Elastic flexural-torsional buckling of steel beams with rigid and continuous lateral restraints

A simple model of the elastic buckling of steel beams with rigid and continuous lateral restraints has been developed. It is based on a method of displacements that associate lateral restraint conditions. A numerical procedure for resolving the resulting partial differential equations is proposed in which rotations are approximated by trigonometric functions. The effects of moment distribution and continuous restraints on the elastic flexural-torsional buckling of beams are also studied and design approximations and procedures developed. This study also highlights that the restraint of the tensioned part of the beam is not sufficient to limit lateral buckling. The use of these solutions is demonstrated by two examples.     

Time-dependent in-plane behaviour and buckling of concrete-filled steel tubular arches

This paper presents a theoretical analysis for the time-dependent behaviour and buckling of concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) circular arches due to shrinkage and creep of the concrete core under a sustained uniform radial load. The algebraically tractable age-adjusted effective modulus method is used to model the time-dependent behaviour of the concrete core, based on which the differential equations of equilibrium for the time-dependent analysis of CFST arches are derived and analytical solutions for the long-term displacements, stresses and internal forces of CFST arches under the sustained load are obtained. It is shown that the visco-elastic effects of creep and shrinkage of the concrete core have significant long-term effects on the in-plane structural behaviour of CFST arches. The long-term radial and axial displacements, as well as the bending moment, increase substantially with time. For a CFST arch with a low area ratio of the steel tube to the concrete core, the long-term deformations may be excessive and affect the serviceability of the CFST arch. The increases of the long-term stresses in the steel tube with time are significant, while the long-term stresses in the concrete core decrease with time and may change from compressive to tensile if the time is sufficiently long. It is demonstrated that the time-dependent change of the equilibrium configuration of the CFST arch can lead to a buckling configuration being attained in the time domain under a sustained load, which is lower than the buckling loads of the CFST arch under short-term loading. The solution for the possible prebuckling structural life for time-dependent creep buckling of deep CFST arches is derived and can be used to determine the effects of various parameters on the creep buckling of a CFST arch.     

Flexural-torsional buckling of shallow arches with open thin-walled section under uniform radial loads

An arch with an open thin-walled section that is subjected to a radial load uniformly distributed around the arch axis may suddenly buckle out of its plane of loading and fail in a flexural-torsional buckling mode. The classical flexural-torsional buckling load for an arch with an open thin-walled section under a uniform radial load has been obtained by a number of researchers, based on the consideration that the uniform radial load produces a uniform axial compressive force without in-plane bending prior to the occurrence of flexural-torsional buckling. This assumption is correct for deep arches. However, the uniform radial load may produce substantial bending actions in shallow arches prior to flexural-torsional buckling, and so the classical buckling analysis based on the assumption of uniform axial compression may produce incorrect flexural-torsional buckling loads for shallow arches. This paper investigates the flexural-torsional buckling of shallow arches with an open thin-walled section that are subjected to a radial load uniformly distributed around the arch axis. It is found that shallow arches under a uniform radial load are subjected to combined in-plane compressive and bending actions prior to flexural-torsional buckling, and that using the classical buckling solution for circular arches under uniform compression produces incorrect buckling loads for shallow arches. A rational finite element model is developed for the flexural-torsional buckling and postbuckling analysis of shallow arches with an open thin-walled section, which allows the buckling loads to be obtained correctly.     

Thermoelastic flexural–torsional buckling of steel arches

This paper presents the lateral buckling behaviour of steel arch members with a doubly symmetric I-shape cross-section subjected to a linear gradient temperature field over the cross-section. The steel arch is subjected to an in-plane linear temperature gradient field whilst it experiences expansion along its length due to the in-plane temperature gradient producing an in-plane curvature. As the steel arch continues to be subjected to increasing temperature differential and increasing average temperature, the bending moments and axial compressive forces in the steel arch increase and upon reaching a critical value, the steel arch bifurcates from its primary equilibrium position and fails in lateral–torsional buckling mode. A novel non-discretisation mechanical-based methodology developed recently is used to model the behaviour of the steel arch prior to buckling, whilst the classical buckling theory is used to determine the critical temperature which causes flexural–torsional buckling. The proposed methodology allows for the critical temperature gradient and critical average temperature to be ascertained using an iterative method. Using a comprehensive parametric study, the variations of the thermal gradient and the critical average temperature to various parameters are then investigated. The model proposed here provides a closed-form solution for which it forms a platform which can be used for structural steel arch design and evaluation in the development of codified approaches to fire design on a performance based design.     

