CHAPTER 4

Beams or Flexural Members

4.1 Introduction
Beams are any flexural members that principally support transverse loads which produce bending
moment and shear force. Beams may be horizontal (most common), sloping or vertical. Sloping
and vertical beams may support both axial and transverse loadings, and they are called beam-
column. Among many uses of beams as member of structures are roof-purlins, joists and girders
of building floors, lintels over openings, stringers and floor-beams of bridge decks.

W-shapes are the most economical sections for beam. S-shapes are used primarily for special
situations as where narrow flange-width is desirable, or where shear forces are high, or where the
greater flange-thickness may be desirable when lateral bending occurs as perhaps with crane rails.
Plate-girders and W-shapes with cover plates may be used when beam support heavy loading
over large span. Open-web sections (light shop-fabricated parallel chord truss) may be used for
roof-purlins and as floor-joists to support floor & roof slabs supporting light loads. Channels and
angles are some times used for beams subjected to light loads, such as roof-purlins. Since
channels and angles are having little resistance to lateral forces, they need to be braced by the sag
rod laterally. When larger torsional resistance is required by beam, square and rectangular tubes
are preferred compared with W-, S-shapes and plate-girder sections.

In most cases, particularly for maximizing economy, a rolled structural steel shape is loaded
laterally so that the bending is about the stronger axis. Occasionally, bending takes place about
the weak axis, and in some instances there is simultaneous bending takes place about both axes.
In nearly all of the applications involving a single axis of bending, the transverse-load is
considered to be applied through the shear-center of the section. When the transverse-load does
not pass through the shear-center of the section, a torsional moment is produced along with the
bending moment.

4.2 Design of Beams

The main considerations in design of beams are:
a) Beams should be proportioned for strength of section in bending and the capacity of the
selected section to develop the necessary strength in shear and local-bearing.
b) Beams should be proportioned for stiffness keeping in mind their deflections and deformation
under service conditions.
c) Beams should be proportioned for economy, paying attention to the size and grade of steel to
produce the most economical design.

The usual method of selecting a beam section is based on section-modulus. The criterion of
economy is weight rather than section-modulus. Therefore, it is desirable to choose a light beam
furnishing the required section modulus. However, due to head room limitations, or if adjacent
beam are to be matched, it may not be possible to choose the lightest section. Sometimes
deflection and occasionally shear may be the necessary criterion dictating the choice of a section
of beam.

1 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

4.3 Design of Beam for Bending using Elastic Design Method
Design of a section of beam for bending using elastic design method is made by limiting bending
stress developed in the section caused by the service design load to the allowable bending stress
of steel. The following design equations are used to select a section of beam:
For simple bending,
M .cy M
f bx Fbx --for bending about x-axis only
Ix Sx
M .cx M
f by Fby --for bending about y-axis only
Iy Sy
For bi-axes bending, the design interaction equation is obtained by modifying compound- stress
formula considering different allowable bending stresses in x- and y-axes as,
M x .cy M y .cx Mx My
1.0
I x . Fbx I y . Fby S x . Fbx S y . Fby
where Mdesign bending moment due to service design load on beam
cdistance from neutral axis to extreme fiber in the direction of bending
Imoment of inertia of section about its centroid in the direction of bending
S I c --section modulus of beam section
Fb --allowable bending stress of steel

4.3.1 Allowable Bending Stress of Structural Steel (AISC)

Two factors exert considerable influence on the allowable bending stress of structural steel, Fb
in the design of structural member made of rolled section. These are:
1) Section geometry [based on flange width to thickness ratio, b f 2t f and depth to web
thickness ratio, d t w ] of structural steel section
2) Lateral support [or lateral bracing] of compression flange of beam section
Both of these factors are the direct consequences of the plate buckling. The geometry of a rolled
steel shape may be such to produce a compact or non-compact section.

The requirements of compact section according to AISC-specification are as follows:

1) The compression flange of section must be continuously connected to the web of section. A
built-up section with its flange intermittently welded to the web does not meet this requirement.
2) The section has the following flange-width to thickness ratio that prevents local buckling of the
compression flange.
bf 170
--compression flanges of W-, S-, channel & tee shape
2t f F y ( MPa)
b 500
--compression flanges of square & rectangular tubes
t F y ( MPa)
3) The depth of section to thickness of web ratio that prevent web-local buckling
d 1690

tw F y ( MPa )

The allowable bending stress of structural steel for bending about the major-axis if compression-
flange of beam is adequately braced laterally according to AISC is given by,

2 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

 Fbx 0.66 F y -- (for compact section)
Fbx 0.6 F y -- (for non-compact section)
Compression-flange of beam is adequately braced laterally to prevent lateral-torsional buckling
problem when the un-braced length of compression flange is less than the lesser of the following.
0.2b f 139b f . t f
l1 ( m) or l2 ( m)
F y ( MPa) F y ( MPa) . d
Where b f , t f and d are in mm .
The lesser values of l1 and l 2 is called l c and the larger value is l u .

