ELASTIC BUCKLING, ZONE 3

• When the unbraced length of a beam is greater than Lr , the beam will fall in Zone 3. Such a member may fail
due to buckling of the compression portion of the cross section laterally about the weaker axis, with twisting of
the entire cross section about the beam’s longitudinal axis between the points of lateral bracing. This will occur
even though the beam is loaded so that it supposedly will bend about the stronger axis.
• The beam will bend initially about the stronger axis until a certain critical moment Mcr is reached. At that time,
it will buckle laterally about its weaker axis. As it bends laterally, the tension in the other flange will try to keep
the beam straight. As a result, the buckling of the beam will be a combination of lateral bending and a twisting
(or torsion) of the beam cross section. A sketch of this situation is shown in Figure-15.

Figure-15: Lateral-torsional buckling of a simply supported beam.

1
• If the unbraced length of the compression flange of a beam section or the distance between points that
prevent twisting of the entire cross section is greater than Lr , the section will buckle elastically before the
yield stress is reached anywhere in the section.
• In Section 9.2.2.c of the ÇYHY, the buckling stress for doubly symmetric I-shaped members is calculated
with the following expression:

It is not possible for lateral-torsional buckling to occur if the moment of inertia of the section about the bending axis
is equal to or less than the moment of inertia out of plane. For this reason the limit state of lateral-torsional buckling
is not applicable for shapes bent about their minor axes or for circular or square shapes. (Structural Steel Design,
J.C. McCormac, S.F. Csernak)

2
DESIGN OF BEAMS—MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS (SHEAR,
DEFLECTION, ETC.)
SHEAR

• Under the effect of transverse loading,

horizontal and vertical shear stresses
occur in the beam shown.

• Generally, shear is not a problem in steel beams, because the webs of rolled shapes are capable of resisting
rather large shearing forces. Perhaps it is well, however, to list here the most common situations where
shear might be excessive:

➢ Should large concentrated loads be placed near beam supports, they will cause large internal
forces without corresponding increases in bending moments. A fairly common example of this
type of loading occurs in tall buildings where, on a particular floor, the upper columns are offset
with respect to the columns below. The loads from the upper columns applied to the beams on the
floor level in question will be quite large if there are many stories above.
3
 ➢ Where beams are notched or coped, as shown in figure,
shear can be a problem. For this case, shear forces must be
calculated for the remaining beam depth. A similar
discussion can be made where holes are cut in beam webs
for ductwork or other items.

➢ Very heavily loaded short beams can have excessive shears

➢ Shear may very well be a problem even for ordinary loadings when
very thin webs are used, as in light-gage cold-formed steel members.

• The shear stress formula is

V is the external shear; Q is the statical moment of that portion of the

section lying outside (either above or below) the line on which τ is
desired, taken about the neutral axis; and b is the width of the section
where the unit shearing stress is desired.
4
• Figure 16 (a) shows the variation in shear stresses across the cross section of an I-shaped member,
while part (b) of the same figure shows the shear stress variation in a member with a rectangular cross
section. The shear in I-shaped sections is primarily resisted by the web.

Figure-16 5
• The formulas to determine the nominal shear strength of the members are given in the section 10 of the
ÇYHY.

I-SHAPED SECTIONS AND CHANNELS

• For I-shaped sections and channels if the effect of tension area is not considered, the nominal shear
strength of the members shall be determined by the formula shown below (Section 10.2.1),

(Eq-10.1, ÇYHY)

Aw: web area

Cv: web shear coeffient

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• According to 10.2.1a: for I-shaped sections when

• For the other than the situation 10.2.1a, the factors of ϕv and Ωv shall be taken as below,

and

• According to 10.2.1b: For the other I-shaped sections and the channels, web shear coefficient Cv shall
be determined as shown below

ℎ 𝑘𝑣 𝐸
≤ 1,10 ⟹ 𝐶𝑣 = 1,0
𝑡𝑤 𝐹𝑦

𝑘𝑣 𝐸
1,10
𝐹𝑦
ℎ 𝑘𝑣 𝐸
> 1,10 ⟹ 𝐶𝑣 =
𝑡𝑤 𝐹𝑦 ℎ
7
𝑡𝑤
• The web plate shear buckling coefficient, kv , is specified in the section 10.2.1 with parts (i) and (ii). For webs
without transverse stiffeners kv =5,34 . For webs with transverse stiffeners, value of kv shall be determined by
the equations 10.3b and 10.3c given ÇYHY.

