Distortional Loads and Brace Forces in Steel Box Girders

Zhanfei ‘‘Tom’’ Fan, A.M.ASCE,1 and Todd A. Helwig, A.M.ASCE2

Abstract: Trapezoidal steel box girders are often used in curved bridges due to the large torsional stiffness that results from the closed
cross section. However, the torsional loading on the box girders can cause the cross section to distort from its original shape, which results
in distortional stresses in the plates of the box section. The distortional stresses are controlled by internal cross frames that restrain the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

cross section from distortion. Current design specifications do not account for forces in the bracing members due to box girder distortion.
This paper presents an analytical study on the distortional behavior of box girders with a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape. Typical
torsional loads on curved box girders are discussed, and the distortional components of these applied torsional loads are studied. The
distortional components from different torsional loads on trapezoidal box girders are identified and used to derive expressions for the
brace forces in the internal cross frames for quasi-closed box girders. The results from the approximate equations for brace forces due to
cross-sectional distortion are verified by three-dimensional finite-element analyses.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-9445共2002兲128:6共710兲
CE Database keywords: Box girders; Steel; Stiffness; Torsion.

Introduction strength requirements for these braces. Brace forces develop in

Trapezoidal box girders are often used for curved bridges due to
their large torsional stiffness. Although the torsional stiffness of a
cross section consists of both warping and Saint-Venant compo-
nents, the high torsional stiffness of boxes is primarily due to the
large Saint-Venant component that results from a closed cross
section. Since the St. Venant term dominates the torsional stiff-
ness, torsional warping stresses in boxes are usually relatively
small 共Kollbrunner and Basler 1969兲. However, depending on the
distribution of the applied torsional loads, the cross section of a
box girder may distort from its original shape. This distortion of
the cross section can lead to significant warping stresses, which
are in addition to torsional warping stresses. Warping stresses that
develop as a result of distortion of the cross section are appropri-
ately referred to as distortional warping stresses. While torsional
warping stresses in box girders may be relatively small, without
proper bracing distortional warping stresses can be quite signifi-
cant. This paper focuses on the identification of the distortional
components of the applied torsional load as well as the strength
requirements for bracing systems used to control the warping
stresses associated with distortion of the box sections.
Box girder distortion is usually controlled by internal cross
frames that are spaced along the length of the girder. Although
current design recommendations 共Highway 1982; Guide 1993兲
provide guidelines on the spacing and stiffness of the cross
frames, no design provisions are available for addressing the
1
Engineering Specialist, Texas Dept. of Transportation, 8100
Washington Ave., Houston, TX 77007.
2
Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Houston,
Houston, TX 77204. E-mail: todd@curly.cive.uh.edu
Note. Associate Editor: Christopher J. Earls. Discussion open until
November 1, 2002. Separate discussions must be submitted for individual
papers. To extend the closing date by one month, a written request must
be filed with the ASCE Managing Editor. The manuscript for this paper
was submitted for review and possible publication on August 10, 2001;
approved on November 14, 2001. This paper is part of the Journal of
Structural Engineering, Vol. 128, No. 6, June 1, 2002. ©ASCE, ISSN
0733-9445/2002/6-710–718/$8.00⫹$.50 per page.
these cross frames and other bracing members due to the distor-
tion of the box girders.
Cross-sectional distortion of box girders is induced by the
components of the external torsional loads that do not result in a
uniform Saint-Venant shear flow on the cross section. Applied
torsional loads generally include both pure torsional components
and distortional components. Although the distortional compo-
nents of the applied load yield zero net torque on the cross sec-
tion, these components can lead to large cross-sectional stresses if
proper bracing is not provided. A distortional analysis, therefore,
requires the separation of the distortional components from the
applied torsional loads.
The paper begins with a discussion on the types of the tor-
sional loads and the resulting box girder behavior. The definitions
of pure torsional and distortional loads are then discussed. Behav-
ior for the fully closed box girders will be first studied, followed
by a discussion on the U-shaped tub girders that are quasi-closed
by top flange bracing systems. Expressions for evaluating the
brace forces in the internal K frames induced by the distortional
loads are then derived for quasi-closed box girders. Finally, the
derived solutions are confirmed with results from a three-
dimensional finite-element analysis 共FEA兲.
Background
Torsional distortion of box girders occurs when the torsional
loads are not distributed to the plates of the cross section in pro-
portion to a uniform Saint-Venant shear flow. Depending on the
source of the torsion, external torsional loads on a box girder can
be modeled by either two opposing vertical or two opposing hori-
zontal forces, as shown in Figs. 1共a and b兲, respectively. As
shown in Fig. 2, torsional loads consisting of opposing vertical
forces usually result from gravity loads that are eccentric to the
centerline of the box girder. The eccentric load can be modeled as
a bending component shown in Fig. 2共b兲, superimposed on the
torsional component shown in Fig. 2共c兲.
External torques generated by horizontal forces acting on the
top and bottom plates of the box usually result from curvature of