Depending of the conditions of lateral bracing of compression flange and section-geometry, the
allowable bending stress of structural steel for bending about the major-axis are given as follow.
a) When the un-braced length of compression flange is less than or equal to l c ( l b l c ) and the
section-geometry is compact, the allowable bending stress is
Fbx 0.66 F y
b)When the un-braced length of compression flange is greater than l u ( l b l u ) and whatever
section geometry, the largest possible value of the allowable bending stress is 0.6 F y .
i.e Fbx 0.6 F y
The allowable bending stress may be determined taking into account lateral-torsional buckling
as the larger of the following,
1.17 x 10 6 C b lb 3.54 x 10 6 C b
Fb1 with
lb rT 2 rT Fy
82700C b . b f . t f
and Fb 2
lb . d
C b 1.75 1.05 M 1 M 2 0.3 M 1 M 2 2.3
2
where
M 1 & M 2 are the smaller and larger moment at end of the un-braced length (
M 1 M 2 is positive for the same sign & negative for opposite sign)
rT = radius of gyration of compression flange + 1/3 of compression web area
about Y-axis
3
bf
rT I f A f
Aw 6
t f . b f 12
b . t f h . t w 6

f 12
Note: Use C b 1.0 when the moment in the interior of un-braced length is larger than either
of the end moments.
c) When either (l c l b l u ) or (170 F b 2t 250 F ) , the section-geometry is
y f f y

partially compact and the allowable bending stress is obtained using a linear interpolation
between 0.66 F y and 0.6 F y as,

Fbx F y 0.79 0.00076 b f 2t f Fy --if comp. flange is adequately braced
laterally
l l
Fbx Fy 0.66 0.06 b c
and --if section geometry is compact
lu l c
Or conservatively, take the smaller value of allowable bending stress, Fbx 0.6 F y .

3 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

The allowable bending stress for compact rolled section bent about the minor-axis Y Y axis
and for solid round, square, or rectangular bars may be taken as,

Fby F y 1.075 0.0019 b f 2t f Fy Fy
For most rolled section this equation gives approximately Fby 0.75 F y . For solid bar,
b f 2t f width depth and for a round bar, take b f 2t f 1 .

Table 1: -Limiting Width-thickness Ratio for Rolled Beam Section for allowable bending stress
(AISC-ASD)

Description of Section classified as having Section classified as

Element no-slender element having slender elements
Compact Non-Compact
-Flanges of W-, S-, bf 170 170 bf 250 bf 250
channel & tee shape
2t f Fy Fy 2t f Fy 2t f Fy

-Flanges of rectangular or b 500 500 b 625 b 625

square box-sections t Fy Fy t Fy t Fy

-Flange cover plates b 500 500 b 625 b 625

(between lines of fasteners) t Fy Fy t Fy t Fy

-Webs in flexural d 1690 _ d 1690

compression tw Fy tw Fy
h 2000
_ h 2000
tw Fy
tw Fy

-Stems of tees _ d 335 d 335

tw Fy tw Fy

-Circular pipe sections D 8675 _ D 8675

tw Fy tw Fy

Table 2: -Allowable Bending Stresses for Beams

4 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

 Having no Slender Element (AISC-ASD)

Compact sections only Both compact & non- Both compact & non-compact
compact
0.2b f 0.2b f 0.2b f
lb ( m) lb ( m) lb ( m) and,
Fy Fy Fy
and, 139 A f 139 A f
139 A f and, l b ( m) lb ( m)
lb ( m) Fy . d Fy . d
Fy . d Fbx 0.6 F y 82700 A f
then,
then, then, Fbx 0. 6 F y ---
(for tension or lb . d
Fbx 0.66 F y compression) (for compression)
(for tension or Fbx 0.6 F y ---(for tension in all
compression)
cases)
Special case I (for compression)
Note: rT -radius of gyration of section
When 53.23 l b rT 119 .0 then,
comprising the compression-flanges plus 1/3 of the
2 F y . l b rT
2
compression-web area, taken about an axis in the
plane of the web Fbx . Fy
3 10.6 x10 6
*Allowable bending stresses about the weaker axis, 82700 A f
provided the lateral load passes through the shear- but Fbx & Fbx 0.6 F y
lb . d
center of the section are given as
Special case II (for compression)
a) For doubly symmetrical compact section,
for all lengths: When l b rT 119 .0 then,
Fby 0.75 F y 1.17 x10 6
Fbx
b) For all other sections except pipes and l b rT 2
tubes, for all lengths
82700 A f
Fby 0.6 F y but Fbx & Fbx 0.6 F y
lb . d