Exact and approximate solutions for the flexural buckling of columns with oblique rotational end restraints

This paper is concerned with the elastic flexural buckling of doubly symmetric columns with oblique restraints under concentric loading. Oblique restraints cause coupling between the principal axis deflections and rotations, and the flexural buckling mode involves simultaneous bending about both principal axes.The paper discusses the nature of oblique restraints, and presents exact and approximate solutions for the buckling loads of columns with rigid or elastic restraints against rotations at the ends. The exact solutions are obtained by solving the governing differential equations and boundary conditions, while the approximate solutions are based on energy solutions with assumed buckling displacements. The approximate solutions are sufficiently simple that they can be used in design, and are shown to be within 1% of the exact solutions.     

Inelastic buckling of pin-ended steel columns under longitudinal non-uniform temperature distribution

Columns under natural fire conditions are usually exposed to non-uniform temperature distribution in the longitudinal direction. The motivation for this study stems from zone modeling of a compartment fire where the gas layers are artificially divided into two zones, viz. the hotter upper zone and the cooler lower zone. However, for field modeling of a compartment fire, more detailed information of temperature distribution can be obtained. The difference in temperature between the top and bottom ends of a column can be quite significant, particularly prior to flashover condition. Depending on the required accuracy, one example due to piece-wise step distribution in the longitudinal direction is analyzed in this paper and compared with experimental results. This represents more realistically the thermal response of a column which experiences greater temperature variation with increasing height. In this paper, the inelastic stability of a pin-ended steel column under non-uniform temperature distribution is studied analytically. Across a column section, the temperature is assumed to be uniform. Two linear elastic springs connected to the column ends simulate axial restraints from adjoining unheated structures.     

Seismic performance and collapse prevention of concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular arches

The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the seismic behaviour of concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) arches using incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). A nonlinear elastic–plastic finite element model is developed using OpenSees software and is verified with a shaking table test. Single-record IDA studies indicate that a CFST arch undergoes global dynamic instability when subjected to ground motions of increasing intensity levels. During this process, either dynamic elastic buckling or dynamic elastic–plastic buckling may occur. Dynamic strength, which is defined as the capacity for preventing global dynamic instabilities of CFST arches, is determined with a series of multi-record IDA calculations. A lower bound equation that takes into account the effect of slenderness ratio, axial compression ratio, and included angle is proposed for the prediction of the dynamic strength of CFST arches.     

New method of inelastic buckling analysis for steel frames

In general, the concept of bifurcation stability cannot be used to evaluate the critical load of typical steel frames that have geometric imperfections and primary bending moment due to transverse loads. These cases require a plastic zone or plastic hinge analysis based on the concept of limit-load stability instead. However, such analyses require large computation times and complicated theories that are unsuitable for practical designs. The present paper proposes a new method of inelastic buckling analysis in order to determine the critical load of steel frames. This inelastic analysis is based on the concept of modified bifurcation stability using a tangent modulus approach and the column strength curve. Criteria for an iterative eigenvalue analysis are proposed in order to consider the primary bending moment as well as the axial force by using the interaction equation for beam-column members. The validity and applicability of the proposed inelastic buckling analysis were evaluated alongside elastic buckling analysis and refined plastic hinge analysis. Simple columns with geometric imperfections and a four-story plane frame were analyzed as benchmark problems. The results show that the proposed inelastic buckling analysis suitably evaluates the critical load and failure modes of steel frames, and can be a good alternative for the evaluation of critical load in the design of steel frames.     

Design of circular steel arches with hollow circular cross-sections according to EC3

Design of either pin-ended or fixed circular steel arches with hollow circular cross-sections subjected to a uniformly distributed vertical load along the horizontal projection of the entire arch with the aid of the EC3 provisions is discussed. Appropriate modification factors are proposed that should be included in EC3 interaction equations, to improve their accuracy for the design of such arches.     

The influence of the fabrication process on the buckling of thin-walled steel box sections

Steel box sections are usually fabricated from flat plates which are welded at the corners. The welding process can introduce residual stresses and geometric imperfections into the sections which can influence their strength. For some thin-walled sections, large periodic geometric imperfections have been observed in manufactured sections. Subsequent investigations have indicated that the imperfections are in fact buckling deformations i.e. the box section has buckled due to welding residual stresses prior to any application of external load. The welding procedure and the behaviour of the box sections under load has been modelled using a finite element analysis that accounts for both geometric and material non-linearities. Tests have been carried out on box sections with a range of width to thickness ratios for the plate elements. Modelling has been shown to give good correlation with the test results. The conditions for buckling to take place as a result of the welding process have been established. A design method has been proposed.     