710 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002

J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.

 Fig. 1. External torsional loads on box girder

the girder. This can be understood by considering the bending

Fig. 3. Approximation of effect of curvature on girder flanges
behavior of the flanges in a horizontally curved beam as shown in
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 3. The effect of the bending stresses on the top flange can be
modeled as an axial force that is approximately equal to M /h,
where M is the bending moment and h is the girder depth. The
force M /h acts on the curved segment in the longitudinal direc-
tion, as shown in Fig. 3共a兲. Due to the curvature of the segment,
the force resultant of (M /h)d␪ is developed on the flange in the
lateral direction. Dividing the lateral force by the length of the
segment, ds, a distributed lateral load equal to M /(Rh) is de-
rived, as shown in Fig. 3共b兲. Due to the nature of bending
stresses, the bottom flange is subjected to the same magnitude of
the lateral load in the opposite direction. As a result, these two
horizontal components form a distributed torsional load equal to
M /R acting on the girder 共Fig. 4兲. Therefore, the effect of the
curvature can be approximately analyzed by a straight model in Fig. 4. Equivalent torsional loads on curved box girder
which the flange segments are subjected to longitudinal forces of
M /h as well as external distributed loads of M /(Rh) in the lateral
direction, as demonstrated in Fig. 3共b兲. Tung and Fountain 共1970兲
used this approximation in the development of the M /R method
for the torsional analysis of curved box girders.
The distortional behavior of a box girder is dependent on the
manner in which the external torque is applied to the girder. For
simplicity, rectangular sections are considered in this section. The
distortional behavior of trapezoidal sections will be covered later.
A torsional load, either comprised of a vertical couple or a hori-
zontal couple, can be modeled as a uniform torsional component
superimposed on a distortional component, as demonstrated in Fig. 5. Torsion and distortion of rectangular box girder due to
Figs. 5 and 6. The rectangular thin-walled box has a respective vertical forces
depth and width of h and b. Each couple can be modeled by the
uniform torsional components given in Fig. 5共b兲 or 6共b兲 superim-
posed on the distortional components given in Fig. 5共c兲 or 6共c兲.
Although the boxes in Figs. 5共a兲 and 6共a兲 are subjected to the
same magnitude of torsion (m T ), the resulting distortional
stresses are opposite in direction since the distortional loads
shown in Figs. 5共c兲 and 6共c兲 are opposite. The pure torsional
components shown in Figs. 5共b兲 and 6共b兲 generate a uniform
Saint-Venant shear flow along the circumference of the box girder
cross section, and warping stresses due to this torsional compo-
nent are usually negligible. However, significant distortional
Fig. 6. Torsion and distortion of rectangular box girder due to
horizontal forces

warping stresses may be induced due to the distortional loads

shown in Figs. 5共c兲 and 6共c兲 if the box is not properly braced.
Vlasov 共1961兲 was the first to study distortion of box girders
while investigating the torsional behavior of thin-walled beams
with a closed cross section. Dabrowski 共1968兲 established a more
rigorous theory when he developed the governing equation for
box girder distortion and provided solutions for several simple
Fig. 2. Eccentric concrete load on box girder
cases. The distortional behavior of box girders can be understood

JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002 / 711

J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.

