Learn how to model and design the cross section and reinforcement of an RC beam in Eagle Eye RC Beam Section. This app gives detailed design results, generates a detailed Design Report, and also shows flowchart calculations.

When you open Eagle Eye RC Beam Section, the workspace is divided into three main areas:

• Left Panel — Parameters & Preferences: Use this panel to define all input parameters, including Project Information, General Design Parameters, Material Properties, Section Properties, Design Actions, and Reinforcement Specifications.

• Center Area — Section, Report, and Flowchart: Displays the visualization of the beam section, the detailed Design Report, and the step-by-step design flowchart calculations.

• Right Panel — Design, Properties, and BOQ: This panel displays the design output, including Provided Reinforcement, Flexure Design, Shear Design, and Torsion Design results for the selected beam station. The Properties section shows cross-sectional properties and section bounds. BOQ displays Material Unit Weights and Embodied Carbon Results.

The first thing to do when starting a new project is to choose your unit system. You’ll find the Units dropdown at the top of the Parameters panel on the left side of the screen.

Eagle Eye RC Beam Section supports three unit systems: SI, US, and Metric. Pick the one that matches your project requirements.

Expand the Project Information section in the Parameters panel to fill in the project details. Enter the Company Name, Company Details, and upload a Company Logo. Then provide the Model Name, Project Name, Project Owner, Project Designer, and Project Location. This information will appear in the generated report.

In the General Design Parameters section of the Parameters panel, set the design code and reduction factors for your project.

Design Code Select your desired design code from the dropdown. Eagle Eye RC Beam Section currently supports three design codes:

• ACI 318-19

• Eurocode 2

• IS 456:2000

Reduction Factors Once a design code is selected, the relevant factors of safety will be set automatically. You can adjust these values as needed for your project

The Material Properties section displays the concrete and steel rebar strength values for your beam section.

The following properties are available:

Concrete Strength, f’_c — the compressive strength of concrete

Yield Strength, f_y — the yield strength of the longitudinal steel rebar

Stirrup Strength, f_ys — the yield strength of the stirrup steel

In the Section Properties section, define the cross-sectional shape and dimensions of RC beam.

Section Shape Choose from three available cross-section types:

• Rectangular — a standard rectangular beam section

• T Section — a T-shaped section with a flange and web

• L Section — an L-shaped section with an asymmetric flange

In the Design Actions section, specify the loading conditions for the beam design.

The Design / Investigate option allows you to choose between two modes:

• Design — Design a new beam section based on the applied loads.

• Investigate — Investigate the capacity of an existing beam section.

Enter the following design load values:

• Mᵤ — The factored bending moment applied to the section.

• Vᵤ — The factored shear force applied to the section.

• Pᵤ — The factored axial force applied to the section.

• Tᵤ — The factored torsional moment applied to the section.

In the Reinforcement Specifications section, define the concrete cover and reinforcement details for the beam section.

Concrete Cover
Enter the Top Clear Cover, Bottom Clear Cover, and Side Clear Cover dimensions for the beam section.

Rebar Input Mode
In Investigation mode, the Rebar Input Mode dropdown allows you to choose how reinforcement is specified. In Automatic mode, additional fields for rebar counts for bottom, top, and web bars, as well as stirrup spacing, become available. In Custom mode, each bar is defined individually by entering its diameter and X, Y coordinates within the cross-section, with additional bars added using the + button.

Reinforcement Details
Select the Rebar Set matching your regional standard, then specify the Bottom Rebar Size, Top Rebar Size, and Web Rebar Size from the respective dropdowns.

Stirrup Details
Enter the Number of Stirrup Legs and select the Stirrup Bar Size. In Investigation mode, the Stirrup Spacing (s) field also becomes available.

Click the Preferences tab at the top of the left panel to access additional settings for graphics, frame type, design options, and report configuration.

Graphics

Text Size — adjusts the font size of labels and annotations displayed in the visualizations.

Frame

Frame Type — specify whether the beam is part of a Non-Sway or a Sway Frame. This setting is important for seismic design considerations, as selecting a Sway Frame will apply additional detailing requirements to the beam design in accordance with the selected design code.

