Buckling of Curved Webs in Steel Box Girders
Philippe Van Bogaert2018, IABSE Symposium, Nantes 2018: Tomorrow’s Megastructures
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Abstract
Today, bridge girders with curved flanges and webs are becoming more common in order to increase the aesthetic value and to improve the quality of the structure. Despite the use of these new shapes, not much research has been done in this field. The aim of the present research is to find the influence of the web curvature on the buckling resistance. Therefore, numerical models are created, which have curvature radii of 1500, 5, 3, 5/3, 1, 0.7 and 0.55 times the web height. GMNIA is performed with these models, the first mode shape being used as geometric imperfection. Amplitudes of 0.1 times to 3 times the web thickness are used. The results are analyzed on multiple levels. The imperfection sensitivity towards curved webs is visible by the deformation pattern, the buckling load, and the loaddeformation curve of a web. These last curves also give an indication of the behaviour in the post buckling region.
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Today, bridge girders with curved flanges and webs are becoming common in order to increase the aesthetic value and to improve the quality of the structure. Despite the use of these new shapes, not much research has been done in this field. The aim of the present research is to develop an experimental test setup, during which box girders with changing web curvature are subjected to a constant shear force. The specimens were made from plastic sheets (with thickness 0.125 mm) to create the webs and flanges, and MDF wood to create the external stiffeners. In a later phase, numerical models are created, which have the same properties and characteristics as the experimental specimens. These include a height of 70 mm, a width of 30 mm, and curvature radii of 1500, 5, 3, 5/3, 1 and 0.55 times the web height. The aim of the test is to analyse the elastic buckling behaviour of the webs and the failure condition of the specimen. The experimental results are analysed and compared with numerical results, for which no imperfections were included. Tests indicate that the elastic buckling load is increasing with increasing curvature, whereas for the failure load the opposite happens. The numerical models show identical behaviour, with higher loads. The failure load behaviour changes according to flat web or shell behaviour of the specimen. The results showed that flatter webs have much more postbuckling capacity than the most curved webs. The deformation pattern of the web is also different for both categories. Where the flatter webs had diagonal tension lines, the most curved webs had more horizontal bulges, shifting to the upper web-flange juncture. The difference between the numerical and experimental results can be blamed to the lack of imperfections implemented in the first approach. Earlier numerical research 1 with closed steel sections, show that the failure load line is increasing with growing curvature. The high web slenderness for the experimental specimen causes opposite results for the failure load. For an increasing curvature, the post-buckling capacity is decreasing, while the elastic buckling capacity is increasing. This all results in an increasing or decreasing failure load curve.
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Trapezoidally corrugated steel plates have been used as the web of pre-stressed concrete box girder bridges to reduce dead load and increase structural efficiency. Due to an applied shear stress, the trapezoidally corrugated web can fail by three different shear buckling modes: local, global, and interactive shear buckling. Local buckling involves a single panel, whereas global buckling involves multiple panels, with buckles extending over the entire depth of the web. The interactive buckling is rather complex and is an intermediate type of shear buckling between local buckling and global buckling, which involves several panels. In this study, a series of finite element analyses was carried out to study the geometric parameters affecting interactive shear buckling modes and strength. Based on the analysis results, the interactive shear buckling strength formula is proposed. The proposed formula agreed well with the experimental data.
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This report presents the results of four full-scale curved steel I girder component tests conducted to examine their shear behavior and to determine their maximum shear strengths. A web depth D of 1219 mm (48 in) aid AASHTO M270 Grade 345 steel is selected for all of these girders. The nominal web thickness for the shear tests is selected as 8 mm (5/16 in), resulting in a nominal web slenderness D/t w of 154. Two of the girders, referred to as S1 and S1-S, have a radius R = 63 630 mm (208.75 ft) and transverse stiffener spacing such that the ratio d 0 /D is 3 for S1 and 1.5 for S1-S (producing d 0 /R = 0,0575 and 0.0287 respectively). The other two test components, labeled as S2 and S2-S, are identical to S1 and S1-S except that their radii are 36 580 mm (120 ft), resulting in d 0 /R = 0.10 and 0.050. All of the girders are braced against radial deflections at intervals of 3658 mm (12 ft) along the girder arc. Therefore, the ratio L b /R is equal to 0.0575 for S1 and S1-S and 0.10 for S2 and S2-S, where L b is the distance between the brace points along the girder arc. The above girders are instrumented to determine their maximum shear resistance as well as the mechanisms associated with the development of their shear strengths. Of particular interest is the extent to which the curved webs are capable of developing postbuckling strength, and the influence of the horizontal curvature and panel aspect ratio on the development of this strength.
