Step 6 Calculate the shear strength of the selected beam, and check that the beam will support more shear load than is applied. Example #1 Select the lightest W-beam that will support a uniformly distrib-uted load of 3 kip/ft. on a simply-supported span of 20 ft.and de-flect no more than 0.6 inches. The beam is rolled high-strength, low-alloy steel (HSLA). Steps 1-4 The first few steps are identical to Example #1 because the beam loading and length are the same.ted load of 3 kip/ft. on a simply-supported span of 20 ft. and de-flect no more than 0.6 inches. The beam is rolled high-strength, low-alloy steel (HSLA). Steps 1-4 The first few steps are identical to Example #1 because the beam loading and length are the same.