Study on corrugated web steel girders

Abstract

Recently studies on corrugated web steel girders are gaining prominence. Several research studies are being carried out to understand the shear buckling behaviour of trapezoidally corrugated web steel girders (TCWSG). However studies on girders where openings are provided for incorporating ancillary systems such as hydraulic, ventilation pipes and electric cables within the structural depth are lacking. The existence of openings changes the stress distribution and buckling characteristics of girders. hus an elaborate investigation is needed to understand the behaviour of corrugated web steel girders with web cutouts. Until now, the influence of web cutouts on TCWSG has not yet been comprehended. With this background, the present study investigates the influence of cutouts in TCWSGs and from the results, a new simplified equation is proposed. The main objective of this research is to investigate the shear buckling behaviour of TCWSGs with cutouts under shear loading. The parametric study includes the influence of web height, the thickness of web, opening location and dimensions of openings. Analytical, numerical and experimental investigations have been carried out. With the help of the above investigations, a new design equation has been proposed to estimate the shear capacity of TCWSGs for different web openings. newlineIn the first phase, an experimental program was conducted to determine the load carrying capacity and shear buckling failure modes of TCWSGs with and without cu touts. Prior to experimental research, a pilot study was carried out to fix the welding locations of girders. As very thin webs were used, a combination of intermediate and continuous fillet welding was performed. Seven specimens with and without cutouts were tested for shear failure. All the specimens were tested with simply supported end conditions and subjected to concentrated mid-span loading to ensure constant shear stress in the web region. To prevent lateral torsional buckling, two end bearings and one load bearing stiffeners were provided. The test results were represented in terms of the load-deformation characteristics and load-strain curves. From the experimental investigations, three different shear buckling modes were observed: local, global and interactive buckling. It was observed that TCWSGs failed by global shear buckling, whereas TCWSGs with cutouts failed by global and interactive shear buckling. In addition, all the tested girders exhibited a post-buckling residual strength regardless of shear buckling newline