J. Construct.

Steel Research 25 (1993) 23-41

Design of Steel and Composite Beams with Web Openings

Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, MacDonald
Engineering Building, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2K6

ABSTRACT

Composite or non-composite steel beams containing large web openings are con-
sidered. A general method of analysis suitable for design use is presented and related
to a number of previous studies. Comparisons are made with the results of
experimental research. Detailing of reinforcement and other design considerations
are summarized: the material presented provides all the information necessary for
design.

NOTATION

a Half-length of opening
Af Area of one flange
A~ Area of reinforcement above or below opening
Aw Area of unpefforated web
b Width of flange
b, Effective width of concrete slab
Co Maximum compressive resistance of concrete slab
d Overall depth of steel section
Eccentricity of opening related to mid-depth of steel section
(positive when displaced towards slab)
e[ Offset of reinforcement centroid from opening edge
Concrete cylinder strength
Fy Steel yield strength
F. Ultimate tensile strength of steel
H Half height of opening
M Bending moment

23
J. Construct. Steel Research 0143-974X/93/$06"00 © 1993 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd,
England. Printed in Malta
24 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

Mo, M 'o Composite beam bending resistance with full, partial, shear
connection
n Number of shear connectors between high moment end of
opening and nearest point of zero moment
/1h Number of shear connectors within length of opening
Pf Total normal force in flange
q Design shear force on shear connector
qr Resistance of one shear connector
R Radius of circular opening
S Depth of steel web remaining above or below opening
S Width of web between adjacent openings
ts Thickness of concrete cover slab
To Yield load of net steel section
T, Overall slab thickness (including rib depth)
V Shearing force
Vf Shear force due to factored load
lit Factored shear resistance of the unperforated steel section
)I,, Shear carried by steel above opening
Shear carried by concrete above opening
W Web thickness

Geometrical parameter [3(s/2a) 2]

y Web aspect ratio [2a/st]
x Limit on geometric ratios for web buckling
2 Coefficient giving ultimate strength of concrete in pure shear
r dS'cl
p Parameter locating centroid of reinforcement [ 1 - e , l s ]
tr Normal stress on web
Subscripts t and b refer to regions at the top and bottom of the opening
respectively.

INTRODUCTION

Steel floor framing comprising solid web beams requires the frequent use
of large web openings for the passage of service ducts. Economic solutions
require simple or automated design methods, and minimum fabrication
costs. These costs will be minimized if it can be shown that no reinforce-
ment is necessary; if this is not possible a simple reinforcement configur-
ation allowing straightforward fabrication is needed. Because of the
frequent need for such openings, and their impact on cost (as much as 3%
of frame weight has been used as web hole reinforcement), considerable
 Design of beams with web openings 25

research effort has been devoted to this problem, and this has led to the
publication of a number of design aids. 1-3 In this paper the behaviour of
steel and composite beams with web holes is reviewed and a method of
ultimate strength prediction is summarized and related to the available
design aids.

BEHAVIOUR

Non-composite beams containing a web hole in a region subject to

shearing force typically deform in the way shown in Fig. 1 as their ultimate
strength is approached. Well defined plastic hinges near the hole corners,
combined in some cases with inelastic shearing deformations in the webs
above and below the hole, lead to large relative deflections between its
ends. When a shearing force is present this so-called 'Vierendeel' deforma-
tion occurs at unreinforced openings placed at any height within the web;
it also occurs at holes reinforced by horizontal plates above and below the
hole; it is found to occur under all combinations of moment and shearing
force, the only exception being under pure bending. While the occurrence

Fill. 1. Failure mode of non-composite beam.

