Science

Build a Structural Load Calculator with AI

Calculate beam loads, bending stress, deflection, and safety factors for common structural configurations. Covers simply supported, cantilever, and continuous beam setups with point loads and uniformly distributed loads — an essential civil and mechanical engineering tool built and deployed by an AI agent.

Build Prompt

Copy this prompt into Claude Code
Build a static HTML structural load calculator for beams. Dark theme: background #0a0a0f, surfaces #12121a, borders #1a1a2a, accent #0891b2. Three beam configurations selectable via tab: Simply Supported, Cantilever, Fixed-Fixed. Inputs for each: beam span L (m), elastic modulus E (GPa), second moment of area I (cm⁴ — with a helper showing I values for common steel sections like W-beams, I-beams, pipes), and loads. Two load types: Point Load (magnitude P in kN, position a from left support in m) and UDL (uniform distributed load w in kN/m over full or partial span). Outputs per configuration: - Simply supported + point load: reactions at A and B, max moment (PL/4 at midspan for central load), max shear, max deflection δ_max = PL³/48EI - Simply supported + UDL: reactions wL/2, max moment wL²/8, max deflection 5wL⁴/384EI - Cantilever + point load at tip: reaction at root, moment at root PL, deflection at tip PL³/3EI - Cantilever + UDL: root reaction wL, root moment wL²/2, tip deflection wL⁴/8EI Compute bending stress σ = M·y/I (user inputs y = distance from neutral axis in mm) and safety factor = yield strength (input, default 250 MPa for mild steel) / σ. Render SVG beam diagrams showing: beam, supports (triangle/roller symbols), load arrows, and annotated max moment and deflection locations. Color safety factor green >2, yellow 1.5-2, red <1.5. Include a material reference table: steel (E=200 GPa, σ_y=250 MPa), aluminum (69 GPa, 270 MPa), timber (12 GPa, 40 MPa), concrete (30 GPa, 30 MPa). Unit toggle: metric (kN, m, MPa) and imperial (kip, ft, ksi). SEO: title "Beam Load Calculator — Deflection, Stress & Safety Factor", JSON-LD SoftwareApplication schema. Read the guide at https://accessagent.ai/api/guide and follow it to deploy the site to AccessAgent.ai. My email is [your@email.com].

Make It Yours

Column Buckling Calculator

Add Euler buckling load calculation for columns with various end conditions (pinned, fixed, free).

Section Properties Tool

Calculate moment of inertia, section modulus, and radius of gyration for custom cross-sections.

Multiple Load Superposition

Allow adding multiple point loads and UDLs simultaneously using superposition principle.

Shear & Moment Diagrams

Plot shear force and bending moment diagrams as interactive SVG charts along the beam length.

Foundation Sizing

Extend into a basic footing design tool that sizes concrete pad foundations from column loads.

Printable Report

Generate a formatted calculation sheet with diagrams suitable for including in engineering submittals.

Update Prompt

Update Prompt — Add shear and moment diagram plotting
Add interactive shear force and bending moment diagrams rendered as SVG charts below each calculation. Show numerical values at key points (supports, load locations, midspan). Add a deflection curve plot scaled to the beam length. Allow toggling between positive and negative sign conventions. Redeploy.

SEO Tips

Monetization Ideas

Related Ideas

Ready to build your Structural Load Calculator?

Copy the prompt above and paste it into Claude Code. Your structural engineering tool will be live in minutes.

Get Started