Beam arrangements
Model single-span, continuous, cantilever, and overhanging beams with multiple, editable supports.
ALDERSON BEAMS
The World's Fastest Beam Calculator.
Check, size, and report steel beams across AISC 360 and CSA S16, with the full calculation behind every result.
Everything you need to check the beam
Beam modelling
Support geometry
Enter actual support positions and bearing lengths so reactions and bearing checks reflect the real condition.
Plain-language station input
Place loads and objects with expressions like L/2 or 6 feet from right instead of raw coordinates.
Section libraries
Choose CISC, AISC, or office built-up sections and custom materials, with their source recorded.
Stability and bracing
Segmented bracing
Divide the beam into the actual stability segments used by the design check, not one global length.
Directional flange restraint
Declare top and bottom flange restraint independently for uplift, moment reversal, and changing compression zones.
Automatic moment-gradient factors
Calculate Cb for every unbraced segment and retain the basis with the result.
Governing bracing result
See the controlling segment, location, and load case together.
Loads and combinations
Load types
Enter distributed, point, moment, and area loads, including tapered and joist-reaction loads.
Load categories
Keep dead, live, snow, wind, and seismic loads distinct through calculation and reporting.
Construction-stage loading
Apply loads before or after composite action, with sustained percentages for long-term response.
Code combinations
Generate ASCE 7-22 or NBC 2020 combinations, or define your own, with a full derivation record.
Linked-beam workflow
Linked reactions
Use a finalized support reaction in another beam without re-entering the value or losing its calculation lineage.
Stale-result detection
Know immediately when an upstream beam has changed and a linked reaction needs recalculating.
Dependency protection
Circular dependencies are blocked, and beams supplying active reactions cannot be archived unsafely.
Structural analysis
Full response set
Calculate reactions, shear, moment, and deflection in one pass.
Signed envelopes
Inspect positive and negative envelopes with the governing combination and exact location.
Staged stiffness
Represent changing stiffness across construction stages instead of only the final condition.
Model diagnostics
Get an explicit failure when a model is unstable or outside supported scope.
Canadian steel design
CSA S16:19 checks
Check flexure, lateral-torsional buckling, shear, and shear-moment interaction on the installed Canadian design path.
Bearing and stiffener checks
Check web and bearing limit states, with automatic stiffener recovery where supported.
Section optimization
Search CISC sections using the same checker that verifies your final design.
Section provenance
See the CISC dataset identity behind every property used in the calculation.
AISC steel design
Flexural classification
Check yielding, lateral-torsional buckling, and flange or web local buckling, including supported noncompact and slender-web cases.
Shear-moment interaction
Check web shear and combined shear-moment response together.
Concentrated-force checks
Check web local yielding and web crippling where they apply.
Serviceability with uplift
Check deflection alongside wind uplift and moment reversal in one pass.
Composite beams
Composite design paths
Use CSA, AISC LRFD, or AISC ASD composite design matched to your project standard.
Deck and slab modelling
Model solid slabs, supported deck profiles, and asymmetric spacing or slab edges.
Stud layout
Set stud count and spacing yourself, or let Beams optimize for the credited composite action.
Full construction timeline
Check shored or unshored construction, camber, creep, and shrinkage in one workflow.
Web openings
Opening shapes
Place circular, rectangular, square, and obround openings individually or in a series.
Canadian opening checks
Apply installed S16 small-hole safe-harbour checks and CISC Part 5 isolated-opening calculations where supported.
Reinforcement and welds
Use engineer-specified or automatically sized reinforcement and weld design.
Governing location
See the controlling face, location, and mechanism. Unsupported conditions are marked unavailable rather than approximated.
Existing-member strengthening
Cover-plate modelling
Model full-length symmetric flange cover plates with section properties updated automatically.
Weld sizing
Calculate plate-to-flange shear flow and size the supported weld path automatically.
Staged load allocation
Split loads between existing and strengthened stages, with deflections combined correctly.
Section design and optimization
Check vs. design modes
Verify a selected member or run an automatic search without losing track of which result you are reviewing.
Constrained search
Limit candidates by family, depth, weight, or office preferred and excluded lists.
Design alternatives
Compare lightest, shallowest, and lowest-cost options side by side, not one unexplained answer.
Rejection reasons
See why each candidate was ruled out.
Results and diagnostics
Clear result states
See PASS, FAIL, or unavailable. Unsupported checks are never presented as valid.
Demand and resistance shown
Read the actual demand, resistance, and governing ratio together, not just a percentage.
Navigate to the cause
Jump from a governing result straight to the input that drives it.
Traceable calculation path
Inspect the installed code path, assumptions, and data source behind the result.
Reports and engineering records
Configurable detail
Choose how much detail to include while keeping loads, checks, and results connected.
PDF export
Export with project, client, and prepared-by or checked-by fields.
Full lineage
Include combinations, linked reactions, and section provenance automatically.
Immutable calculation history
Pull up any past run exactly as it was calculated, with its engine fingerprint.
Project and office workflow
Multi-beam projects
Create, rename, duplicate, archive, and search beams within a project.
Reusable templates
Save proven beam setups and version section, cost, and template policies across the office.
Autosave and conflict protection
Restore your last session while preventing a stale editor from overwriting a newer revision.
SI and US units
Work in the drawing-native format while calculation values stay canonical.
High-fidelity 3D workspace
Engineering geometry in context
See supports, loads, bracing, deck, studs, and openings together in 3D.
Persistent camera
Keep your view between Member, Loads, Analysis, and Report.
Click-to-edit
Select a physical object and jump directly to the input that defines it.
Speed and keyboard workflow
Keyboard navigation
Move between workspaces and calculate without leaving the keyboard.
Undo, redo, copy, and paste
Reuse supports, bracing, and loads with safe station placement.
Fast by default
Keep routine beam checks fast even as the underlying model gets more complex.
MCP and AI-agent integration
Connect Copilot, Codex, or Claude
Bring standards-compatible AI clients into authorized Beams tools instead of copying engineering data into a disconnected chat.
Project and beam discovery
Authorized agents can list projects and search CISC and AISC section catalogues.
Agent-controlled engineering updates
Let Codex, Claude, or GitHub Copilot update beam inputs while every result still runs through the deterministic Beams engine.
Deterministic reports
Generate printable reports and retrieve authorized resources tied to the calculation record.
Scoped access
Use OAuth scopes, tenant isolation, role enforcement, and audit logs.