Simple Construction and

Steel Beam Design

Dr M Gillie
Some Websites
www.access-steel.com/
Examples
NCCI (Non-contradictory complementary
information)
Scheme design etc.
Funded by steel manufacturers
www.eurocodes.co.uk
Single Element Design
Many steel buildings designed on element
by element basis
Typical office structures
Beams, columns, connections
Need bracing systems
Distinct from framed buildings where
elements cannot be separated so easily
Simple Construction
All connections pinned
Bracing system
needed
Elements designed
individually
Floor slab spans between
secondary beams
Secondary beams
span between primary
beams (or columns)
Primary
beams
span
between
columns
Typical Floor System
Typical floor plan
arrangements
6-9m
6-7.5m
3-4m
Secondary beams
Primary beams
Concrete
core for
stability
Typical Floor System

Non-composite Floors (first)
No connection between steel and concrete
Bending strength by simple addition (ignore concrete?
Lots of material working below yield stress
Quick to build
Pre-cast slabs often used
Concrete floor slab
Steel beam
Composite Floors (Later)
Connection between steel and concrete
Bending strength greatly enhanced
Material working much closer to yield strength
Very efficient method of construction
Steel Beams
Beams very widely used
Needed for horizontal surfaces
Defined as members that (principally) resist
loads in bending
Fundamentals straightforward (1
st
/2
nd
year)
Many potential buckling modes add complexity
in steel
Composite beams often used make effective
use floor slabs structurally
Different types of beams
Open Section
Universal Beams D=1016 -127
Joists (Rolled Steel Joists RSJs) D=254 76
Parallel Flange Channels D=430 100
Angles (Equal and Unequal)
Hollow Section
Hot-finished Circular Hollow Sections D=500 - 27
Hot-finished Square Hollow Sections D=400 - 40
Hot-finished Rectangular Sections D=500 - 50
All the above Hollow Sections Cold Formed
ASB (Asymmetric Beams) D=300 - 280
Parallel Flange Channels D=430 - 100
Beams with web openings
Castellated Universal Beams D=609 191
Cellular
Universal Beams I sections
Optimised for bending
about one axis
Weak about other
axis
Widely used
Mid-range spans
ALSO Universal
columns H sections
Joist (RSJ)
Similar to I-sections
For smaller spans
Circular Hollow Section
Equal bending
capacity about all
axes
Aesthetic
Connections can be
tricky
Short to medium
spans
Square Hollow Section
Equal bending
capacity about two
axes
Aesthetic
Connections can be
tricky
Short to medium
spans
ALSO rectangular
hollow sections
Parallel Flange Channels
Used in trusses
Small spans
Also equal angles
(EA)
And unequal angles
(UA)
Open-web Beams
Very efficient
Allow services to pass
through holes
Prone to complex
buckling behaviour
Castellated, cellular or
other
Weaker in shear
Long spans
Design of Steel Beams
Local behaviour - cross-section checks
In simple cases given by full-plastic moment
Sometimes reduced by local-buckling phenomena
Effects captured by section Class (determined on
geometrical ratios)
Also heck shear capacity (rarely governs)
Global behaviour
Check lateral-torsional buckling
Deflections and other serviceability criteria
(can govern design)
Where to check capacity?
Check at locations of
peak BM, SF, deflection
etc.
Different load cases
may result in several
checks being needed
BM
SF
Check bending
capacity here
Check shear capacity
at ends
Uniform load
Bending Capacity Plastic Hinge
From earlier years plastic
capacity, M
p
has

All material working at yield
stress
- Depends on section geometry
and
- material strength



- This is an upper-bound to the
section capacity



Cross-section
Stress-state
at plastic
capacity

y

Stress-state
when local buckling
governs
<
y
y pl p f W M =
- Susceptibility to local buckling may reduce it
Local-Buckling
Moment-Rotation Behaviour
M
o
m
e
n
t

