Plate girder: Design and check procedure

Asst. Prof. Hang Thu Vu hang@civil.uwa.edu.au

Overview

Select a suitable size and shape for steel beams is a process of making an intelligent estimate and then checking the beam for possible modes of failure. Because steel beams usually consist of thin elements they are susceptible to certain special modes of failure. The check list of 8 items in below governs the design for both medium size steel beam and deep steel beam

1. Applied BM exceeds ultimate moment capacity of cross Procedure: section.

Check M* Sfy Note: This describes the maximum capacity of the beam against bending Any additional effect will reduce this full capacity For the beam, local buckling and lateral buckling are both critical effects to consider

2. Applied BM causes local buckling of the compression flange and parts of the web in compression. Procedure:

The full section modulus S may be reduced due to local buckling. Define an effective section modulus Ze where Ze S. Determine Ze. The moment capacity of cross section becomes Ms = Ze fy. Check M* Ms [In AS4100 Check in (1) is covered by Check in (2)]

3. Slenderness of beam results in lateral buckling (sideways movement and twisting of entire beam) before Ms is reached.
Procedure: Way 1: The moment capacity of cross section M may s be reduced due to lateral buckling. Determine moment M at which the beam will b laterally buckle, for which Mb Ms Check M* M b

Mode 3 (cont.)
Or Way 2: Provide full lateral restraints for the beam either by continuous lateral restraints Or provide lateral supports at intervals close enough to ensure that Mb = Ms . For example, with I-beams with equal flanges we ensure sub segment length L

l ry ( 80 + 50 m )

250 fy

Check

M* Ms

4. Shear force is carried mainly by web. Shear force causes web to yield Procedure:

Confirm if

Determine shear force Vw which causes web to yield. Check V* Vw

Procedure: Confirm

5. Shear force causes web to buckle

Determine shear force Vb which causes web to buckle. Where Vb Vw Check V* Vb

Mode 5 (cont.)
If check in (5) does not satisfy The web buckles. It must be strengthened with stiffeners which brace the web against buckling. Design and check for intermediate transverse web stiffeners (and if the web height is big) longitudinal stiffeners. AS4100 does not give the cut off limit for web height, a reference limit from Japan bridge code d1 > 152 tw

Mode 5 (cont.)

After including the system of stiffeners against buckling, check if end post is required for the end panel. For the end panel, if the width too big s > 3dp or there is interaction shear/bending, design and check for end post Note for (4) and (5): For section with non-uniform shear distribution, for example I beam with unequal flanges, the web shear capacity must be reduced (Clause 5.11.3)

6. Compressive bearing load causes the web to yield

Procedure: Form the effective web strut for yielding Determine the force R which causes the by strut to yield Check R* R by

7. Compressive bearing load causes the web to buckle

Procedure: Form the effective web strut for buckling Determine the force R which causes the bb strut to buckle Check R* R bb

Note for (6) and (7): for RHS and SHS, require a check for interaction of bending/bearing (Clause 5.13.5)

Mode 6 and mode 7 (cont.)

If check in either (6) or (7) does not satisfy The web fails under bearing load. The effective web strut must be increased for cross sectional area (i.e. overcome yielding) and stiffness (i.e. overcome buckling) by including load-bearing stiffeners. Design and check for load-bearing stiffeners via form up and assess capacity of effective web/load-bearing stiffener strut for yielding and buckling subsequently.

8. Interaction of shear/bending does not satisfy

Procedure: Locate where high shear force and high bending moment occurs simultaneously Confirm if the location is in critical range, M* 0.75 Ms or V* 0.6 Vv. If it is, use the shear and bending interaction method Check V* V v m

Mode 8 (cont.)

Cut off limits for moment and shear force

If interaction happens at end panel, design and check for end post

9. Deflection of beam is sufficiently large to cause concern Procedure:

Determine deflection and if necessary, natural frequency and amplitude. Determine deflection limit and/or frequency of machinery. Ensure natural frequency of beam is not close or coincident with natural frequency of machine Check

Observation

Do you recognize the modes that mostly govern a small/medium size beam and those for a deep beam? The question for flexural beam in mid-term exam is typically designed for checking a standard section, small/medium size beam. It is there to wrap up what need to consider for the small beam. We will go through the solution procedure for it in tutorial to and observe how it is very different from the deep beam.