Historically a beam is a squared timber, but may also be made of metal, stone, or a combination of wood and metal such as a flitch beam. Any structural element, in any orientation, that primarily resists loads applied laterally across the element's axis is a beam. However, any structure may contain beams, such as automobile frames, aircraft components, machine frames, and other mechanical or structural systems. Beams are characterized by their manner of support, profile (shape of cross-section), equilibrium conditions, length, and material.īeams are traditionally descriptions of building or civil engineering structural elements, where the beams are horizontal and carry vertical loads. Its mode of deflection is primarily by bending, as loads produce reaction forces at the beam's support points and internal bending moments, shear, stresses, strains, and deflections. Structural element capable of withstanding loads by resisting bending A statically determinate beam, bending (sagging) under a uniformly distributed loadĪ beam is a structural element that primarily resists loads applied laterally across the beam's axis (an element designed to carry a load pushing parallel to its axis would be a strut or column).