 Fig. 7. Out-of-plane distortional stresses in box girders
by examining how the transverse force components in the distor-
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
tional loads are resisted in the girder. The distortional components
as shown in Figs. 5共c兲 and 6共c兲 are generally resisted by both
in-plane and out-of-plane shears in the girder plates. These two
shear components result in different distortional stresses. Fig. 7共a兲
shows the typical distorted shape of the box girder that results in
out-of-plane bending of the plate components. Fig. 7共b兲 shows the
shears that develop in the through-thickness direction as a result
of the distortion. The distortional loads on the flanges and webs
are partially resisted by these through-thickness shears that de-
velop in the plates. Out-of-plane bending stresses are induced
with the corresponding moments shown Fig. 7共c兲.
Distortional loads are also partially resisted by the in-plane
shears that develop on the cross sections of the individual plates,
as demonstrated in Fig. 8共a兲. The large arrows represent the in-
plane shears that resist the distortional loads that are represented
by the small arrows on the girder plates. The individual plates will
experience in-plane bending from these shears, and longitudinal
bending stresses may be induced on the cross section. The longi-
tudinal bending stresses are known as the distortional warping
stresses, and a typical distribution of the warping stresses in a
trapezoidal box girder is illustrated in Fig. 8共b兲.
Cross-sectional distortion can be significantly reduced by pro-
viding internal cross frames that are spaced along the girder
length. To be effective, these cross frames should be properly
spaced along the girder length, and must possess sufficient stiff-
ness. The current design recommendations 共Highway 1982; Guide
1993兲 provide some guidelines on the minimum stiffness and
spacing requirements for the cross frames to control the distor-
tional stresses, however, no strength requirements are provided.
Although brace forces are developed in the internal cross
frames as a result of distortion, these forces are not considered in
current design methods 共Highway 1982; Guide 1993兲. The most
common type of internal cross frame in modern box girder
bridges is the K frame. Fig. 9 shows an internal K frame sub-
jected to a concentrated distortional load represented by the forces
H and V. Since no torsional moment results from the components
of the distortional load, V and H must satisfy the equilibrium
Fig. 8. In-plane distortional warping stresses in box girders
712 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002
J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.
Fig. 9. Brace forces in cross frame under distortional loads
equation V(a⫹b)⫽2Hh in which h is the depth of the box, and
a and b are the widths of the bottom and top of the trapezoidal
section, respectively.
V and H are the distortional loads resisted by a given K frame
and can be determined as a function of the applied load as will be
further discussed later in the paper. Once V and H are determined,
the brace forces can be derived from static equilibrium of the K
frame. The force in a K-frame diagonal can be resolved into re-
spective horizontal and vertical components, D H and D V , as
shown in Fig. 9共b兲. The vertical components (V) at the top of the
girder are transmitted via the webs to the bottom corners of the
box so that the resulting vertical component of the diagonal force
is D V ⫽2V. The lateral struts of the K frame resist the horizontal
loads at the top of the box with an induced strut force denoted as
S. Equilibrium of the K frame in the horizontal direction leads to
S⫽D H . The relationship between the horizontal and vertical
components of the diagonal must satisfy the equilibrium of
D H h⫽D V (a/2), which results in an axial strut force of
a a 2a
S⫽D H ⫽ D V ⫽ V⫽ H (1)
2h h a⫹b
Thus, the axial force in a diagonal of the K frame is
冑 冉冊
2
2V a 2L DK
D⫽ 冑D V2 ⫹D H
2
⫽ h 2⫹ ⫽ V (2)
h 2 h
in which L DK ⫽length of the K-frame diagonals. Fig. 9共b兲 dem-
onstrates that the distortional loads cause the two diagonals of a K
frame to develop equal magnitudes of axial forces, D, however,
one is in tension and the other is in compression. Similarly, equal
amounts of tension and compression, S, are developed in the two
sides of the struts from the distortional loads. Eqs. 共1兲 and 共2兲
imply that if the components of the distortional loads 共H and V兲
that act on the K frame are known, the axial forces in the K frame
can be determined. The next section will focus on identifying the
components of the distortional loads. Although identifying these
distortional components can at first appear somewhat compli-
cated, once these components are identified, relatively simple de-
sign expressions can be developed for the forces induced in the
K-frame members.
Pure Torsional and Distortional Loads
A fundamental issue for the distortional analysis of a box girder is
the determination of the distortional loads. Distortional loads are
generally not explicitly applied to box girders, but rather are in-
cluded in the applied torsional loads, as was demonstrated earlier
in Figs. 5 and 6 for rectangular boxes. The pure torsional compo-
 nents of the applied torsional loads that were shown in Figs. 5共b兲
and 6共b兲 do not cause the cross section to distort. A distortional
load consists of four force components on the plates of the box, as
previously shown in Figs. 5共c兲 and 6共c兲 for rectangular boxes.
These four components cause the cross section to distort, how-
ever, they do not induce torsion on the girder. The distortional
behavior of box girders can be studied by separating the distor-
tional components from the applied torsional loads. The direction
and magnitude of the distortional loads depend on the shape and
dimensions of the girder cross sections, as well as the manner in
which the external torsional loads are applied.
Figs. 5 and 6 demonstrated that the applied torsional loads are
a function of the pure torsional components and the distortional
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

