ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF TRANSVERSELY AND LONGITUDINALLY STIFFENED PLATE GIRDERS

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY IS PRESENTED OF THE STATIC ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF PLATE GIRDER PANELS SUBJECTED TO SHEAR, BENDING, OR A COMBINATION OF SHEAR AND BENDING. CONSIDERED ARE TRANSVERSELY AND LONGITUDINALLY STIFFENED GIRDERS WITH A SECTION HAVING FLANGES OF UNEQUAL AREA. PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAILURE MECHANISM OF TRANSVERSELY STIFFENED GIRDERS. THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF A GIRDER PANEL IS FOUND TO DEPEND ON THE STRENGTHS OF THE WEB PLATE AND THE FLANGES. THE STATIC ULTIMATE STRENGTH IS ASSUMED TO BE GIVEN BY THE FOLLOWING THREE CONTRIBUTIONS: (1) THE BEAM ACTION STRENGTH UP TO THE LOAD AT WHICH WEB BUCKLING WOULD THEORETICALLY OCCUR, (2) THE POST-BUCKLING TENSION FIELD STRENGTH OF THE WEB, AND (3) THE FRAME ACTION STRENGTH WHICH IS BASED ON THE FORMATION OF A PANEL MECHANISM WITH PLASTIC HINGES FORMING IN THE FLANGES. IN THE WEB BUCKLING COMPUTATION, IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE WEB PLATE IS CLAMPED AT THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES AND SIMPLY SUPPORTED AT THE TRANSVERSE EDGES. IN THE POST-BUCKLING RANGE, THE COMPRESSION FLANGE TOGETHER WITH AN ADJOINING PORTION OF THE WEB BEHAVES AS A COLUMN AND THE WEB PLATE BEHAVES AS A TENSION DIAGONAL. THE PANEL, THUS, IS TREATED AS IF IT WERE A TRUSS. THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH UNDER VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF SHEAR AND BENDING IS CONTROLLED BY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE MODES OF FAILURE: BUCKLING OF THE COMPRESSION FLANGE, FAILURE OF THE WEB PLATE, OR YIELDING OF THE TENSION FLANGE. A COMPLETE INTERACTION RELATIONSHIP IS ESTABLISHED. THE STATIC ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF PLATE GIRDER PANELS WITH ONE LONGITUDINAL STIFFENER IN ADDITON TO TRANSVERSE SITFFENERS IS DETERMINED BY ASSUMING THAT THE STRENGTHS OF THE SUBPANELS FORMED BY THE LONGITUDINAL STIFFENER CAN BE EVALUATED INDEPENDENTLY AND THAT THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF THE WHOLE PANEL IS THE SUM OF THE ULTIMATE STRENGTHS OF THE SUBPANELS. THE STRENGTH OF THE PANEL MAY ALSO BE CONTROLLED BY THE STRENGTH OF THE LONGITUDINAL STIFFENER. AN INTERACTION CURVE FOR LONGITUDINALLY STIFFENED GIRDER PANELS SUBJECTED TO SHEAR AND BENDING IS OBTAINED. THE PROPOSED APPROACH IS APPLICABLE TO PLATE GIRDERS WITH THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES: (1) HOMOGENEOUS OR HYBRID GIRDERS, (2) TRANSVERSELY STIFFENED GIRDERS OR GIRDERS WITH ONE LONGITUDINAL STIFFENER, OR (3) THE AREAS OF THE FLANGES MAY BE UNEQUAL WITH THE RESULT THAT THE CENTROIDAL AXIS IS CLOSER TO THE TENSION OR COMPRESSION FLANGE. THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH EVALUATED BY THIS APPROACH GIVES A BETTER CORRELATION WITH TEST RESULTS THAN THAT ACCORDING TO THE APPROACHES PROPOSED BY PREVIOUS INVESTIGATORS. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Hpr, 328.11, 66.3
• Corporate Authors:

  Lehigh University

  Bethlehem, PA  United States  18015

  Bureau of Public Roads /US

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Pennsylvania Department of Highways

  400 North Street
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17120-0095
• Authors:
  • Chern, C
• Publication Date: 1969-8

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bending; Buckling; Flanges; Longitudinal stiffeners; Plate girders; Shear strength; Transverse stiffeners; Ultimate strength; Webbing
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00207928
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Bureau of Public Roads /US
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 5 1970 12:00AM