Wide Flange Beam Calculator for wide flange beam dimensions and section properties including second area moment of inertia, section modulus and radius of gyration.
The wide flange beam (W shape) is a structural steel shape with I (or H) form. Top and bottom plates of a I beam are named as flanges and the vertical plate which connects the flanges is named as web. In wide flange I beams, flanges are nearly parallel to each other.
Wide flange beams are most commonly used structural steel shape in construction works. Materials of wide flange beams are generally structural steels such as A36, A572, A588 and A992.
The designation of the wide flange beam gives information about the width and weight per unit length. For example W12 X 96 means 12 inches depth and 96 pounds per foot weight per unit length. Depth values are generally approximate. For W12 x 96, actual depth value is 12.71. Therefore the actual depth value is a dimension that must be checked while designing a structural steel system.
The dimensions of the standard wide flange beams are defined in the annex of ASTM A 6/A 6M standard.
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Note: * The fillet radius , which is used to calculate the sectional properties (Ixx, Iyy, Sxx..) of the structural wide flange beam, is a calculated value to have an area which equals to the area value that is given in the ASTM A6 / A6M. Fillet radius may vary from structural steel fabricator to fabricator but the effect of this change on sectional properties will be minor.