I-Beam

An industrial feature often seen in construction work where the beam is composed of two parallel horizontal flat surfaces connected by another horizontal component that connects them together, so that if you were to take a cross section it would resemble the letter I with the serifs. These beams are very strong because of the way they are constructed. The two parallel elements resist bending movement while the connecting piece resists sheer stress, which allows the beam to handle a variety of loads.