Monolithic Beams are structural elements where a beam and a slab are cast together in a single pour to behave as an integrated unit.
In Prokon SUMO, users often need to apply various loads, such as floating line loads, point loads, hosted line load (beam distributed load) or beam point load, as they would for regular beams. However, when it comes to monolithic beams, certain limitations exist.
In Prokon SUMO, the following load types are common:
- Floating Loads – Loads applied independently of the host element, such as line loads or point loads. These include floating

- Hosted Loads – Loads directly attached to structural components like beam distributed loads or beam point loads.

Load Application on Monolithic Beams
For monolithic beams, floating line loads cannot be applied, unlike floating point loads. Attempting to do so will produce the following error message:
“Monolithic beams do not support line loads.”

Alternative Solutions
If one need to simulate a floating line load on a monolithic beam, consider the following workarounds:
- Replace the Non-Slab Portion with a Normal Beam:
- If part of the monolithic beam does not interact with the slab, replace this section with a normal beam.
- This allows you to apply a floating line load to the normal beam while retaining the monolithic behavior elsewhere.
- Split the Line Load into Equivalent Point Loads:
- Divide the floating line load into multiple point loads applied at intervals along the beam.
- This effectively mimics the distribution of a line load while avoiding the software limitation.
By implementing these workarounds, one can overcome the limitation of applying floating line load to a monolithic beam in Prokon SUMO. These methods allow one to maintain the structural integrity of the model while achieving the desired load application.

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