Others

Use Centroid Cover — When checked, the cover values defined in the Reinforcement Specifications are measured from the center of the rebar to the nearest face of the beam (top, bottom, or side), rather than from the outer edge of the bar

Minimum Moment — when checked, an additional column for minimum moment requirements will be included in the Forces table.

Shear Design

In the Shear Design section, use the ρ based on dropdown to specify how the reinforcement ratio is calculated for shear design. Computed As uses the theoretically calculated stirrup area, Required As uses the minimum required stirrup area per the design code, and Provided As uses the actual stirrup area provided in the section.

Reports

In the Reports section, control which sections are included in the generated design report by toggling the available checkboxes.

The Section view in the center area updates in real time, reflecting any changes made in the Parameters panel. Once the section geometry, loading, and reinforcement details are finalized, click the Design button at the top of the Parameters panel to perform the design. If the mode is set to Investigate, the button will read Investigate instead.

The right panel displays a summary of the design output, organized into the following sections:

Provided Reinforcement — Shows the total rebar areas for the bottom, top, and web reinforcement, the stirrup area per spacing (Aᵥ/s), and the final bar arrangement for each rebar group and stirrups.

Flexure Design — Displays the flexure design status and the design type (singly or doubly reinforced). The rebar areas for both top and bottom reinforcement are reported in three values: the Computed area is calculated based on the applied design forces; the Minimum area is the minimum rebar area required by the design code; and the Required area is the governing value, taken as the greater of the computed and minimum values.

Shear Design — Shows the shear design status, the factored concrete shear capacity (φVc), and the computed, minimum, and required stirrup area per spacing (Aᵥ/s).

Torsion Design — Displays the torsion design status, the factored threshold torsion (φTₜₕ), the factored torsional cracking moment (φT_cr), the required torsion stirrup area per spacing (Aₜ/s), and the required longitudinal torsion rebar area (Aₗ).

Each section shows a PASSED or FAILED status indicating whether the provided reinforcement satisfies the design requirements.

When the Investigate mode is used, the right panel displays additional capacity results alongside the provided reinforcement. The following sections are shown:

Flexure Capacity — Shows the Design Bending Moment (Mᵤ), the Flexural Moment Capacity (φMₙ), and the Demand/Capacity Ratio for moment. A Demand/Capacity (D/C) ratio of 1.0 or less indicates that the section has sufficient capacity to resist the applied loads.

Shear Capacity — Shows the Design Shear Force (Vᵤ), the Shear Capacity (Vₙ), and the Demand/Capacity Ratio for shear.

Torsion Capacity — Shows the Design Torsional Moment (Tᵤ), the Torsion Capacity (φTₙ), and the Demand/Capacity Ratio for torsion.

A Demand/Capacity (D/C) ratio of 1.0 or less indicates that the section has sufficient capacity to resist the applied loads.

Displays the computed geometric properties of the beam cross-section, organized into three groups — Basic Properties (area, shear area, moments of inertia, torsional constant), Section Bounds (centroid location, total width and height), and Additional Properties (radii of gyration, elastic and plastic section moduli).

The BOQ tab shows the unit weights of concrete and steel per meter length of the beam, along with the embodied carbon footprint for concrete, reinforcing steel, and formwork, and the Total Embodied Carbon.

Click the Report tab in the center area to generate the design report. The report is organized into sections covering the Summary Report, Investigate or Design Calculations (Flexure, Shear, and Torsion), and Quantities & Embodied Carbon. Use the dropdown at the top to switch between a Full Report or a Summary Report. The report can be printed directly from the toolbar.

The Flowchart tab is a unique feature that visually presents the complete sequence of the design process, showing each calculation step with the actual computed results. Users can switch between the flowcharts for Flexure, Shear, and Torsion design using the dropdown at the top. A Sequence Animation feature steps through the flowchart progressively, making it easy to trace every formula applied during the design which is an effective tool for understanding and verifying the full design process step by step.

Clicking the Moment Curvature button in the top right corner of the Section view opens the Moment Curvature app, which provides further details on the moment-curvature relationship and stress plots for the designed beam section. For more information, refer to the Beam Moment-Curvature Tutorial document.

We hope this tutorial helps you get the most out of the Eagle Eye RC Beam Section app.