Day 3 of 11 — Class 3

Beam Practice
Session

Continuous beams, support settlements, and reading moment redistribution. Practice verifying ETABS output against hand calculations.

Practice Continuous Beam Verification Hand Calc Check
01 — Why

Why practice before the next topic?

Modelling skill is built through repetition. Day 3 is specifically a practice day — the goal is speed and confidence, not new theory.

Content Coming Soon Why continuous beams are harder: moment continuity at supports, stiffer response, interior support reactions larger than simple span.
02 — Concept

Continuous beams and moment redistribution

A continuous beam has more reactions than equations — it's statically indeterminate. ETABS solves this with the stiffness method.

Content Coming Soon Indeterminate vs. determinate beams. Negative moments over interior supports. How fixing one end changes the entire moment diagram.
03 — Walkthrough

Practice problems for Day 3

Complete both problems in ETABS, then verify with hand calculations.

Problems Coming Soon Problem 1: Two-span continuous beam (4m + 6m), UDL = 15 kN/m on span 1 only.
Problem 2: Three-span beam with point load at midspan of centre bay. Compare fixed vs. pinned end conditions.
04 — Check Yourself

Can you explain what happened?

Before closing ETABS, answer out loud:

Discussion Prompts Coming Soon Why is the midspan moment in a continuous beam less than wL²/8? Where does the "missing" moment go? What changes if you add a settlement at the interior support?