Beam Calculations

Imagine wrapping a bit of string around it so that it touched the surface all the way round. The surface area of the beam is the length of the string x the length of the beam.

(You can work out the length the string would be from the dimensions of the beam - just do a sketch of the cross-section, write down the lengths of all the lines & add 'em up).

Which formula? There is more than one, depending on what properties are to be calculated. As a practical matter you look up the relevant properties in a table of standard structural shapes, such the manual of the AISC (American Institite of Steel Construction).

Fe+C+Impurities.

Ha-ha! But what if it's a timber or reinforced concrete beam?

By changing the title of the thread, you've changed the context. The content of the original post does not state that the area of the beam was required - area was only mentioned in the original title.

If you see this, please feel free to delete it, and change the thread title accordingly (^{_{so that the people who responded to the original request don't look like a bunch of w**kers}}).