Simple Beam Behavior

(by Prof. Dr. Chris H. Luebkeman with Eric Ngai and Elton Ng)

This JAVA Applet illustrates the way in which various parameters effect the behavior of a simply supported beam with a uniformly distributed load. These are the most common types of beams found in traditional methods of construction. The applet shows how changing the beam cross-sectional geometry and/or material can effect the shear, moment and deflection of the beam. The length and amount of load can also be varied.

NOTE: There are times when this applet needs a littel extra time to catch up with the changes that you have made with the parameters....so have a little patience with it if your machine takes some time to figure things out.


If do not see the applet, then please upgrade your browser to be able to view JAVA applets. This can be done by downloading the plug-in found here.