components. Therefore, if the equivalent pure torsional compo- Fig. 11. Pure torsional and distortional components in a vertical
nents are known 关Fig. 5共b兲 or 6共b兲兴, they can be subtracted from couple
the applied torques 关Fig. 5共a兲 or 6共a兲兴 to determine the distortional
components 关Fig. 5共c兲 or 6共c兲兴. A pure torsional load consists of a
shear component proportional to the Saint-Venant torsional shear Therefore, utilizing the expression q i ⫽b i T/(2A 0 ) for the shear
flow, which possess a constant intensity along the perimeter of the flow in the ith plate, the component of the pure torsional load on
cross section of the box 共Wright et al. 1968; Fan 1999; Helwig the top plate is 关Fig. 11共c兲兴
and Fan 2000兲. Equilibrium and mechanics of thin-walled mem-
bers can be used to determine the intensity of the uniform shear pb b2
q t,pure T ⫽ ⫻b⫽ p (4)
flow, f, as shown in Fig. 10. A torsional moment of T⫽ f (2A 0 ) 2A 0 2A 0
results from this uniform shear flow, where A 0 is the enclosed The distortional components on the girder plates can be de-
area of the box. Therefore, for an applied torsional moment of T, rived by subtracting the pure torsional components from the ap-
the equivalent pure torsional components of this applied torsional plied torsional load. For example, the distortional component on
load are represented by the uniform shear flow shown in Fig. 10 the top plate of the box is
in which f ⫽T/(2A 0 ). If this distributed load along the perimeter
of the cross section is replaced with the shear loads on the indi- pb 2 a2
q t,dist⫽p t ⫺q t,pure T ⫽2p tan ␾⫺ ⫽⫺ p (5)
vidual plates, the shear load on the ith plate of the box is equal to 2A 0 2A 0
b i T/(2A 0 ) where b i is the width of the plate. The determination
in which the relations of 2A 0 ⫽h(a⫹b) and tan ␾⫽(b⫺a)/(2h)
of b i should exclude any plate overhangs. For a rectangular box,
have been applied. Other torsional and distortional components
the distributions shown in Figs. 5共b兲 and 6共b兲 are the pure tor-
on the web and bottom plates of the box can be similarly derived
sional loads that can be verified using these criteria.
and the results are given in Table 1. The expressions given in
The pure torsional load can then be subtracted from the ap-
Table 1 represent the magnitude of the force components and any
plied torque to obtain the distortional components. For example,
negative signs 关such as the one given on q t,dist in Eq. 共5兲兴 have
if the applied torque consists of two opposing vertical forces,
been omitted since the directions of the pure torsional and distor-
p (kN/m), as shown in Fig. 11共a兲, the resulting distributed tor-
tional components are shown in Figs. 11共c and d兲.
sional load is pb (kN m/m). The vertical forces may be resolved
into components in the webs and the top plate as demonstrated in
Fig. 11共b兲 for a trapezoidal cross section. These forces can be
resolved using static equilibrium that results in the following Table 1. Pure Torsional and Distortional Components
forces:
Torsional load by Torsional load by
p t ⫽2p tan ␾, (3a) Component vertical forces horizontal forces