26 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

of local flange buckling will normally represent the limit of deformation

at ultimate load, and web buckling will occur in slender webbed beams,
for rolled sections and for most welded beams typical of building frames,
local buckling has little influence on the ultimate strength. For this reason
ultimate strength prediction has been based on plastic design principles
with restrictions related to local buckling having only a minor impact.
Composite beams with web holes, Fig. 2, demonstrate similar Vieren-
deel deformations in the steel section. Two forms of composite beam have
been considered, those with solid slabs and those with ribbed deck
supported slabs. The latter may have ribs oriented longitudinally or

Fig. 2. Failure modes of composite beams: (top) solid slab; (bottom) ribbed slab.
 Design of beams with web openings 27

transversely to the beam. Transverse ribs limit the number of shear

connectors and as a result solid slabs or those with longitudinally oriented
ribs tend to have a greater degree of shear connection. The ultimate
strength of composite beams is associated with slab failure combined
with plastic deformations in the steel similar to that of non-composite
beams. In solid slabs a recognizable reinforced concrete shearing failure
is usually observed and also transverse cracking at the high and low
moment ends of the hole on the top and bottom of the slab, respectively.
In ribbed deck supported slabs, cracking normaly starts near the top
comer of a rib and progresses across the top of the rib and diagonally
upwards to the top of the slab beyond the high moment end of the hole,
as evident in Fig. 2(b). This failure involves the concrete lifting off above
a stud as the slab resists the local Vierendeel bending of the steel beam
section.
The presence of a concrete slab greatly enhances the shear carrying
capacity at a hole. Figure 3 illustrates the increase over the shear carrying
capacity of the steel beam alone. This increase is seen to be related to the
number of shear connectors located between the ends of the hole, nh,
although a significant increase occurs even when nh = 0. These results are
based on a predicted strength for the steel beam when acting non-
compositely since the corresponding test results are not available; any
inaccuracy in such predictions would be minor in comparison with the
large enhancement in shear strength which is demonstrated.

5.5 [
[ Vc~sp= s h o a z 8 t r o n g t h from t e s t •
l Vital = p r o d l o t o d s h o a t s t r o n g t h
4.5 ~ of steel section alone /

~., [ o ° . ~ Lin..r r.gr.,,io.

f ~ o
o o o
I 5~'~o°O • - solld 81abs
o • o - r i b b o d mlab8
/
0.5
0 0.04 0.08 0.12 O.1G 0.20 0.24

(n~/n) (%/d or T,/d}

Fig. 3. Enhancement of shear resistance resulting from composite action.
28 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

Available results of tests on composite beams are summarized else-

where,*-~ and test results for non-composite beams are described in a
number of publications (see for example Ref. 7 for a summary).
The observed behaviour guided the modelling of beams near the
opening as described in the following.

ANALYSIS

The analysis outlined herein is based on the assumption of stresses at the

four sections near the opening corners which are in equilibrium with the
applied loads and which satisfy the yon Mises yield criterion, thus leading
to a lower bound solution. This is the approach taken by a number of
researchers as indicated subsequently. To produce a result amenable to
manual calculation, or even to programming of only moderate complexity,
some simplifications are necessary. Thus, most analytical work has been
directed at identifying two or three points from which a moment-shear
integration diagram can be constructed. As a result, for a given case, when
the applied loads produce a bending moment, M, and shearing force, V,
the section is not analysed under these actual loads but rather the
interaction diagram is constructed, and the particular load combination is
examined to see if it lies within the bounds of the diagram. These analyses
therefore do not produce a set of internal forces corresponding to the
particular applied load, but directly compare the beam resistance with the
applied loading.
Analyses which do provide such particular solutions for non-composite
unreinforced 7 and reinforced beams, 8 and for composite beams, 9't° are in
general complex, and provide only slightly more accurate solutions than
the simplified ones described herein.
Several different forms of interaction diagram have been considered and
are summarized in Fig. 4. They take one of the following forms:

V~ Vx (1)

M---Mt +(Mo-Mt) N/1-(~) 2 V~< Vt (2)

----o[, ("Ylj (3)

 Design of beams with web openings 29

)
Mo Mo

11(v1'"')
vl v1
Fig. 4. Form of interaction diagrams.

In the following, the most general case, that of a composite beam with
a reinforced opening eccentric to the mid-depth of the steel section, is
considered. The coordinates V: and M1 are derived which, together with
the pure bending moment resistance Mo, allow construction of any one of
the three types of diagram.
Consider the region below the hole, as illustrated in Fig. 5(b). Using the
notation of Fig. 5(a), and assuming the flange and reinforcement plate
thickness are small compared with the web depth sb, it is further assumed
that under the action of a shearing force V: the stresses in the web and
the forces in the reinforcement are as shown in Fig. 5(b). Taking moments
about a point in the flange gives

2aVb = 2ArFy(sb erb) -{- 20"(WSbX0"SSb)

- -
(4)
where tT is the normal stress in the web. It is assumed that the reinforce-
ment centroid will be offset only a small distance e,b from the opening
edge. When the web yields

/, :v,y (5)

in which Vpb=WSbFy/J3 , the shear yield capacity of the web.

