104
4000 15.0 1.18 × 105
4840 18.2 1.43 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 70.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.529 3060
80.0 0.557 3220
90.0 0.627 3620
100 0.696 4030
200 1.39 8050
300 2.09 1.21 × 104
400 2.79 1.61 × 104
500 3.48 2.01 × 104
600 4.18 2.42 × 104
700 4.88 2.82 × 104
800 5.57 3.22 × 104
900 6.27 3.62 × 104
1000 6.96 4.03 × 104
2000 13.9 8.05 × 104
2610 18.2 1.05 × 105
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 80.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 0.903 4000
80.0 0.950 4210
90.0 1.07 4730
100 1.19 5260
200 2.38 1.05 × 104
300 3.56 1.58 × 104
400 4.75 2.10 × 104
500 5.94 2.63 × 104
600 7.13 3.15 × 104
700 8.32 3.68 × 104
800 9.50 4.21 × 104
900 10.7 4.73 × 104
1000 11.9 5.26 × 104
1530 18.2 8.06 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 90.0 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 1.45 5060
80.0 1.52 5320
90.0 1.71 5990
100 1.90 6650
200 3.81 1.33 × 104
300 5.71 2.00 × 104
400 7.61 2.66 × 104
500 9.52 3.33 × 104
600 11.4 3.99 × 104
700 13.3 4.66 × 104
800 15.2 5.32 × 104
900 17.1 5.99 × 104
957 18.2 6.37 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 100 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 2.20 6240
80.0 2.32 6570
90.0 2.61 7390
100 2.90 8220
200 5.80 1.64 × 104
300 8.70 2.46 × 104
400 11.6 3.29 × 104
500 14.5 4.11 × 104
600 17.4 4.93 × 104
628 18.2 5.16 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 125 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 5.38 9760
80.0 5.67 1.03 × 104
90.0 6.37 1.16 × 104
100 7.08 1.28 × 104
200 14.2 2.57 × 104
257 18.2 3.30 × 104
Steel I Beam: W18 × 76 (Wide Flange 18 inch tall × 76 lbf/ft)
L = 150 ft
P (lbf/ft) w_max (in) stress_max (psi)
76.0 11.2 1.40 × 104
80.0 11.7 1.48 × 104
90.0 13.2 1.66 × 104
100 14.7 1.85 × 104
124 18.2 2.29 × 104
Additional Information
Related Pages
FREE Publications
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.

Essentials of Manufacturing

Information, coverage of important developments and expert commentary in manufacturing.

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