A Beginner's Guide to the Steel

Construction Manual, 13th ed. (old)

Chapter 8 - Bending
Members
© 2006, 2007, 2008 T. Bartlett Quimby
Introduction   Figure 8.6.2.1
Beam with Cover Plates
Section 8.6.2 Click on image for larger view
 
Flexure

 Flexural Limit
Cover
State Behavior Plates
 Determining
Applicable Limit Last Revised: 06/16/2011
States
 Flexural Yielding
Cover plates are
Limit State
 Lateral Torsionalplates added to the
Buckling Limit flanges of beams to
State increase the flexural
 Flange Local capacity of the  
Buckling Limit Figure 8.6.2.2
beam over some
State
portion of the Typical W Section with Cover Plates
Click on image for larger view
beam.  The use of  
cover plates in
Shear
regions of high
 Shear Behavior moment allows the
 Shear Strength use of a section of
Limit State lesser weight and
lesser flexural
capacity to be used
Deflection as the primary
beam.  This may
 Deflection result in a cost
Behavior
savings in some
 Deflection Limit
State cases.  Figure
8.6.2.1 shows a
typical bridge beam
Misc. Limit Stateswith cover plates. 
Figure 8.6.2.2
 Web Local shows a typical
Yielding drawing of a W
 Web Crippling section with cover
plates.

Beam Design This technique is useful for compact beams that are not subject
  Selecting to the limit state of lateral torsional buckling (LTB).  SCM F13.3
Sections specifies many of the parameters associated with the design of
 Cover Plates
cover plates.
 Transverse
Stiffeners for
Shear Determining Size of Cover Plates
 Bearing Plates
 Transverse In the case of a compact beam not subject to LTB, the flexural
Stiffeners for limit state is stated as:
Concentrated
Loads
 Continuous Req'd Mn = (Mu/ or Ma) < FyZtotal
Beams
Adding cover plates increases the Z of the section.  For
symmetrical cross sectionss with symmetrically applied plates,
Chapter Summary the design inequality becomes:

Req'd Mn < Fy (Zsection + Zplates)

Example Problems
For design purposes, this equation can be re-written as:

Zplates > (Req'd Mn / Fy) - Zsection

Homework Problems
For symmetrical plates, Z is the area of one plate times the
References distance between the centers of the two plates, so the strength
requirement for symmetrical cover plates becomes:

Zplates = bt (d+t) > (Req'd Mn / Fy) - Zsection

Report Errors or
Make Suggestions
Where

Purchase Hard Copy  d is the overall depth of the steel section to which the
cover plates are being added and
Make Donation  t is the thickness of the cover plates.

For unsymmetrical plates (i.e. the cover plates are of different

sizes or a cover plate is applied to only one flange), the Z for the
whole section must be recomputed using basic concepts.  This
will involve finding the centriodal axis, locating the center of the
areas above and below the centriodal axis, then finding Z by:

Ztotal = (Ag/2) (distance between the centroids of the two halves)

A restriction on the relative values of b and t is the requirement

that the plate be compact.  As the plate is generally connected
to the flange with welds or bolts on both sides, the cover plated
is considered a stiffened element and SCM Table B4.1 case 12
applies:
 b/t < 1.12 sqrt(E/Fy)

As there are two design variables, b and t, there are an infinite

number of combinations of the variables that will result in a Ztotal
that matches Zreq'd.  The best solution is generally the one that
yields the smallest area, bt.

Determining the Length of Cover Plates

The cover plate must extend, at a minimum, over the distance

where the moment demand exceeds the moment capacity
provided by base section without the cover plates.  Figure
8.6.2.3 illustrates this concept.  In the example shown the
moment capacity of the base section is sufficient near the ends
of the member where the moment is low but needs to be
enhanced where moment demand exceeds the capacity of the
base section.  The intersection of the moment demand and
moment capacity curves can generally be determine
mathematically since it is possible to write equations for both
curves.

Figure 8.6.2.3
Cover Plate Length
Click on image for larger view

SCM F13.3 requires that the plates extend beyond the

theoretical cutoff points but does not give any guidance on how
far.  In keeping with a similar requirement in concrete beams, a
safe bet would be to extend the plates a distance of d, the
depth of the section, beyond the theoretical cut off points.  This
is likely to be very conservative for deeper beams, so
engineering judgment is to be used when selecting the actual
cutoff location.
One reason for extending beyond the theoretical cutoff point is
to account for uncertainty associated with the probabilities used
in predicting the loads applied to the beam.

Another reason for extending the cover plates is to account for

the presence of stress concentrations.  It has been well
established that locations where there is a change in geometric
stiffness there are larger stresses in the member than predicted
by the basic mechanics stress equations.  Consequently it is
good to make this transition (from beam without cover plate to
beam with cover plate), which is a change in geometric stiffness,
where there is some reserve capacity in the member.

Connecting Cover Plates to Flanges

SCM F13.3 requires connections to "be proportioned to resist the

total horizontal shear resulting from the bending forces on the
girder."  Using the shear flow equation from mechanics, the
force per unit length of plate, q, at any location along beam that
must be transferred between the plate and beam is:

q =  b = (Req'd Vn) Q / I = (Req'd Vn) [bt((d+t)/2)] / I

Where Req'd Vn = Vu/ or Va, depending of design philosophy

being used.

Since Req'd Vn varies with position on the beam, q also varies

along the length of the beam.

For welds, q is the required strength of the two fillet welds that
would be applied along each side of the plate.  The size will vary
along the length of the beam.  Once the required weld size
drops below minimum size, the weld may be spaced
intermittently.

For bolts (and intermittently spaced welds), the spacing is

determined by

Req'd Rn = q s < (2 connectors) rn

s < 2 rn / q

Where rn = nominal shear strength of one weld segment or one

bolt.

The function for required spacing, s, can be graphed along the

length of the beam.  The actual connector spacing at any given
part of the beam will need to be less than what is required. 
Figure 8.6.2.4 shows such a graph.  Note that fastener spacing
is infinite where req'd Vn is zero (i.e. at mid-span in this case). 

Figure 8.6.2.4
Fastener Spacing vs. Location

In practice ,some designers like to limit fastener spacing to no

more than the width of the cover plate or flange, whichever is
smaller.  

A more analytical method (not found in the SCM) is to compute

a maximum spacing based on buckling strength of the cover
plate with the goal being to select a spacing that keeps the Euler
buckling stress of the cover plate greater than Fy.

Fy < 2 E / (Le / r)2

Where:

 Le = 0.5 s  (Assumes fixed ends, no joint translation)

 r = sqrt( I / A )
 I = bt3 / 12
 A = bt

Making the substitutions for I and A and solving for the spacing
s:

s <  t sqrt( E / (3 Fy))

Any spacing, s, that meets this criteria will prevent buckling and
control the spacing when the beam shear is low. 

To summarize the fastener spacing requirement:

s < minimum [ 2 rn / q ,  t sqrt( E / (3 Fy)) ]

Additional requirements for the termination of weld at the ends

of the plate are given in SCM J13.3.

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