(Eq-10.3b, ÇYHY)

(Eq-10.3c, ÇYHY)

• Should Vu for a particular beam exceed the AISC specified shear strengths of the member, the usual procedure
will be to select a slightly heavier section. If it is necessary, however, to use a much heavier section than
required for moment, doubler plates (Fig. 10.5) may be welded to the beam web, or stiffeners may be
connected to the webs in zones of high shear. Doubler plates must meet the width–thickness requirements for
compact stiffened elements.

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Figure-16: Increasing shear strength of beam by using doubler plates.
Example: The simple beam with a span of L = 3.0 m, the cross section of which is determined as HE 450 A, is
under the uniform distributed load effect of Wdead = 200 kN / m and Wlive = 350 kN / m, acting on the plane of the
web.

a. Determine the characteristic shear strength of the beam.

b. Check with LRFD.
c. Check with ASD.

Steel grade

Cross-section

9
SOLUTION

10
11
BOX SECTIONS

The nominal shear strength of the web elements of the box

section shall be determined by the followed equation.

(Eq-10.12, ÇYHY)

Aw: web element area (2ht)

Cv2: web buckling coeffient under shear effect.

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DEFLECTIONS

• The deflections of steel beams are usually limited to certain maximum values. Some of the
reasons for deflection limitations are the following:

➢ Excessive deflections may damage other materials attached to or supported by the beam
in question. Plaster cracks caused by large ceiling joist deflections are one example.

➢ The appearance of structures can be damaged by excessive deflections.

➢ Extreme deflections do not inspire confidence in the persons using a structure, although the
structure may be completely safe from a strength standpoint .

➢ It may be necessary for several different beams supporting the same loads to deflect equal
amounts.

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• The deflection limitations fall in the serviceability area. Therefore, deflections are determined for
service loads, and thus the calculations are identical for both LRFD and ASD designs. . Load
combinations for service limits are given in section 15.1 of the ÇYHY and they are shown below.

Where G: dead load, Q: live load, S: Snow load and W: wind load. Under the effect
of dead load and live load or snow loads the check of the vertical deflection shall be
done by considering the combinations of (1) and (2).

• The ratio of the vertical deflection due to live loads to the span shall be less than 1/360 in the floor
and less than 1/240 in roof (Section-15.2, ÇYHY).

• The ratio of the vertical deflection due to dead and live loads (snow load) to the span shall be less
than 1/ 300. For cantilever members this ratio shall be less than 1/150 (Section-15.2,ÇYHY).
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• There are some theoretical methods of calculating deflections (moment-area method, virtual-work
procedures etc.). From these methods, various expressions can be determined, such as the following
common one for the center line deflection of a uniformly loaded simple beam:

5𝑤𝐿4
∆=
384𝐸𝐼

15
Example:

Using the LRFD and ASD methods, select the lightest available section with Fy = 345 MPa to
support a service dead load of 5 kN/m and a service live load of 15 kN/m for a 6,5-m simple span.
The section is to have full lateral bracing for its compression flange, and the maximum total service
load deflection is not to exceed 1/120 of the span length.
Let's start with an assumption by choosing IPE300;
For IPE300
Wt = 0,422 kN/m
Zx = 557,1 cm3
Ix = 8356 cm4

LRFD with Øb=0,9

𝑊𝑢 = 1,2 ∙ 5 + 0,422 + 1,6 ∙ 15 = 30,5064 kN/m

30,5064 ∙ 6,52
𝑀𝑢 = = 161,112 𝑘𝑁𝑚
8
Mn of section = Fy . Z / 106 = 345 . 557,1 . 103/106 =192,2 kNm
Mu= Øb . Mn = 0,9 . 192,2 kNm = 172,98 kNm > 161,112 kNm ☺
ASD with b=1,67

𝑊𝑢 = 5 + 0,422 + 15 = 20,4220 kN/m

20,4220 ∙ 6,52
𝑀𝑢 = = 107,854 𝑘𝑁𝑚
8
Mn of section = Fy . Z / 106 = 345 . 557,1 . 103/106 =192,2 kNm
Mu= Mn/b = 192,2 kNm /1,67 = 115,1 kNm > 107,854 kNm ☺

Deflection control
W = Wa = Wservice = 5 + 0,422 + 15 = 20,4220 kN/m
5𝑊𝐿4 5 ∙ 20,422 ∙ 6,54
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 ⟹ ∆ = = = 0,0284 𝑚
384𝐸𝐼 384 ∙ 2 ∙ 108 ∙ 8356 ∙ 10−8
The maximum total service load deflection is not to exceed 1/120 of the span length.
𝐿 6,5
Maximum total service load deflection = = = 0,054 𝑚
120 120
0,0284 𝑚 < 0,054 𝑚 ☺OK