Home >> Science & Nature >> Science

How to Determine the Kips of a Steel Beam

A kip is a unit of force equal to 1,000 pounds-force. Force is a property of physical interactions, which causes the velocity of objects to change. Steel beams are widely used in construction. Best construction practice requires an understanding of the way forces are distributed within structures. It is important that construction engineers know how to calculate the force exerted by the components of a structure due to the gravitational pull of the Earth.

Things You'll Need

Scientific calculator.
The volume of your steel beam.
Engineering data book.

Instructions

- 1
  Multiply the volume of your steel beam by the density of steel. The density of steel can be found in your engineering data book. This result is the mass of the beam. Make a note of this result.
- 2
  Multiply the mass by standard gravity. If you are using U.S. customary units the value of standard gravity is 32.2 feet per second squared. If you are using metric measurements the value of standard gravity is 9.81 meters per second squared. This is the force of the beam due to gravity. Make a note of the result.
- 3
  Multiply the force of the beam due to gravity by the scaling factor necessary to convert it into kips. If you are using U.S. customary units, divide the force due to gravity by 1,000. If you are using metric measurements and have the force due to gravity in newtons, divide the force due to gravity by 4448.22. In either case the result will be the force due to gravity of the beam in kips.

Science