p w ⫽p/cos ␾, (3b) b2 b
q t,pure T p p
2A0 a⫹b
p b ⫽0 (3c)
in which the subscripts t, w, and b refer to the top plate, web bc c
q w,pure T p p
plates, and the bottom plate, respectively. The intensity of the 2A0 a⫹b
‘‘shear flow’’ of the equivalent pure torsional load is pb/(2A 0 ).
ab a
q b,pure T p p
2A0 a⫹b

a2 a
q t,dist p p
2A0 a⫹b

ac c
q w,dist p p
2A0 a⫹b

b
ab p
q b,dist p a⫹b
2A0
Fig. 10. Saint-Venant shear flow in box girder

JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002 / 713

J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.

 Fig. 12. Pure torsional and distortional components in horizontal
couple
Fig. 14. Torsional and distortional components at joints due to
opposing horizontal loads
If the torsional load consists of two opposing horizontal forces
acting on the top and bottom plates of the box girder 关Fig. 1共b兲兴,

冉 冊
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

the applied torque is ph. The applied torsional load consists of

p t ⫽p b ⫽p and p w ⫽0. The pure torsional and distortional load 1 M
q V,pure T ⫽ ⫹ew (7a)
components shown in Figs. 12共b and c兲 can be derived using the 2 共 a⫹b 兲 R

冉 冊
same procedure outlined above and the results are also presented 1 M
in Table 1. The directions of the force components are indicated q H,pure T ⫽ ⫹ew (7b)
in Figs. 12共b and c兲. 4h R
The torsional and distortional components derived above act in
the planes of the girder plates. For the purpose of comparison
with finite-element results, static equilibrium can be used to trans-
q V,dist⫽
1
冉
M a
⫺ ew
2 共 a⫹b 兲 R b 冊 (8a)

form these distortional forces into vertical and horizontal compo-

nents that are applied at the joints of the plates in the girder cross
section. Taking the case shown in Fig. 12共c兲 as an example, the
q H,dist⫽ 冉
1 M a
⫺ ew
4h R b 冊 (8b)

distortional components in the vertical direction at each joint can
be derived from the results in Table 1 as
1 h
q V ⫽ q w,dist cos ␾⫽ p (6a)
2 2 共 a⫹b 兲
The horizontal components at each of the top joints can be de-
rived as
1 1 1 side of the centerline, as shown by Fig. 16共b兲, a negative eccen-
q H ⫽ q t,dist⫹ q w,dist sin ␾⫽ p (6b)
2 2 4
The results of these components for both the pure torsional and
distortional loads are presented in Figs. 13 and 14 for the respec-
tive cases of torques from opposing vertical and horizontal forces.
The results presented in Figs. 13 and 14 can be used to derive
the pure torsional and the distortional components under the com-
bined action of eccentric vertical loads 共Fig. 2兲 and the girder
curvature 共Fig. 4兲. Fig. 15共a兲 shows a box subjected to the tor-
sional loads induced by both the girder curvature and an eccentric
load. The pure torsional and distortional components in these total
applied torsional loads can be derived by replacing p in Figs. 13
and 14 with ew/b and M /(Rh), respectively. The resulting total
pure torsional components and distortional components, as de-
noted by q V,pure T , q H,pure T and q V,dist , q H,dist in Figs. 15共b and c兲,
can be obtained by the principle of superposition, which yields
the following solutions:
Eqs. 共7兲 and 共8兲 are based on the assumption that the torsional
loads induced by curvature are in the same direction as the tor-
sional loads induced by eccentric loads. In the positive bending
moment region 共compression in the top flanges兲, this implies that
the eccentric load is located outside the centerline of the girder as
demonstrated in Fig. 16共a兲. Therefore, a positive e should be used
to represent the eccentricity of a vertical load that is located out-
side the girder centerline. If the eccentric load is on the interior
tricity 共e兲 should be used.
Brace Forces due to Distortion of Quasi-Closed Box
Girders
Although the expressions for the distortional components derived
in the last section are useful for a theoretical analysis on box
girder distortion, design engineers will generally not carry out
such an analysis. Most engineers utilize commercial software that
employs a grid analysis, which generally does not reflect the ef-
fects of distortion nor the internal brace forces. However, if the
distortional loads are known, design expressions can be derived
for the forces in the internal cross frames. Once the distortional
loads are determined, the distortional forces on the internal K
frames, represented by H and V in Fig. 9共a兲, can be obtained
using refined methods for box girder distortion, such as the beam-
on-elastic-foundation analogy 共Wright et al. 1968兲. However,
many of these refined methods are not convenient for use in de-

Fig. 13. Torsional and distortional components at joints due to

opposing vertical loads Fig. 15. Torsional and distortional components in curved box girders

714 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002

J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.


