Structural Calculators
A set of free calculators for preliminary structural steel design to Eurocode 3, covering everything from combining loads through to member sizing, connection design, and fire protection. Several tools can pass values straight through to the next one in your workflow via "Continue with these values" links, so you don't have to re-enter the same numbers twice.
Standards used across these tools: BS EN 1990 (Basis of structural design) · BS EN 1992-1-1 (Eurocode 2, concrete) · BS EN 1993-1-1 (Eurocode 3, general rules) · BS EN 1993-1-2 (Eurocode 3, fire design) · BS EN 1993-1-8 (Eurocode 3, design of joints) · BS EN 10025-2 (steel product properties) — together with their UK National Annexes.
These tools provide preliminary, indicative results only, intended to assist with initial sizing and understanding. They are not a substitute for assessment by a qualified structural engineer. Always have final designs checked and signed off by a suitably qualified and experienced structural engineer before construction.
1. Loads & Sizing
Start here - work out your design loads and get a rough first size before checking a real section.
2. Member Design
Check an actual section's properties, classification, and capacity in bending, shear, or compression.
Section Property
Geometric properties (Area, I, Z, S, r) for a custom symmetric I/H section.
Section Classification
Classify a section (Class 1-3) under bending and/or compression, per EC3 Table 5.2.
Beam Analysis
Check bending, shear, and deflection for a simply supported or cantilever beam.
Column Buckling & Torsion
Check cross-section compression and flexural buckling resistance for a column.
3. Connections
Size the joints that hold your members together - base plates, bolts, and welds.
Base Plate Connection
Check bearing pressure, plate thickness, and anchor bolt shear for a column base.
Bolted Connections
Check shear, bearing, tension, and combined resistance for a single structural bolt.
Fillet Welds
Check a fillet weld's design resistance using the simplified method (EC3 4.5.3.3).
4. Fire Protection
Get the section factor your fire protection supplier needs to select a coating or board thickness.
All calculators on this page provide preliminary, indicative structural calculations only, intended to assist with initial sizing and understanding. They are not a substitute for assessment by a qualified structural engineer, and cad-steel.co.uk accepts no responsibility for their use in any final design.