4.3.2 Lateral-Torsional Buckling

When a beam made of rolled section is not fully braced laterally, it may fail due to buckling
laterally about the weaker axis of beam between points of lateral bracing of compression flange
of beam. This will occur even though the beam is loaded so that it supposedly will bend about the
stronger axis. The beam will bend initially about the stronger axis in the direction the load until a
certain critical moment is reached. At that time the beam will start to buckle laterally about its
weaker axis. As it buckles laterally, the tension in the other flange will try to keep the beam
straight and results warping of section of beam (partial-to-full section rotation). Therefore, the
buckling of beam will be a combination of lateral bending and a twisting (or torsion) of the beam
cross section. Lateral buckling and warping of laterally unsupported beams section is illustrated
as shown below. Original position
Loaded and
later. deflect.
buckled position
due to buckling

vert. deflect.
due to load

twisting of
section

5 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

Flexural-torsional buckling stress may be obtained by,
2
.E
Fcr . E. I y . G. J
l
. I y .Cw

lb . S x b
E
where G --shear modulus of elasticity steel
2(1 )
J --torsion constant of a section (contribution of web plus two-flanges plates)
J b. t 3 b t 10 (for webs and some flanges of section)
4
J b. t 3 0.21t b t 4 (for stubby flanges as for channels)
1 3
CW t w . b f . ( d t f ) 2 --warping constant of a section
24
It is not possible for lateral-torsional buckling to occur if the moment of inertia of the section
about bending axis is equal or less than the moment of inertia out of plane of bending. As a result,
lateral-torsional buckling is not considered in design of beam sections made of W-, S- or channel
bent about their minor-axes or in design beam sections made of square or circular tubes.

Lateral bracing of compression flanges of beam may be provided using the following ways:
i) By embedding the compression flange of floor-beam inside the concrete floor-slab.
concrete
slab

ii)When shear-connectors are welded to the compression flange and they are embedded in the
concrete floor-slab.
shear
connector

iii)When the cross-beams join the main beams and are connected to the compression flange, full
lateral support is assumed to be provided at the connection points.

4.3.3 Design of Continuous-beams for Bending

Continuous-beams are designed similar to simple-beams. A major difference when using AISC
specifications is that if the section is compact, the section may be designed for moment allowing
limited redistribution of elastic moment on the bases of using either:
1) 0.9 times largest negative moment in span, or
2) Positive moment based on maximum positive moment from moment diagram plus 0.1 times
average of the negative span moments, whichever is larger. Where the beam or girder is rigidly
framed into a column, the design moment value for the column at this point can also be reduced
by 10%.

4.4 Control for Deflections of Beam (AISC)

6 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

Serviceability requirement shall assure the proper use of the structure. One of the serviceability
requirements is deflection of the structure. Under service design load, the deflection of structure
should be less than or equal to the allowable deflection specified by codes and specification. The
allowable deflection, allow in beam is generally specified as three limiting cases, based on the
span-length, l .
a) For floor beams, allow l 240 due to service dead and live loads.
b) For roof beams, allow l 180 due to service dead and live loads.
c) In addition to the above, for any beam supporting brittle elements, allow l 360 due to
service live load only. The term brittle element refers to materials being supported by beam that
may crack or damaged by excessive deflections. Such materials include plastered walls or
ceilings, glass brick and any other such architectural features.
-1989 AASHTO specification limits deflection in steel beam and girder due to live load and
impact to l 800 of span.

