What is a Beam and What are the Building Structure of the Beam?

We often see the buildings and bridges which are made of steels and concrete elements, sometimes the bridges and the buildings are a way too high and we often wonder how is it possible or are they safe? Well high and tall buildings and creative bridges are not a new thing today but it is new for the ones who are just starting out as a civil engineer or architects or even if it is for a general knowledge purpose we should know the basics of building structure as you can use this knowledge while purchasing a flat or an apartment.

The basic structure of Building: The basic components of any building are its Foundation, Floors, Walls, Beams, Columns, Roof, Stair, etc. These elements are the core foundation of the building and they serve as a purpose of supporting the building or a bridge for instance.

---

Advertisement

---

Basic elements of a Building Structure:

1. Roof
2. Parapet
3. Lintels
4. Beams
5. Columns
6. Damp-proof course(DPC)
7. Walls
8. Floor
9. Stairs
10. Plinth Beam
11. Foundation
12. Plinth

In this article we will be focusing on the Beam:

What is Beam:

The beam is long and a sturdy piece of square metal employ to support the roof or floor of a building. They are the horizontal members of the building components. All the elements involved in the process have their vitality and utility. There are various effects of the loading on the beam. With the pressure they develop the tension and compression in their flanges, Due to the external load, the beam will bend and take a curved shape. A Beam involved three types of bending:

1. Lateral Bending
2. Torsional Bending
3. Vertical Bending.
4. There are different patterns of bending a beam.
5. Sagging- When a beam bends downwards it is sagging.
6. Hogging– When a beam bend upwards then it is hogging.

Geometrical forms of Beams:

1. Rectangular cross-section
2. T Cross Section
3. I Cross Section
4. Triangular cross-section
5. Circular Cross Section
6. Channel Cross Section

Types of Beams:

1. 1. According to end support-

• Simply Supported beam- Simply beams are supported at both ends but they undergo both shear stress and bending moment.

• Continuous Beams: In this type of beam there are more than two supports are used. It is often used for the long bridges.

• Overhanging Beams: In this type of beam the one end is usually hanging and it supports by the middle as a result.

• Cantilever Beams: This beam is fix from the one end and opens from the other and this is often employ in the bridges and trusses because this beam carries a lot of overloads and undergoes both bending and shear stress.

• Fixed Beam: As the name suggests it is fix from both angles and from both front because it doesn’t undergo any bending pressure.

2. According to Cross Section

• I Beam: This type of beam has I Cross-section and it is highly resistant in nature.

• T Beam: It has a T cross-section.

In this article, we have discussed what is beam and what are its types. In case of any query or doubt please do let us know by commenting down below and if you liked it, then please do share and recommend it to others who are seeking the same kind of solution.