Preliminary steel lintel selection from opening width, supported wall and floor/roof loads, bearing length, section properties and serviceability limits.
Opening and Lintel Geometry
The lintel is modeled as a simply supported member spanning the opening. Bearing length is included for total lintel length and bearing pressure screening.
Supported Loads
Wall dead load is converted to a line load using wall thickness and the entered wall load width factor. Floor/roof and additional loads are entered directly as line loads.
Steel Section Screening Properties
Ready to screen the candidate lintel.
Preliminary Lintel Result
Preliminary Screening Result
—
Lintel Length
—
overall
Max Moment
—
kN·m
Shear
—
kN
Deflection
—
mm
Governing Utilization
—
screening
Lintel Screening Summary
Applied Load
Wall dead load—
Floor / roof load—
Additional line load—
Lintel self-weight—
Total line load—
Member Response
Maximum bending moment—
Maximum shear—
Allowable bending stress—
Calculated bending stress—
Allowable deflection—
Detailed Lintel Checks
Check
Demand
Limit
Utilization
Status
Steel Lintel Preview
Steel lintel
Opening span
The diagram is a simplified lintel planning illustration and is not a structural drawing.
Lintel Load Calculation
For preliminary screening, wall dead load is converted into a line load using the wall thickness and entered load width factor.
wwall =
qwall × twall × F
The total preliminary line load is the sum of wall load, floor or roof load, additional load and lintel self-weight.
w =
wwall +
wfloor +
wadditional +
wself
Bending Screening
For a simply supported lintel carrying a uniformly distributed load, the preliminary maximum moment is:
Mmax = wL² / 8
The corresponding bending stress is estimated from the section modulus:
fb = M / Z
The allowable screening stress is calculated as the entered steel yield strength multiplied by the allowable stress factor.
Deflection Screening
The preliminary midspan deflection for a simply supported member under a uniform load is estimated as:
δ = 5wL⁴ / 384EI
The allowable deflection is:
δallow = L / Deflection Limit
Bearing Screening
The reaction at each end of a simply supported lintel under uniform loading is approximately half of the total load.
R = wL / 2
The simplified bearing pressure is estimated from the reaction divided by the bearing area.
pb = R / (Bearing Length × Wall Thickness)
This is only a preliminary bearing-pressure screen and does not replace masonry, concrete or support-specific bearing design.
How to Use the Tool
Enter the clear opening width.
Enter the proposed bearing length at each end.
Enter the wall thickness and supported wall load.
Add floor, roof or other line loads where applicable.
Enter the candidate steel section's section modulus and moment of inertia.
Set the steel strength and screening factors.
Run the calculation to compare bending, deflection, shear and bearing-pressure results.
Important Limitations
This is a preliminary steel lintel size screening tool.
It does not automatically select a commercial steel section from a database.
It does not perform complete structural design.
It assumes a simply supported lintel and simplified uniformly distributed loading.
It does not determine the actual load path above an opening.
It does not account automatically for masonry arching or load distribution effects.
It does not check lateral-torsional buckling.
It does not check local buckling or section classification.
It does not check web crippling or concentrated bearing.
It does not design masonry, concrete or steel supports.
It does not design connections or anchors.
It does not account for construction-stage loads unless they are entered.
It does not automatically apply jurisdiction-specific load combinations.
Actual lintel requirements depend on the building system, materials above the opening, support conditions and governing structural standard.
Engineering warning: Use this result for preliminary sizing and comparison only. Final lintel selection must be verified by a qualified structural designer using the actual load path, support conditions, steel section properties, stability checks, bearing requirements and applicable design standard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Steel Lintel Size Screening Tool calculate?
It screens a proposed steel lintel against simplified bending, shear, deflection and bearing-pressure criteria.
What information is needed?
The main inputs are opening width, bearing length, wall thickness, supported loads and the candidate section's section modulus and moment of inertia.
Does it include wall load?
Yes. A wall dead-load intensity can be converted into a line load using wall thickness and the entered load-width factor.
Does it check deflection?
Yes. It calculates simplified midspan deflection and compares it with the selected span-to-deflection limit.
Does it check bearing?
Yes. It provides a simplified bearing-pressure screen based on the end reaction, bearing length and wall thickness.
Can this tool choose the final lintel?
No. Final lintel design requires complete structural analysis, section stability, support design, load-path verification and applicable code checks.