Deflection of beam can be obtained any one of the following methods of determining deflection
of structures: -Double integration of the general differential equation of beam
-Moment area theorem
-Conjugate beam method
-Virtual work method
-Castiglianos 1st theorem

Maximum deflections of common beams are given as follows:

1) Simply supported prismatic beam
5w . l 4
max --when subjected to uniformly distributed load
384 E.I
P. l 3
max --when subjected to concentrated load applied at center of
48 E.I
span
2) Cantilever prismatic beam
w.l 4
max --when subjected to uniformly distributed load
8 E .I
P. l 3
max --when subjected to concentrated load applied at end of span
3E.I
3) Span deflection of continuous prismatic beam: when subjected to uniform load,

MA MB
5l 2
_ _ mid span M c 0.1 M A M B
+ 48 E.I
l 2 Mc l 2

BMD of span due to uniform load

obtained from analysis

4.5 Design of Beam for Shear using Elastic Design Method

7 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

Shear stresses may control the design of beam section if beam has very short span and subjected
to heavy load (mainly heavy concentrated loads near to the support). Shear may control in case
where beams are notched or coped for connection with other members; and in such case, shear
stress must be calculated for the remaining beam depth. Therefore, beam section designed for
bending needs to be checked for shear. If a section of beam is adequate for shear, shear stress
developed at critical section of beam due to service design load is to be less than or equal to the
allowable shear stress of structural steel section.
The shear stress distribution across any section of beam subjected to vertical shear can be
computed using the equation as,
V.Q
fs where Q statical moment of portion of section lying either above or
I .b
below the fiber shear stress is obtained.
But for simplification, AISC allows the use of average shear stress in determining the shear
stresses for rolled or fabricated (plate girders) sections, and it is given as,
V
fs Fs
d .tw
The allowable shear stress Fs for rolled section if h t w 999 Fy (almost all rolled
section fall in this range) where h is clear distance between the beam flanges is computed as,
Fs 0.4 F y --AISC specification
Fs 0.33 F y --AASHTO specification

4.6 Web-buckling and Web-crippling

Web-buckling is an out-of-plane web distortion resulting from a combination of large d t w ratio

and large bending stress. The un-braced length of compression-flange may also contribute to
web-buckling. Web-buckling is controlled by limiting either d t w ratio or the allowable bending
stress that can be used for the given d t w ratio.
Web-crippling can occur if the web in-plane compressive stresses are sufficiently large and
crushes the web of the section. This can occur if the bearing length of support reaction or length
of bearing plate used to deliver concentrated load applied to beam-flange are too narrow. Web-
crippling can also occur if a uniform load on the flange is too large for the web thickness. Web-
crippling can be controlled by providing adequate length of bearing of support reaction or column
load in the following way: the required length of bearing is obtained by considering an area in
web compression defined by length of bearing support reaction plus an additional distance
defined by 45 0 slope through the k distance of the section ( k distance is measured from the
outer flange face to the top of the fillet transitioning the web-to-flange interface). Thus, at support
reaction the area in web compression is obtained as,
Ac N k . t w
The allowable bearing stress at this location is given by AISC as,
F p 0.75 F y
At support reaction with f p R xn Ac , we can obtain the required length of bearing using
R xn
fp F p 0.75F y
N k .t w
At a concentrated column load in the span, the distance k can develop on both sides of the
load as illustrated in the figure blow. For this condition, we obtain the required length of bearing
using,

8 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

 P
fp F p 0.75F y
N 2k . t w
where N length of bearing, a basic value of width of standard brick or width of column or
width of load delivering element for interior loads
P

45 0 k

N k critical sec tion for

k N 2k web crippling

45 0

R xn
In case of bridge supports, special fabricated bearings are used instead of bearing plates. If the
available length of reaction is not adequate, web-stiffeners may be required to prevent web-
crippling. Special reinforcement ribs are used to prevent crippling of web as shown below.
Consider stiffeners and part of web as column, then it is possible to check their capacity
depending on slenderness ratio of stiffeners.
web stiffener web stiffener
web stiffeners

4.7 Rolled Beam Sections with Cover-plates

If standard rolled section is not adequate to carry the design moment of the beam or if depth of
beam is limited by head-room requirement, rolled section with cover-plate may be used to
increase the resistance of such section. Consider a rolled section with cover- plate as shown
below.
Ap t p -Moment of inertia of compound beam is given as,
2
d tp 2
I i 2 A p .
d
I I i 2 A p .
d 2 2
where I i --moment of inertia of primary shape (W- or S-shape)
tp A p --area of one flange cover-plate
Ap d --depth of primary shape
Thus, the section modulus of compound section is obtained as,
I
S S i Ap . d
d 2
where S i --section modulus of primary shape
Therefore, the required area of cover-plate is obtained by,
S req Si
Ap
d
To allow for bolt/rivet holes, the area of cover-plate is increased by 20%. Therefore,

9 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.


