Lecture 7

PLATE GIRDERS
 Introduction
“A plate girder is a type of beam built from plates of steel that
are either bolted or welded together.” The plate girders are
typically I- beams made up from separate structural steel plates
which are welded or, bolted together to form the deep vertical web
with a pair of angles each edge to act as compression and tension
flanges.
Modern plate girders are normally fabricated by welding together
two flanges and a web plate.
Plate girders are typically used as long-span floor girders in
buildings, as bridge girders, and as crane girders in industrial
structures.
They are generally considerably deeper than the deepest rolled
sections and usually have webs thinner than rolled sections.
Plate girders are employed to support heavy vertical loads
over long spans for which the resulting bending moments are
larger than the moment resistance of available rolled sections.
In its simplest form the plate girder is a built-up beam consisting of
two flange plates, fillet welded to a web plate to form an I-section.

The primary function of the top and bottom flange plates is to

resist the axial compressive and tensile forces caused by the
applied bending moments; the main function of the web is to resist
the shear.
 Advantages

• Fabrication cost of plate girders is very considerably due to recent

development of highly automated workshops.

•Optimum use of material is made, compared with rolled sections,

as the girder is fabricated from plates and the designer has
greater freedom to vary the section to correspond with
changes in the applied forces.

• Plate girders are aesthetically more pleasing than

trusses and
are easier to transport and erect than box girders.
 Disadvantages
• Compared with trusses they are heavier, more difficult to
transport and have larger wind resistance.
• The provision of openings for services is also more difficult.
• The low torsional stiffness of plate girders makes them difficult to
use in bridges having small plan radius.

• Plate girders can sometimes pose problems during erection

because of concern for the stability of compression flanges.
For a given bending moment the required flange areas can
be reduced by increasing the distance between them. Thus
for an economical design it is advantageous to increase the
distance between flanges.

To keep the self-weight of the girder to a minimum the web

thickness should be reduced as the depth increases, but this
leads to web buckling considerations being more significant
in plate girders than in rolled beams.

Because plate girders are fabricated separately, each may be

designed individually to resist the applied actions using
proportions that ensure low self-weight and high load resistance.
Changes in X-Section
There is also considerable scope for variation of cross-section
in the longitudinal direction. A designer may choose to reduce
the flange thickness (or breadth) in a zone of low applied
moment. Equally, in a zone of high shear, the designer might
choose to thicken the web plate.

Changes in Material
Alternatively, higher grade steel might be employed for zones
of high applied moment and shear, while standard grade would
be used elsewhere. So-called "hybrid" girders with different
strength material in the flanges and the web offer another possible
means of more closely matching resistance to requirements.
Plate girder with splice and variable cross-section
Initial choice of cross-section for plate girders in buildings
•Span-to-depth ratios
Advances in fabrication methods allow the economic manufacture
of plate girders of constant or variable depth.

Traditionally, constant-depth girders were more common in buildings;

however, this may change as designers become more inclined to
modify the steel structure to accommodate services.

Recommended span-to depth ratios are given in below

Recommended span-to-depth ratios for plate girders
used in buildings
Structural functions of various
elements of a plate girder
Any cross-section of a plate girder
is normally subjected to a
combination of shear force and
bending moment.
The primary function of the top and
bottom flange plates of the girder is
to resist the axial compressive and
tensile forces arising from the applied
bending moment.
The primary function of the web
plate is to resist the applied shear
force
Web Stiffeners

There are two principal types

of stiffener:

Longitudinal web
stiffeners, which are aligned
in the span direction

Transverse stiffeners, which

are aligned normal to the
span direction of the beam
Stiffeners are usually consists of rectangular bars welded to web.

Transverse stiffeners may be in pairs, one on each side of web, or

they may placed on one side of web.

Longitudinal stiffeners are usually placed on one side of web.

The main function of the longitudinal stiffeners is to increase

the buckling resistance of the web with respect of both shear
and bending loads.

An effective stiffener will remain straight, thereby sub-dividing

the web panel and limiting the buckling to the smaller sub-
panels. The resulting increase in the ultimate resistance of the
girder can be significant
Compression Flange Vertical buckling

If plate-girder web is too slender, the

compression flange may buckle in
vertical plane at stress less than yield
stress. The compression flange is a
beam-column stifferner continuous
over vertical as supports. Its stability
depends on stiffener spacing and
relative stiffness of the flange and the
web,
Transverse stiffeners play an important role in allowing the full
ultimate load resistance of a plate girder to be achieved.

In the first place they increase the buckling resistance of the web;
Secondly they must continue to remain effective after the web buckles,
to provide anchorage for the tension field;

Finally, they must prevent any tendency for the flanges to move towards
one another.

Therefore, transverse stiffener must be of adequate rigidity in the

direction perpendicular to the plane of the web to prevent web
buckling.
General design considerations

Plate girders are normally designed to support heavy loads

over long spans in situations where it is necessary to produce an
efficient design by providing girders of high strength to weight ratio.

