Why does the Beam program sometimes give inconsistent results?
In extreme circumstances, the results may be incorrect due to truncate errors during matrix inversion. If a number of beam spans were defined and there is significant stiffeness difference (EI/L) among the spans, the error is accumulated during the solution process. The default moment of inertia (I) for beam sections is 1.0, adjust this value may eliminate the errors. Another reason might be that the number of element divisions is too small (it is done automatically by the program). Manully divide the beam section into two will solve the problem. As we have all learnt in the school, more elements usually lead to more accurate finite element results.