1.2 S req S i
Ap
d

4.8 Plate-Girders
Plate-girders are fabricated structural shapes formed by welding two flanges-plates to a web-
plate to form a shape between S- and W-rolled shapes. Plate-girders are also be fabricated by
bolting/riveting a web-plate to angles connected at top and bottom to form top-flange and bottom-
flange. To increase moment of resistance of plate-girder, flange-plate may be added over the
flange-angles. additional
bf flange plate

h d
tw h d

tf

Welded plate-girder Riveted plate-girder

For proportioning of minimum weight of plate-girder, A f Aw
where A f b f .t f
Aw h . t w
Plate-girders are used for beams when the loading and span combination is such that a standard
rolled section is not adequate. Commonly used depth of girder is between 1.2m to 2.5m. In terms
of depth to span ratio d l , the range is from 1 10 to 1 25 with most value on the order of
1 12 to 1 15 . Plate-girders economically used up to span of 100m.

Proportioning of Plate-girders
Plate-girders are proportioned by trial and revised until the bending stresses developed in trial
section are less than equal to the allowable bending stress of section. Stiffeners are added as
required until the shear stresses are less than equal to the allowable shear stress of section. Initial
estimates of flange sizes may be made as follows. fb '
fb '' Af . fb '

h d Mw
d t
f
tw M f
tf
Af . fb '
bf
fb '
Bending stresses Bending stresses
in the web in the flanges
-Moment carried by the flanges of plate-girder is,
M f A f . f b '. d t f
and, moment carried by web of plate-girder is,

10 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

 t .h2
M w f b ' ' . S xw f b ' ' . w

6
Then, total moment capacity of plate-girder is,
M M f Mw
Let f b ' ' f b ' Fb ' 0.6 F y and d t f h , for small thickness of flanges
Then, moment carried by the flanges of plate-girder is,
M f M Mw
Substituting all values into this equation obtained from above,

t . h 2
A f . Fb ' . h M Fb ' . w


6
2
But, t w . h Aw . h
Then, the desired expression of flange area of plate-girder as,
M A
Af w
Fb ' . h 6
where Fb ' --allowable bending stress of plate-girder section not to exceed 0.6 F y .
-Economical depth of plate-girders may be approximated by the following empirical equations.
M
d 5 .0 * 3 --for welded plate-girders
Fb
M
or d 5 .5 * 3 --for bolted/riveted plate-girders
Fb
The limiting value of h t w ratio for no-reduction in flange bending stress (AISC) is,
h 2000

tw Fb
Limiting value of h t w ratio for web-local buckling (AISC) is,
h 97100

tw F y ( F y 114 )
If transverse stiffeners are used at spacing of a h 1.5 ,
h 5270

tw Fb
Finally, check bending stress of trial dimension of plate-girder. If trail dimension of plate-girder is
adequate, the section can be selected otherwise revise the dimension as required.

4.9 Bi-axis bending and bending on Unsymmetrical Sections

a) Symmetrical section loaded through the centroid: Design-interaction equation for beam
subjected to bi-axis bending are obtained as,

11 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.

 Mx My
1.0
S x . Fbx S y . Fby
For design use, it is rearranged as
Mx M y Sx
Sx
Fbx Fby S y
b) Symmetrical section loaded not through the centroid: This case is true for roof-purlins on
sloping roof where the load is applied at the top of the flange of purlins. One of the components
of the load over the purlin is not passing through the centroid of section.
W1
W1 . cos W1 . sin

Purlin
Cleat-angle Rafter/top chord of truss

W2

For such case, the state of stress is very complex that both bi-axis bending and torsion develop
in the section. An approximate solution is obtained using design interaction equation by
magnifying bending moment in y-direction by two as,
Mx 2M y
1.0
S x . Fbx S y . Fby
For design use, it is rearranged as
Mx 2M y S x
Sx
Fbx Fby S y
c) Bending on Un-symmetrical Section: In this case, x- and y-axes are not principal axes of
section. The product of inertia is not equal to zero, I xy x. y dA 0 . Example of such
A

section is an angle section. Bending stresses due to bi-axis bending for this case are obtained
using,
M y .I x M x . I xy M x .I y M y . I xy
fb 2
. x 2
. y Fb
I x . I y I xy I x . I y I xy

where I xy
I y Ix . tan 2
2
--orientation of principal axes (can be obtained from table)

12 Chapt.-4: Beams or Flexural Members by Haftom G.