Rotation
M
p
M
y
Class 4
Class 3
Class 2
Class 1
What happens at
point of max moment?
Full plastic
capacity
Reduced capacity
<
y

y
Section Classification
Class 1
(Plastic)
Class 2
(Compact)
Class 3
(Semi-compact)
Class 4
(Slender)
Large
plastic
rotations
Full-plastic
Moment,
small rots.
Full-elastic
moment
< elastic
moment
Shear Capacity
Shear capacity normally doesnt govern but
must be checked and may be important in
short, deep beams
Normally assumed that shear carried by web
only, A
v
Max shear stresses given by f
y
/3 (from von
mises yield criterion)
Therefore shear capacity related to A
v
f
y
/3
Combined shear and moment should be checked
too: rarely a problem
Global buckling -
Lateral-Torsional Buckling
Dead weight
load applied
vertically
Buckled
position
Unloaded
position
Clamped at
root
Lateral-Torsional Buckling
Mid-span section
Plan
Beam unrestrained laterally

0
10 20 30 40
50
60 70
0.001
0.01
0.1
1.0
Ratio of length to depth
Ratio of M to
M for box
section
cr
cr
Some sections
more affected by
L-T buckling than
others
Hollow sections
unaffected
M
b
/M
p
Lateral-Torsional Buckling
Resistance?
Complex and real situation worse therefore
Design approach semi-empirical
If M
p
<M
b
L-T buckling can be ignored
Beams stiff in torsion or minor axis bending not
susceptible to L-T buckling
If beam restrained against lateral movement - OK
L-T buckling capacity
(simple case!)
5 . 0
2
2
2
2
(

+ =
z Z
w z
b
EI
GJ L
I
I
L
EI
M
t
t Depends on many things!
Note 1/L
2
and stiffness terms
Eurocode 3- Layout
Remember designing for E<R (from EN 1990)

Sections 1+2: Introductory sections
Coordinate axes
Section 3: Material data
Section 5: Analysis of structures
Analysis methods
Section classification
Section 6: How to calculate strength of structures
Partial safety factors on strength
Section capacity 6.2 (cross-section local strength)
Overall buckling capacity 6.3 (strength of whole members)
Serviceability checks 7.3
Eurocode Design of Simple Beams
E<R
Bending moment
(or shear force)
Bending strength of beam
(or shear strength)
Material details from EN1993 Table 3.1
f
y
normally of most interest
Classification of cross-section from Table 5.3 etc
Bending resistance from 6.2.5
Shear resistance from 6.2.6
Bending + Shear from 6.2.8
L-T Buckling - Design
First try and avoid it (this is commonest and easiest)
Lateral restraint
choice of section
Use simplified methods in Eurocode 3 clause 6.3.2.4
Use factor on bending strength
W
y
f
y
/
m
Various means of calculating all complex depend on
Section type
Moment distribution
Loading
Restraint
Semi-empirical methods needed
Eurocode rather vague, need NCCI or text book too
Avoiding L-T Buckling
Some forms of section not susceptible 6.3.2.1(2)
Lateral restraint to compression flange
6.3.2.1(2), 6.3.2.4 (1)B
Can be provided by flooring, purlins, bracing etc
Bracing needs to be provided at minimal intervals
Expression 6.59 gives test for sufficient bracing

Real Beam Behaviour
Bending
Capacity
Slenderness
M
p

Plastic
failure
Complex
behaviour
How do we calculate real bending
capacity in this region where L-T
buckling occur?
Behaviour close to
theoretical predictions
Calculating L-T Buckling Load
y y LT Rd b
f W M _ =
,
Use knock-down factor on section bending resistance (eqn 6.55)
(chi) a function of the slenderness of the beam (eqn 6.56)
cr
y y
LT
M
f W
=
Bending capacity
Theoretical L-T buckling
moment - difficult
Accounts for geometry,
load condition, imperfections etc.
Calculating L-T Buckling Load
Complex
Code gives only very basic guidance
See NCCI and commentary in Extracts
Examples available of Access-Steel website
Simply-supported laterally unrestrained beam
Simply-supported beam with lateral restraint at
load-point
Serviceability
Deflections need to be limited
Guidance given in section 7.2
Use appropriate techniques (earlier years)
to calculate deflections
Not different partial safety factors
Other serviceability criteria may apply