To produce the lowest axial flange force for a given

bending moment, the web depth (d) must be made as large as
possible. To reduce the self weight, the web thickness (tw) must be
reduced to a minimum.

As a consequence, in many instances the web plate is of

slender proportions and is therefore prone to buckling at
relatively low values of applied shear.
For efficient design it is usual to choose a relatively deep girder, thus
minimizing the required area of flanges for a given applied
moment, Mx.

This obviously entails a deep web whose area will be minimized

by reducing its thickness to the minimum required to carry the
applied shear, Fv.

Such a web may be quite slender (i.e. a high d/tw ratio) and may be
prone to local buckling and shear buckling.

Web buckling does not determine the ultimate strength of a plate

girder.
Plate elements do not collapse when they buckle; they can possess a
substantial post buckling reserve of resistance.

For an efficient design, any calculation relating to theultimate limit state

should take the post-buckling action into account.
• Recommended plate thickness and proportions
In general the slenderness of the cross-sections of plate girders used in
buildings should not exceed the limits specified for class 3 semi-
compact cross-sections (clause 3.5 of the Code), even though
more slender cross-sections are permitted.

The choice of plate thickness is related to buckling. If the plates are too
thin they may require stiffening to restore adequate stiffness and
strength, and the extra workmanship required is expensive.
In view of the above the maximum depth-to-thickness ratio (d/t) of the
webs of plate girders in buildings is usually limited to:

where pyw is the design strength of the web plate. The outstand width-
to-thickness ratio of the compression flange (b/T) is usually limited to:

where pyf is the design strength of the compression flange.

Changes in flange size along the girder are not usually worthwhile
in buildings. For non-composite girders the flange width is usually
within the range 0.3–0.5 times the depth of the section (0.4 is most
common). For simply-supported composite girders these guidelines
can still be employed for preliminary sizing of compression flanges.
The width of tension flanges can be increased by 30%.
• Stiffeners
Horizontal web stiffeners are not usually required for plate girders used
in buildings.

Vertical web stiffeners may be provided to enhance the resistance

to shear near the supports. Intermediate stiffening at locations far
away from supports will, in general, be unnecessary due to reduced
shear.

The provision of vertical or transverse web stiffeners increases both the

critical shear strength qcr (initial buckling strength) and the shear
buckling strength qw (post-buckling strength) of web panels. The critical
shear strength is increased by a reduction in the web panel aspect ratio
a/d (width/depth).
Transverse stiffeners are usually spaced such that the web panel
aspect ratio is between 1.0 and 2.0, since there is little increase in
strength for larger panel aspect ratios. For end panels
designed without utilizing tension field action the aspect ratio is
reduced to 0.6–1.0.
Sometimes double stiffeners are employed as bearing stiffeners
at the end supports, to form what is known as an end post.
The overhang of the girder beyond the support is generally limited
to a maximum of one eighth of the depth of the girder.
 Design principle (clause 4.4)
For the design of plate girders, the additional provisions given in 4.4.2,
4.4.3, 4.4.4, 4.4.5 and 4.4.6 should be satisfied, together with the
relevant provisions given in 4.2 and 4.3.
Any cross-section of a plate girder will normally be subjected to a
combination of shear force and bending moment

Design strength (4.2.2)

The design strength of the flanges pyf and the design strength of
the web pyw should both be determined from 3.1.1.

If pyw > pyf then the design strength of the flanges pyf should always
be used when considering moments or axial force.
Minimum web thickness for serviceability (cl. 4.4.3.2)
But the design strength of the web pyw may optionally be used when
considering shear or transverse forces applied to the web
The following minimum web thickness values are prescribed to avoid
serviceability problems.
The following minimum web thickness values are prescribed to avoid
the compression flange buckling into the web.

where pyf is the design

strength of the
compression flange.

Local buckling of the compression flange may also occur if the flange
plate is of slender proportions. In general there is seldom good reason
for the b/T ratio of the compression flanges of plate girders used
in buildings to exceed the class 3 semicompact limit (clause 3.5 of
the Code) b/T  13 .
 Moment resistance

Moment capacity (cl. 4.4.4)

Web not susceptible to shear buckling
Determination of the moment resistance Mc of laterally restrained plate
girders depends upon whether or not the web is susceptible to shear
buckling.

If the web depth to thickness ratio d/t  62 the web should be
assumed not to be susceptible to shear buckling, and the moment
resistance of the section should be determined in accordance
with clause 4.2.5 of the Code.
Web susceptible to shear buckling

If the web depth to thickness ratio d/t > 62  it should be

assumed susceptible to shear buckling. The moment resistance of
the section Mc should be determined taking account of the interaction
of shear and moment, using the following methods:

(1) Low shear

Provided that the applied shearforce Fv  0.6Vw, is the
simplewhere Vw
shear buckling resistance from clause 4.4.5.2 of the Code,
the moment resistance should be determined from clause 4.2.5 of
the Code.
For class 1 plastic
and class 2 compact cross-sections:
Mc = pyS
where py is the design strength of the steel and S is the plastic
modulus.

For class 3 semi-compact cross-sections:

Mc = pyZ, where Z is the elastic section modulus.