Rearrangement of eqns (4) and (5) gives

(A , .. ,..
(6)
30 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

• lit
High
moment,
end
£ ,.±4.-':- '"

% hole oago °b
J~r

v. __=L {b}
~ Vb
P~
fllusge

,Vet
/-q /-q==
t-L v lift 2
b ¥,t

ot ho1A_ m.dm.e ot

+ 6C:1: ~ q
"~...-..~ .........................
te
• ........ j~Vct
(4)

Fig. S. Notation and assumed force distributions.

in which ~b = 3(Sb/2a)2 and pb = 1 --e,b/Sb. When A,=aw/~3, Vb= Vpb and

this value of A, is therefore an upper limit on the useful reinforcement area
below the opening, insofar as the shear resistance is affected.
For the region above the hole the shear carried by the steel is denoted
V,t and that in the concrete V,,. The shear yield capacity of this steel
web, Vpt=wstFy/N//3. The stresses assumed in the concrete slab are
shown in Fig. 5(d) where in the compressive regions a normal stress of
0"85f'c acts. The compressive forces Cs and C2 cannot exceed the total
force induced by shear connection through the n and (n-nh) shear
connectors located between the point of zero moment and the high
and low moment ends respectively. A constant shear connector capacity
 Desionof beamswithwebopeninos 31
of q is assumed. Co is the full cover slab compressive capacity, thus
Co=0.85f'¢b,t,.
Taking moments about a point within the flange gives

2a(V,~ + V,,)=2A,Fy(st-en)+2~t(wst)(O.5st)+nq[Ts--O.5-~oq]

--(n--nh)q[T,--h + (n--nh)q t,]

2Co ] (7)

Writing

2a,p,r____, nqt. r r. ,,, 1---+---=--

~-~'~ Vpt + S-~-~ptL[ --nh (8)
n -F t$ H Col n 2n*_J_J

and ~,=2a/st, where pt= 1 - e . / s , , eqn (7) can be arranged to give

(I+~)~-~o= - + ~(I+~,)-~, ' ~t (9)

The relative contributions of concrete and steel to the total shear carded
above the opening cannot be determined unless the details of the forces
transmitted between the slab and steel sections within the length of the
opening are considered. This, however, is not necessary if we consider two
cases depending on whether V,, < Vp, or V,, = Vp,. In the former case, all
the shear can be considered as being carried by the steel section, thus
Vet= O, and then

V,t Vt #~ + #3'F 2 -- 3,t/2-F 9

In the second case, with V., = Vp,, eqn (9) gives Vet, and hence

Vp=V,+-V-~pt--l+ -1 #~>~ (11)

The total shear capacity V, is given by

V, = Vb+ V, (12)
32 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

The corresponding moment capacity, M x, can be found by considering the

moments due to the longitudinal forces shown in Figs 5(b) and 5(c).
Taking moments about a point in the top flange, and averaging the
moments at each end of the opening to give the centreline value M~ leads
to

nq
Ml =O'5d[Pfbl+ Pfb2]+-~[Ts---~CotS1

4 (n--nh)qlT,--t~
[- 4 (n--nh)q ts~
2 L 2Co _1 (13)

Now Pfb2=Pfbl--2A,Fy--2abWSb, and the limiting value of Pfbl----AfFy,

hence

(
Mx=dFYkAf-A, V~~ + 2CoJ

-(1-~)1 (14)

