Wood Beam Span Calculator

Wood Beam Span Calculator

Example Usage:

To calculate the example provided on the Omni Calculator’s Wood Beam Span page:

Beam Specifications:

  • Wood Species: Select structural Douglas Fir Larch
  • Size: 2″ x 10″ (actual dimensions 1.5″ x 9.5″)
  • Span: 8 feet (96 inches)
  • Load: 240 pounds per foot (20 pounds per inch)

Deflection Calculation:

  • Modulus of Elasticity (E): 1,900,000 psi
  • Area Moment of Inertia (I): (1.5 x 9.53) / 12 = 107.17 in4
  • Deflection (δ): (5 × 20 × 964) / (384 × 1900000 × 107.17) = 0.10862 in

Bending Stress Calculation:

  • Moment (M): (20 × 962) / 8 = 23040 lbf-in
  • Section Modulus (S): (1.5 × 9.52) / 6 = 22.563 in3
  • Actual Bending Stress (fb): 23040 / 22.563 = 1021.2 psi
  • Adjusted Allowable Bending Stress (Fb‘): 1500 × 0.711 = 1066.4 psi

Shear Stress Calculation:

  • Actual Shear Stress (fv): (20 × 96) / (2 × 1.5 × 9.5) = 67.37 psi
  • Adjusted Allowable Shear Stress (Fv‘): 180 × 0.97 × 0.8 = 139.68 psi