For class 4 slender cross-sections:

Mc = pyZeff, where Zeff is the effective section
modulus determined in accordance with clause 3.6.2 of the
Code.
(2) High shear flanges-only method

If Fv > 0.6 Vw but the web is designed for shear only, provided that
the flanges are not class 4, a conservative value Mf for the moment
resistance may be obtained by assuming that the moment is resisted
by the flanges only. Hence:

Mf = pyfSf ,where Sf is the plastic modulus of the flanges only.

(3) High shear general method

If Fv > 0.6 Vw and the applied moment does not exceed the low shear
value given by (1), the web should be designed using Annex H.3
of the Code for the applied shear combined with any additional
moment beyond the flanges-only moment resistance Mf given by (2).
 Shear resistance
Web not susceptible to shear buckling

If the web depth to thickness ratio d/t  62  it is not susceptible to

shear buckling and the shear resistance Pv should be determined in
accordance with clause 4.2.3 of the Code, i.e.

Pv = 0.6pywAv = 0.6pywtd

where Av = td is the shear area.

 Web susceptible to shear buckling

If d/t > 62  for welded section , the shear buckling resistance of the
web should be determined in accordance with clause 4.4.5 of
the Code.

Simplified method

The shear buckling resistance (cl. 4.4.5.2), Vb of a web

with or without intermediate transverse stiffeners may be taken as
the simple shear buckling resistance Vw given by:
Vb = Vw = dtqw ≥ Fv
where;

d is the depth of the web;

qw is the shear buckling strength of the web;
Fv is the design shear;
t is the web thickness.

The shear buckling strength qw should be obtained

from
H.1 or from Table 21 depending on the values of d/t
and a/d where a is the stiffener spacing. For webs
without intermediate stiffeners a/d should be taken as infinity
 More exact method (cl. 4.4.5.3)
Alternatively, the shear buckling resistance Vb of a web panel
between two transverse stiffeners may be determined
as follows:

— if the flanges of the panel are fully stressed (ff = pyf ):

Vb = Vw = dtqw
— if the flanges are not fully stressed (ff < pyf ):
Vb = Vw + Vf but Vb ≤ Pv

in which Vf is the flange-dependent shear buckling resistance, given

by:
ff is the mean longitudinal stress in the smaller flange due to moment
and/or axial force;

Mpf is the plastic moment capacity of the smaller flange, about its own
equal area axis perpendicular to the plane of the web, determined using
pyf;

Mpw is the plastic moment capacity of the web, about its own equal area
axis perpendicular to the plane of the web, determined using pyw;
Pv is the shear capacity from 4.2.3;
pyf is the design strength of the flange;
pyw is the design strength of the web.
For a rectangular flange and a web of uniform thickness:

cl. 4.4.5

End anchorage
End anchorage need not be provided if either of the following
conditions apply:
a)the shearcapacity, not the shearbuckling resistance, isthe
governing design criterion, indicated by:
Vw = Pv
b)sufficient shear buckling resistance is available without forming a
tension field, indicated by:
Fv ≤ Vcr
in which Vcr is the critical shear buckling resistance from H.2 or
given by the following

—if Vw = Pv Vcr = Pv

—if Pv > Vw > 0.72Pv Vcr = (9Vw – 2Pv)/7

— if Vw ≤ 0.72Pv Vcr = (Vw/0.9)2/Pv where;

Fv is the maximum shear force;

Vw is the simple shear buckling resistance from 4.4.5.2.

Design of intermediate transverse web stiffeners (cl.4.4.6 and 4.5)
Transverse stiffeners are generally required to ensure the satisfactory
performance of the web panels of slender plate girders. The three
most important types of stiffeners are as follows.
(a) Intermediate transverse
(b) Load-carrying
(c) Bearing
Stiffeners of each of these types are subjected to compression and
should be checked for bearing and buckling. A particular stiffener
may also serve more than one function and should therefore be
designed for combined effects: e.g. an intermediate transverse
stiffener may also be load carrying.
Intermediate transverse web stiffeners
Spacing
Where intermediate transverse web stiffeners are provided, their spacing
should conform to 4.4.3.

Outstand of stiffeners
The outstand of the stiffeners should conform to 4.5.1.2.

Minimum stiffness
Intermediate transverse web stiffeners not subject to external loads or
moments should have a second moment of area Is about centreline of
the web not less than Is given by:
where;

a is the actual stiffener spacing;

d is the depth of the web;

tmin is the minimum required web thickness for the actual stiffener
spacing a.
 Buckling resistance
(cl.4.4.6.6)
The buckling resistance of intermediate transverse web stiffeners
not subject to external forces and moments should satisfy
the condition:
Fq  Pq
in which Fq is the larger value, considering the two web panels each
side of the stiffener, of the compressive axial force given by:
Fq = V – Vcr
Pq is the buckling resistance of the intermediate
web stiffener, from 4.5.5;
V is the shear in a web panel adjacent to the stiffener;
Vcr is the critical shear buckling resistance [see 4.4.5.4b)] of the same
web panel.