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 Advisory Desk Notes - AD 310: Staircases with Flat Stringers
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SCI ADVISORY DESK

AD 310: Staircases with flat stringers.

The Advisory Desk is sometimes called by engineers who have been asked to justify the flat
stringers in staircases, but cannot see how this can be done. This AD explains the phenomena
involved and gives guidance on calculations for stability of the stringers. A typical staircase is
shown in Figure 1.

Tread

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Stringer
Front of tread
A

Back of tread

Figure 1: Typical staircase

The main problem that is encountered is the calculation of the buckling of the stringers due to
bending. The slenderness λLT of the stringers can be calculated using BS 5950-1 Annex B clause
B.2.7. However, when the span of the stringers is used, the slenderness is so great that the
capacity is too low to support the loaded staircase.

The calculation described above is appropriate for calculating the slenderness of an unrestrained
flat undergoing lateral torsional buckling in the mode shown in Figure 2. The deflected form
caused by the buckling is shown for a cross-section of the stringer in Figure 3. This shows that the
top edge of the stringer, which is in compression, deflects laterally more than the bottom edge,
which is in tension. The use of the total length of the stringer to calculate the slenderness has
ignored the effect of the treads.

AD 310: Staircases with Flat Stringers 1

 Advisory Desk Notes - AD 310: Staircases with Flat Stringers
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SCI ADVISORY DESK

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Figure 2: Lateral torsional buckling mode Figure 3: Displacement of stringer cross-
deflecting over the full length section due to lateral torsional buckling

In the staircase shown in Figure 1, the treads are fixed into the stringers near the top edge at the
front of the tread and near the bottom edge at the back of the tread. If the tread is rigid in plane
(for example a solid plate, not open mesh flooring) and the connection from the tread into the
stringer is reasonably stiff, the stiffness of the tread prevents the buckling mode shown in Figure 2
from developing. This is because the tension edge of the stringer does not want to deflect laterally,
because the tension pulls it straight. The compression edge wants to buckle laterally, but the in-
plane stiffness of the tread and the major axis stiffness of the stringers prevent it from deflecting
more than the tension edge. Therefore the compression edge and the tension edge are in neutral
equilibrium for the case of buckling on the overall length of the stringers. Therefore the buckling
mode of the stringer caused by bending will be as shown in Figure 4. In this case the slenderness
for lateral torsional buckling λLT is best estimated by using B.2.7 with the length taken as the
distance between fixings of the treads into the compression (top) edge of the stringer, as shown in
Figure 5.

AD 310: Staircases with Flat Stringers 2

 Advisory Desk Notes - AD 310: Staircases with Flat Stringers
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SCI ADVISORY DESK

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Figure 4: Lateral torsional buckling mode restricted by treads connecting the
tension edge to the compression edge

Figure 5: Distance between fixings of the treads into the compression edge of
the stringer

AD 310: Staircases with Flat Stringers 3

 Advisory Desk Notes - AD 310: Staircases with Flat Stringers
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SCI ADVISORY DESK

The further the tread fixings are from the top and bottom edges of the stringer and the greater the
flexibility of the treads and fixings, the more the slenderness λLT will approach the slenderness of
the buckling mode shown in Figure 2.

The forces and moments resisted by stringers is complex. They include vertical bending, and
some small lateral bending because walking delivers some small lateral loads. There is also an
axial load because the stringer is on a slope. This axial load can be tensile, so not destabilising,
provided the structure above the flight of stairs can resist this load. If this is not possible, then the
resistance to the axial compression together with the bending moments should be checked.

The stringers can then be checked for resistance to lateral torsional buckling as follows:
1. Check the staircase has geometry and tread form which will cause buckling as Figure 4
2. Take the stringer as Class 3
3. Calculate λLT using B.2.7 with the length shown in Figure 5, using the effective length factor
of 1.0, and βW for Class 3 (Zx/Sx = 2/3 for a flat)
4. Calculate Mb = pbZx as 4.3.6.4

It is wise to attach the treads to the stringers close to the compression edge and the tension edge
for stability of the stringers. It is generally unwise to be too clever in reducing the sizes of staircase

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components because the behaviour is complex and the lighter the structure the more susceptible it
is to vibrations.

Contact: Charles King

Telephone: 01344 636525

E-mail: c.king@steel-sci.com

AD 310: Staircases with Flat Stringers 4