![Steel Beam Design 1 Steel Beam Design](https://excel.civilmdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Steel-Beam-Design.png)
A beam is a structural element that primarily resists loads applied laterally to the beam’s axis (an element designed to carry primarily axial load would be a strut or column). Its mode of deflection is primarily by bending. The loads applied to the beam result in reaction forces at the beam’s support points.