Compurers & Slrucrures Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 469-474. 1991 0045-7949/91 $3.00 + 0.00 Printed in Great Britain. Pergamon Press plc NONLINEAR ANALYSIS OF BUCKLING BEHAVIOUR OF STEEL BOX GIRDER COMPONENTS
Results of a large deflection nonlinear analysis of stiffened compression plates used in design of box girder bridges are presented. Both geometric and material nonlinearities were considered in the formulation. The soundness of the finite element model used in prediction of the buckling behaviour and ultimate strength of stiffened compression flanges is shown by comparison with experimental data.
Comparative Study on Lateral Torsional Buckling of Tubular Plate Girders Using Different Web Systems
Compared with conventional plate girder with flat web, plate girders with tubular rectangular flanges have shown better flexural resistance and very stiff torsional resistance. Their flat webs are comparatively flexible and may allow for web distortion to reduce their resistances to lateral torsional buckling. Using innovative web systems in plate girders, like corrugated webs, may lead to better distortional resistance and improvement of lateral torsional buckling capacity of plate girders. This paper deals with this problem by comparing different systems of plate girders, different flange and web types, both using finite element model and mathematical model. A simple but sufficiently accurate closed-form solution is introduced for the effect of distortion of simply supported tubular flanges as well as warping resistance for corrugated web. Different types are compared to figure out the best shape and geometrical configuration for the girders.
Buckling strength of tapered bridge girders under combined shear and bending
HBRC Journal, 2014
This paper represents the finite element results for the local buckling of tapered plate girders subjected to combine pure bending and shear stresses. An idealized model is developed representing the loading of the tapered panel that generates uniform normal stresses due to flexure, or uniform and constant shear stresses in the case of shear. Eigen-value analysis was performed for several tapered web plate girders that have different geometric parameters. A parametric study is made to reduce the FE model size showing the effect of decreasing the tapered panel adjacent straight panels, maintaining the same result accuracy as a complete girder model. The combined buckling capacity of bending and shear is determined by applying all possible load pattern combinations, together with different interaction ratios. An analysis study is presented to investigate the effect of the tapering angle on the combined bending-shear capacity of the girder. The study also includes the effect of the flange and web slenderness on the local buckling of the girder. Considering residual stresses as part of the loading stresses, the analysis procedure is repeated for some cases, and the effect of combining of the residual stresses together with the external loads is found. Empirical approximate formulae are given to estimate the combined flexure-shear buckling resistance of the tapered girder safely.
COMPARISON BETWEEN BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF TAPERED WEB & CORRUGATED WEB
To increase the shear capacity of web of large steel plate girders, the web with different patterns such as tapered web, haunches, corrugation of different shapes are used. The corrugated steel plate is widely used structural element in many field of application because of its numerous favourable properties. Tapered (varying depth) web is one of the new technique proposed in design in order to achieve economy and to reduce its self weight . Present work is focusing on the determination of buckling strength and economy of corrugated web and tapered web. In the present study comparison has been carried out between plate girder with corrugated web beams and tapered web beams. The finite element analysis of a plate girder is carried out using ANSYS. The main aim of this project is to determine the buck ling strength of corrugated web and tapered web subjected to shear for transverse loading at mid span. Also to check the economy and compare it with tapered web plate girder. Research work involves the finite element analysis of plate girder for different conditions like, i) Tapered Web beams ii) Corrugated Web Beams with Rectangular ,Trapezoidal, Web Corrugations. The main comparison parameters are i) static behaviour, ii) buckling behaviour
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Buckling of Curved Webs in Steel Box Girders
IABSE Symposium, Nantes 2018: Tomorrow’s Megastructures, 2018
Today, bridge girders with curved flanges and webs are becoming more common in order to increase the aesthetic value and to improve the quality of the structure. Despite the use of these new shapes, not much research has been done in this field. The aim of the present research is to find the influence of the web curvature on the buckling resistance. Therefore, numerical models are created, which have curvature radii of 1500, 5, 3, 5/3, 1, 0.7 and 0.55 times the web height. GMNIA is performed with these models, the first mode shape being used as geometric imperfection. Amplitudes of 0.1 times to 3 times the web thickness are used. The results are analyzed on multiple levels. The imperfection sensitivity towards curved webs is visible by the deformation pattern, the buckling load, and the loaddeformation curve of a web. These last curves also give an indication of the behaviour in the post buckling region.
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