Elastic, full plastic and lateral torsional buckling analysis of steel single-angle section beams subjected to biaxial bending

Flexural strength limits of steel single-angle section beams should be calculated based on the full plastic moment capacities, local buckling resistance and lateral torsional buckling capacities of the angle sections. The angle section beams are generally under the effect of external loads applied along the direction of geometrical axes parallel to their legs, so that they cause simultaneous biaxial bending about both principal axes. The behavior of angle sections under biaxial bending is complicated. The stress distribution of the critical points of the section cannot be easily determined since all specific points need to be checked. Furthermore, the design specifications require the consideration of the full plastic moment capacities of angle sections. This brings up the question of determining the required increase in first yield moment in order to attain full plastic moment capacities. Since single-angle section beams are thin walled slender structural members, they cannot be designed only according to their elastic and plastic moment capacities. Lateral torsional buckling and local buckling cases need to be considered in determining nominal design moments. In this study, the bending moment about the minor principal axis is assumed to be less than or equal to the moment about the major principal axis. Under that condition the first yield moment capacities, the interaction diagrams between first yield and full plastic moment capacities and critical lateral torsional buckling moments are calculated. These values are obtained by means of dimensionless coefficients, and design procedures have been given for the case of biaxial bending for single-angle section beams taking LRFD [LRFD Load and resistance factor design of single-angle members. Chicago (IL): American Institute of Steel Construction; 2000] rules into account.     

有平面外支撑的工形截面圆弧钢拱弹性稳定性能及支撑刚度设计

采用有限元特征值屈曲数值方法，对平面外支撑工形截面圆弧拱弹性屈曲荷载及其刚度取值进行研究。在考虑各种荷载条件与拱脚条件下，研究了支撑刚度，约束类型、数量以及作用位置对钢拱平面外屈曲性能的影响，对于设置等间距侧向支撑的情况，给出了侧向支撑弹性门槛刚度的拟合式，并提出了支撑点间拱段不发生平面外弹性失稳的条件。研究结果表明：平面外支撑越靠近拱顶，其防止平面外失稳的工作效率越高；设置侧向支撑的钢拱屈曲时，随着支撑刚度的增大其屈曲半波数逐渐增加，而仅在拱顶设置扭转约束时始终呈现1个半波失稳模式；从均匀受压圆弧拱的情况获得的等间距侧向支撑门槛刚度，应用在其他组合荷载作用下，同样可以获得足够的支承刚度；当工形截面钢拱的支撑点间拱段长度满足所提出的要求时，钢拱平面外失稳不先于平面内反对称整体失稳。     

Out-of-plane elastic buckling of I-section steel arches braced laterally and design of bracing stiffness

采用有限元特征值屈曲数值方法,对平面外支撑工形截面圆弧拱弹性屈曲荷载及其刚度取值进行研究。在考虑各种荷载条件与拱脚条件下,研究了支撑刚度,约束类型、数量以及作用位置对钢拱平面外屈曲性能的影响,对于设置等间距侧向支撑的情况,给出了侧向支撑弹性门槛刚度的拟合式,并提出了支撑点间拱段不发生平面外弹性失稳的条件。研究结果表明：平面外支撑越靠近拱顶,其防止平面外失稳的工作效率越高;设置侧向支撑的钢拱屈曲时,随着支撑刚度的增大其屈曲半波数逐渐增加,而仅在拱顶设置扭转约束时始终呈现1个半波失稳模式;从均匀受压圆弧拱的情况获得的等间距侧向支撑门槛刚度,应用在其他组合荷载作用下,同样可以获得足够的支承刚度;当工形截面钢拱的支撑点间拱段长度满足所提出的要求时,钢拱平面外失稳不先于平面内反对称整体失稳。     

Lateral-torsional buckling of I-girders with discrete torsional bracings

Discrete torsional bracing systems are widely used in practice to increase the lateral-torsional buckling (LTB) strength of I-girders. However, only limited studies are available on the LTB strength of I-girders with mid-span torsional bracing. In addition, equivalent continuous brace stiffness concept is adopted for general discrete torsional bracing problems. This article presents an analytical solution for LTB strength and stiffness requirements of I-girders with discrete torsional bracings under a uniform bending condition. Firstly, the critical moment and torsional stiffness requirement are derived by using an energy method for an arbitrary number of bracing points. The proposed equations are then compared with the results of finite element analyses and those obtained by previous researchers. From the results, it is found that the proposed solutions agree well with the results of finite element analyses regardless of the number of bracing points, while the results for the equivalent continuous brace stiffness concept are not suitable for multiple discrete torsionally braced beams. Finally, reduced formula for the total stiffness requirement is proposed for the purpose of design, and effects of linear moment gradient loading and geometric imperfections on critical moments and stiffness requirement are also observed.     

