Certain framing conditions automatically limit the effective flange width of a beam. If any segment of slab along a beam is a slab edge, the beam is considered an edge beam, and the contribution from that side of the beam to the effective flange width is limited to the distance to the slab edge.

Effective flange width can also be limited by modeling a penetration near a beam. For penetrations near the midspan of a beam, the effective flange width on that side of the beam is limited to the distance from the beam centerline to the edge of the penetration. For penetrations located near the ends of the beam, an algorithm is employed which determines the approximate influence of the penetration on the effective flange width. Thus a penetration near the midspan may have a greater influence on the effective flange width than a penetration near the end.