Special cases of these results can be recognized as previously published

solutions. Thus, eqns (10) and (14) reduce to the results for non-composite
unreinforced beams with mid-depth openings 7 or eccentric openings; xx for
a reinforced opening the solution reduces to that for eccentric openings le
or to a simplified version of a solution for mid-depth openings. 8
For composite beams without reinforcement eqn (10) reduces to a
solution for ribbed deck supported slabs, 13 and for either ribbed or solid
slabs. ~4 Solution II given in Refs 15 and 16 also corresponds to eqn (10).
An early solution x7 is also given by the above equations if the shear
connectors beyond the opening length are neglected, i.e. n = nh.
Equations (12) and (14) define the point '1' on the interaction diagram
shown in Fig. 4. These equations provide the most general, although
simplified, solution and can be used to solve any of the cases considered
above.
The point '0' is defined by Mo, the pure bending capacity of the beam
taking into account the net section at the opening. If the number of shear
connectors between the opening and the nearest point of zero bending
moment is insufficient to develop the full slab compressive resistance,
which will normally be the ease except for openings near the centre of the
 Design of beams with web openings 33

span, such partial shear connection should be taken into account in

calculating Mo. It has been shown 1'* that this partial connection may be
incorporated by constructing the interaction diagram using Mo based on
100% connection, and providing a horizontal cut-off at the moment Mb
representing the partial shear connection.

Yield criteria

For the solutions given above to be valid, the stress distributions must
conform to those assumed in Fig. 5, and yield criteria must not be violated.
For the webs, reinforcement and the bottom flange at the high moment
end, the latter are implicitly satisfied. It can readily be shown that the
bottom flange at the low moment end cannot yield and it remains
therefore to ensure that the upper steel flange does not yield in compres-
sion at the high moment end or in tension at the low moment end. This
can conveniently be ensured by limiting the shear connector resistance, q,
to the values given by q6 and q7 in Table 1.17 Violation of the slab shear
failure criterion can also be ensured by limiting q to the value q5 given in

TABLE 1
Limiting Values of Shear Connector Resistance

q! qr Same as for # ~ y
q2
ro
--
o

/I

Co
q3 --
n

q, znL n k t, ,/3

qs NA q"(eqn (15))
q6 2AtFy- Vob3%//~ + n'b)+ P~ 2At F , - V,b~
n n

,/7 ~Ar-A,)F,-V,b 3~'i+"b)--P~, 2(Af-A,)Fy- Vpb3v/3

~ +~b)
(n--nb) (n--nh)

"P,,t is the normal force on the upper web when web yield occurs, and is given by
P,~ = ~/(3 V~, - 3 V~) (p < y) and P,,, ffi0 (p >/y). Because P,, depends on the shear
resistance, the cases indicated must be solved iteratively. One cycle is usually
sufficient.
34 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

Table 1; this is based on the slab carrying its ultimate shearing stress 2~/f'c
only in the clear region between the compressive stress blocks (Fig. 5(d)),
an assumption which is probably conservative. Solution of the following
equation gives the resulting value of q (= q"), thus ensuring the upper steel
web and concrete slab do not exceed their ultimate shear capacities.

-q (l+*)+*+Tsts

=o 05)

in which

~= 2a2
0"85x/~ q

and

W = 2(aVpt-A,stPtFy)
Cots

If the minimum of the seven values of q listed in Table 1 is used in the

solutions for VI and M l, all the above criteria will be satisfied.

Comparisons with tests

This method of analysis has been applied to 44 available results of tests

on composite beams without reinforcement. Using measured dimensions
and material properties (with the exception of shear connector resistance
in some cases), the overall average value of the ratio of test to theory was
1.064 with a coefficient of variation of 0-146. For ribbed slab beams the
corresponding values were 1.063 and 0-157, and for solid slab beams 1.064
and 0-123. The number of tests on reinforced web composite beams is
inadequate to provide corresponding statistics. 6'ts Application of the
theory to these beams does however, indicate an accuracy similar to that
for the non-reinforced tests.
While the behaviour of the steel sections is realistically modelled in the
method described, the slab modelling has been chosen partly for ease of
computation. Another approach has been proposed 19 which provides a
 Design of beams with web openings 35

more satisfactory conceptual model of the slab. In this the concrete and
shear studs are treated as struts and ties, with the failure usually associated
with the failure of the strut in bearing at the top of the stud. Such a model
is shown in Fig. 6, and gives comparable accuracy to the method described
above. This model supports the suggestion of Darwin 3 that there should
be a concentration of studs just beyond the high moment end of the
opening. A minimum of three studs per 300 mm in the distance d or 2a
beyond the high moment end, whichever is less, is recommended.3