Flexural–torsional buckling of ultra light-gauge steel storage rack uprights

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the behaviour of ultra light-gauge steel storage rack uprights subjected to compression. Two different types of members with varying lengths are tested and while the combined effects of local and distortional buckling are investigated, special attention is given to longer specimens that fail by flexural–torsional buckling in combination with local and distortional buckling. Deformations experienced during testing by all of the specimens were measured and observations regarding failure modes have been documented. In addition, the geometric imperfections of each member were measured before testing, as were the material properties of the cold-rolled sections and the virgin steel from which the sections were formed. This paper details the observed failure modes, the recorded ultimate strengths and the load-deflection responses. Design capacities calculated from AS/NZS 4084 (2012) [1], RMI (2012) [2] and EN 15512 (2009) [3] specifications are then evaluated and compared to the experimental results obtained.The evaluation of international specificationsdetermined that EN 15512 (2009) [3] is more accurate in predicting ultimate loads of sections undergoing interactive buckling than both AS/NZS 4804 (2012) [1] and RMI (2012) [2].     

Thermal buckling of rotationally restrained steel columns

The in-plane elastic buckling of a steel column under thermal loading is investigated. Two elastic rotational springs at the column ends are used to model the restraints which are provided by adjacent structural members or an elastic foundation. The temperature is assumed to be linearly distributed across the section. Based on a nonlinear strain-displacement relationship, both the equilibrium and buckling equations are obtained by using the energy method. Then the buckling of columns in three different thermal loading cases is studied. The results show that the proposed analytical solution can be used to predict the critical temperature for elastic buckling. The thermal gradient plays a positive role in improving the stability of columns. Furthermore, the effect of thermal gradients decreases while increasing the rotational restraint stiffness and decreasing the slenderness ratios of columns. It can also be found that rotational restraints can significantly affect the column elastic buckling loads. Increasing the rotational stiffness of thermal restraints will increase the critical temperature.     

Torsional and flexural torsional buckling — A study on laterally restrained I-sections

Torsional and torsional–flexural buckling of columns under axial compression–as defined in the Eurocode 3-1-1(2005)–may practically occur in axially compressed I-sections, which are laterally restrained so that weak axis flexural buckling is prevented and buckling is initiated by torsional deformation about the axis of lateral restraint. The present study is focussed on the development and representation of specific buckling curves for this type of buckling mode. This is based on numerical simulations taking into account material nonlinearities as well as geometric imperfections and residual stresses. The study not only illustrates the typical buckling curves for torsional buckling, but also the transition from torsional buckling to main axis flexural buckling when the column length increases. It also shows that the use of weak-axis buckling coefficients for torsional buckling–as given in the rules of Eurocode 3-1-1–may lead to rather conservative results in many cases.     

Proposed design methods for lateral torsional buckling of unrestrained steel beams in fire

The behaviour of unrestrained steel I-beams has been studied by means of numerical analysis and published experimental results. The numerical model was developed using a commercial finite element program, MSC.MARC Mentat. A series of different UB and UC sections and different spans, subjected to both uniform moment and midspan point loads, are considered. The numerical predictions of the buckling moments are then compared with published experimental results. Consequently, a new approach is proposed to provide more accurate and safe predictions of the fire resistance of unrestrained beams, as well as to overcome certain weaknesses in the EC3:1.2 [European committee for standardization (CEN). Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures, Part 1.2: General rules — structural fire design, EN 1993-1-2. Brussels (Belgium); 2005] design formula. In addition, to provide a quick and simple design approach for engineers, a straightforward and rational method known as the Rankine method is introduced to predict the LTB failure load of steel beams in fire. It is shown that the Rankine approach generally provides a good lower bound value for numerical predictions.     

In-plane strength of concrete-filled steel tubular circular arches

More than 400 concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) arch bridges have been constructed worldwide so far. However, design codes or guidance for the in-plane strength design of CFST arches are yet to be developed. In current design practice, the philosophy for the in-plane strength design of reinforced and prestressed concrete arches is widely adopted for CFST arches. For this, the CFST arches are considered under central or eccentric axial compression and are treated similarly to CFST columns, and the classical buckling load of CFST columns is used as the reference elastic buckling load of CFST arches. However, under transverse loading, the in-plane elastic buckling behaviour of CFST arches, particularly shallow CFST arches, is very different from that of CFST columns under axial compression. In addition, different from CFST columns under central or eccentric axial compression, CFST arches are subjected to significant nonlinear bending actions and transverse deformations prior to buckling and these will influence the strength of CFST arches greatly. Therefore, it is doubtful if the current method for in-plane strength design of CFST arches can provide correct strength predictions. In this paper, a method for the in-plane strength design of CFST circular arches, which is consistent with the current major design codes for steel structures, is developed by considering both geometric and material nonlinearities. A design equation for the in-plane strength capacity of CFST arches under uniform compression, and a lower-bound design equation for the in-plane strength check of CFST arches under combined actions of bending and compression are proposed.