Abstract: In order to simulate beams and columns during the process of building collapse, a nonlinear beam element with explicit algorithms was studied. Based on the explicit finite element theory, the element adopted the updated Lagrange formulation, considered the non-swapable rotation and applied the Co-Rotational method to separate the deformation displacement and rigid displacement. The material nonlinearity was considered through the stress-update algorithm. The numerical result shows that the beam element used for the engineering numerical simulation has very good mechanical performances.