Design
The analysis described above has not included resistance factors (partial
safety factors on materials). Depending on the governing standard, resis-
tance factors for steel, shear connectors and concrete in compression and
shear may be introduced with the relevant resistance quantity (Fy, q,,f'c
and 2). Alternatively the statistics above may be used if an overall
resistance factor is developed for application to the beam resistance.
The above method of ultimate strength analysis may be used for design
under statistically applied loads when the following general restrictions are
satisfied: 2°

(i) The beams are of Class 1 (plastic design) section or Class 2

(compact) section. 2~
(ii) The steel should have Fy~<0.80Fu, and should exhibit the charac-
teristics necessary to achieve moment redistribution.
(iii) The height of the openings should be between 30% and 70% of the
beam height, and their length may be up to three times their height.
(iv) Opening corners should have a radius at least equal to the larger
of 16 mm or twice the web thickness.
(v) Concentrated loads are not applied to the beam within the length
of the opening.
(vi) The width-thickness ratio of outstanding reinforcing plates should
not exceed 145/~/Fy (Fy in MPa).

l •L.~.~,:~'~'"""
. _~ ' --' ~|- ~." ~"~-,,~-'-'~"~'~'1
-~.~~I l

low nolent hiqh nonent

Fig. 6. Strut and tie model for slab ~ha~our.
 36 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

While the approach has been developed with reference to rectangular

openings, it may also be applied to circular openings with the following
transformations: 2°

(i) For openings without reinforcement, when computing VI and M l,

the length 2a may be replaced by 0.9R where R is the radius, and
the height 2H taken as 1.8R. When computing Mo, 2H should be
taken as 2R.
(ii) For openings with horizontal reinforcement the length and height
may be taken as 0.9R and 2R respectively.

Deflections of a beam containing one or more openings can be es-

timated by adding the effects produced by the local deformations around
the opening to those calculated for the beam without consideration of
the opening. The local deflections should include both bending and shear
deformations of the regions above and below the opening within its
length. The additional deflections arising from one or two circular
holes can normally be considered negligible, and those from rectangular
openings are usually small. It is suggested by Darwin 3 that in comput-
ing the local effects for a composite beam, the effects due to the slab
should be ignored. Examples of deflection calculations are given in Refs 2,
3 and 20.
For completeness, a number of detailing requirements are summarized
in the Appendix.

Application

The following numerical example illustrates the procedure for analysis

of a composite beam with a reinforced opening. The example is treated
as one of analysis: for design the situation is equally straightforward with
the exception that the area of reinforcement (if any) must be determined by

8e3oo

c tnlnlnlnlnlr
l~In
i ,

WS$OZI01

1900
10000
I"
Fig. 7. Example beam.
 Design of beams with web openinos 37

trial and error. Again, resistance factors have been taken as unity. The
beam and opening are shown in Fig. 7.

Beam: W530 x 101 (W21 x 68) Fy = 300 M Pa

d = 537 f'c = 25 M P a
b=210 bc = 2500
t = 17.4 T , = 141
w = 10.9 ts = 76
qr = 91"4 k N
Opening: 2a = 650 n = 8 (see Fig. 7)
2H = 325 nh = 3 (see Fig. 7)
e=0
Reinforcement: One plate 80 x 10: A, = 800 m m 2
err -----erb = 15 •". Pt = Pb = 0 " 8 5 8 5

With this data the following are obtained: C0=4037.5 kN; Vpt= Vob=
200"lkN; ~=Ctb=0"0798; ~=6"132. Since aw/x/3=325(lO.9)/x73=
2045 > At, there is no need to adjust Ar when computing Vb.
To determine/~, the appropriate value of q must be obtained from Table
1. It is not known at this stage whether/~ is greater or less than ~,, and
therefore all values of q are calculated, and are shown in Table 2. In this
case the minimum value of q in both cases is the actual shear connector
resistance q, = 91.4 kN, giving # = 5.189, from eqn (8). Since/~ < ~, eqn (10)
is used to find Vt=O'9414Vpt= 188.4 kN.
Vb is obtained from eqn (7) as 117.6kN, and eqn (12) then gives
V~=188-4+117.6=306.0kN. The corresponding moment, Mx, is ob-
tained from eqn (14) as 357.1 k N m , and hence the point '1' on the

TABLE2
Example:Valu~ ofq~om Tablel

qt 91"4 91"4
q2 406'5 406-5
q3 504"7 504"7
q4 479"3 479'3
qs NA 207"3
q6 297"3 ° 297"3
q7 396"4 ° 396"4

" P ~ assumed equal to zero. A non-zero

value would increase q6, and would reduce
q~. However qT~'ql, and therefore further
calculation is not necessary.
38 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

1500[
M
(kN.rn]

0 i i I
0
V (RN)
Fig. 8. Interaction diagram for example problem.

interaction diagram is established, as shown in Fig. 8. The moments Mo

and M~ are given by established methods for evaluating bending resis-
tancC 1 as 1232 and 938 k N m respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The method of analysis outlined provides a satisfactory basis for the

design of beams with web openings. A special case of it (taking n = nh) was
used for early design aids ~ for composite beams and, with a simplified
yield criterion and using the interaction diagram of eqn (3), it is also the
basis of Ref. 3. These aids conform to US design practice, and Ref. 2 uses
an alternative simplified approach in a format corresponding to UK
practice. In the form presented herein, adaptation to any other governing
standard is straightforward.

REFERENCES

1. US Steel Corp., Web penetrations in composite steel beams--a design aid.

ADUSS 27-8482-01 Pittsburg, PA, Oct., 1984.
2. CIRIA/SCI, Design for openings in the webs of composite beams. CIRIA
Special publication 51; SCI Publication 068. The Steel Construction Institute,
Ascot, UK, 1987.
 Design of beams with web openings 39

3. Darwin, D., Steel and Composite Beams with Web Openings. American Insti-
tute of Steel Construction, Steel Design Guide Series No. 2, Chicago, IL, 1990.
4. Darwin, D. & Donahey, R. C., LRFD for composite beams with unreinforced
web openings. J. Struct. Engng. ASCE, 114(3) (1988) 533-52.
5. Cho, S. H. & Redwood, R. G., Slab behavior in composite beams at openings:
analysis. J. Struct. Engng ASCE 118 (1992) 2287-303.
6. Lawson, R. M., Chung, K. F. & Price, A. M., Tests on composite beams with
large web openings to justify existing design methods. The Structural Engineer,
70(1) (Jan. 1992) 1-7.
7. Redwood, R. G., Plastic analysis and design of beams with web openings.
Proceedings, Canadian Structural Engineering Conference. Canadian Institute
of Steel Construction, Toronto, Feb., 1968, pp. 127-38.
8. Congdon, J. G. & Redwood, R. G., Plastic behaviour of beams with reinforced
rectangular holes. J. Struct. Div., ASCE, 96(ST9) (1970) 1933-56.
9. Poumbouras, G., Modification of a theory predicting the shear strength of
composite beams with large web openings. Project Report No. U83-20,
Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University,
Montreal, 1983.
10. Clawson, W. C. & Darwin, D., Strength of composite beams with web
openings. J. Struct. Div., ASCE, 108(3) (1982) 623-41.
11. Frost, R. W., The behaviour of steel beams with eccentric web holes. Paper
presented at ASCE Conference, St Louis, Mo, Oct., 1971.
12. Kussman, R. L. & Cooper, P. B., Design example for beams with web
openings. AISC Engng J., 13(2) (1976) 48-56.
13. Redwood, R. G. & Poumbouras, G., Analysis of composite beams with web
openings. J. Struct. Engng, ASCE, 110(9)(1984) 1949-58.
14. Redwood, R. G., The design of composite beams with openings. Proceedings,
Pacific Structural Steel Conference, Vol. I. New Zealand Heavy Engineering
Research Association, Auckland, 1986, pp. 169-85.
15. Donahey, R. C. & Darwin, D., Performance and design of composite beams
with web openings. SM Report No. 18, University of Kansas Center for
Research, Lawrence, Kansas, 1986.
16. Redwood, R. G. & Wong, P., Web holes in composite beams with steel deck.
Proc. 8th Can. Struct. Eng. Conf., Vancouver. Canadian Institute of Steel
Construction, Toronto, Feb., 1982, 41 pp.
17. Redwood, R. G. & Cho, S. H. Design tools for steel beams with web openings.
In Composite Steel Structures. Elsevier Applied Science, London, 1987, pp.
75-83.
18. Cho, S. H., An investigation on the strength of composite beams with web
openings. MSc thesis, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea, 1982.
19. Cho, S. H. & Redwood, R. G., Slab behavior in composite beams at openings:
tests and verification. J. Struct. Engng, ASCE 118 (1992) 2304-22.
20. Redwood, R. G. & Shrivastava, S. C., Design recommendations for beams
with web holes. Can. J. Cir. Engng, 7(4) (1980) 642-50.
21. CSA, Limit states design of steel structures. CAN/CSA-S16.1-M89, Canadian
Standards Association, Wexdale, ON, Dec., 1989.
22. ASCE, Suggested design guides for beams with web holes. Subcommittee on
beams with web openings of the task committee on flexural members, Bower,
J. E. Chron. J. Struct. Div., ASCE, 97(ST11) (1971) 2707-28.
40 Richard Redwood & Soon Ho Cho

APPENDIX: DESIGN DETAILS

For completeness, detailing provisions are summarized herein. They are

based principally on Refs 20 and 22, which provide some explanatory
background, and some provisions for composite beams are based on Ref.
3.
1. Attachment of reinforcement: within the length of the opening
the welds should provide factored resistance equal to the lesser of
2ArF r and 2awFr/x/~. These welds should be continuous and may
be placed on one side only of the reinforcement. The factored resistance
of the welds anchoring the reinforcement beyond the ends of the opening
should at least equal A,Fy, with a minimum length of 0"5a.
2. Unsymmetric reinforcement: for Class 1 sections 2t (plastic design
sections) reinforcement may be placed on one side only of the web if the
following are satisfied: Ar <~0.333Af; Mr<<.20Vfd at the opening centreline;
a/H <~2'5, and sm,,/w <~370/~/Fy where sin,, is the greater of st and sb, and
Fy is in MPa.
3. Web instability: in order that the beam resistance as determined by
the method given above not be affected by web buckling, the following
should be satisfied:

(i) Class 1 section:21 Vf~<0.67V,, and for rectangular openings

a/H <~3.0 and a/H + 6(2H/d) <~~.
(ii) Class 2 sections 2t (compact sections): Vf~<0.45Vr, and for rectan-
gular openings a/H <~2.2 and a/H + 6(2H/d) <~K.

In the above, ~c= 5.6 for non-composite, and 6-0 for composite beams.
4. Compression zone stability: for large rectangular openings in non-
composite beams in a region subjected to high bending moment the
stability of the compression region should be checked by treating it as an
axially loaded column with effective length equal to that of the opening.
For unreinforced openings in typical W-shapes, this check is not necessary
if the opening length, 2a, is less than four times the depth of the
compression tee-section, st.
5. Lateral stability: in non-composite beams where lateral buckling may
occur, the beam resistance should not be governed by the resistance at the
opening. In this case the effect of the opening can be incorporated by
multiplying the St Venant torsion constant, J, by

[,_(2ol(.2,,--2A,ll'
\ L J \ w(d+2b) ,JJ <~l
 Design of beams with web openings 41

in which L is the unbraced length of the compression flange. For one-sided

reinforcement, Ar should be taken as zero in this expression. Such
reinforcement is not recommended in long unsupported spans and in
shorter spans, lateral bracing adjacent to the opening should resist an
additional force of 2% of the compression flange force.
6. Multiple openings: to avoid interaction effects between two openings
which may occur when the shear force is high, the length of web between
adjacent openings, S, should conform to the following:
Rectangular openings:

S >>-2H

S> 2a(.1\ Vf/V, "]

-- VJ
Circular openings:

S>.3R

- v,/vd
where in each case the length, height or radius refers to the larger of the
two openings.
7. Bearing: if no bearing stiffeners are used, the edge of the bearing
should be at least a distance of d/2 from the opening edge for Class 1
sections, and a distance d for Class 2 sections.