Fig. 16. Sign convention for eccentricity of vertical loads
sign due to the mathematical complexity. Therefore, a simple
model that is easy to apply is desirable for determining these
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
brace forces.
Large brace forces in box girders are often developed during
erection and construction when no composite action is available
from the concrete deck. The top plate of the box girder during this
stage consists of two top flanges on each of the webs and a hori-
zontal truss, as shown in Fig. 17. The top lateral bracing system is
provided to resist the torsional moments induced by the dead
loads of the girder and the concrete. The U-shaped steel section
with the top lateral truss system is commonly referred to as a
quasi-closed box girder. The two most common types of horizon-
tal trusses are demonstrated in Fig. 17共b兲. Each bracing panel
consists of either an X or a single diagonal member 共SD-type兲. K
frames are provided under the lateral struts of the top flange
trusses and are usually spaced every one or two bracing panels
along the length of the truss. Internal and external solid dia-
phragms are normally used at the girder supports. No intermedi-
ate external cross frames or diaphragms between the adjacent
girders are assumed in this derivation.
As discussed earlier, the distortional loads on box girders are
resisted by both the out-of-plane shears in the through-thickness
direction of the girder plates and the in-plane shears on the cross
sections of the girder. The out-of-plane distortional stiffness de-
pends mainly on the thickness of the plates, along with the shape
and dimensions of the cross section. For a completed box girder,
this stiffness will usually be relatively large due to the closed
profile and the large thickness of the top plate 共the concrete slab兲.
For a quasi-closed section, however, the top ‘‘plate’’ is only a
horizontal truss. Between panel points of the top lateral truss, the
individual plate elements of the box section are relatively flexible
in out-of-plane bending. Therefore, the out-of-plane bending stiff-
ness of quasi-closed box girders can be neglected, which leads to
a conservative estimate of the distortional warping stresses and
the brace forces in the K frames. A further simplification can be
made by considering the fact that most torsional loads are distrib-
uted along the girder length. A simple solution of the brace forces
can be obtained from the product of the K-frame spacing and the
intensity of the distortional loads formulated in the last section.
Fig. 17. Quasi-closed box girders 共a兲 cross section and 共b兲 plan view
of truss types
J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.
The distortional loads on the internal K frames, H and V in
Fig. 9共a兲, can be determined using the above approximation. For a
K-frame spacing of s K , the distortional loads on a K frame can be
approximated by multiplying q H,dist and q V,dist in Eq. 共8兲 with s K ,
which yields
V⫽
sK M a
冉
⫺ ew
2 共 a⫹b 兲 R b 冊 (9a)
H⫽ 冉
sK M a
⫺ ew
4h R b 冊 (9b)
Substituting the above expressions into Eqs. 共1兲 and 共2兲 results in
the following equations for the K-frame forces:
冉 冊
s KL DK M a
D⫽⫾ ⫺ ew (10a)
2A 0 R b
冉 冊
s Ka a M
S⫽⫾ ew⫺ (10b)
4A 0 b R
As shown earlier in Fig. 9共b兲, the two diagonals and struts in a K
frame are subjected to equal magnitudes of tension and compres-
sion due to the distortional loads, which is represented by the ⫾
signs in Eqs. 共10a兲 and 共10b兲.
Eqs. 共10a兲 and 共10b兲 will be further studied by comparison
with the FEA results in the next section. Eqs. 共10a兲 and 共10b兲
only address the K-frame forces that are generated by the cross-
sectional distortion of the quasi-closed box girders. Other box
girder deformations may also cause forces in the diagonals and
struts of the internal K frames. For example, a uniform force in
both sides of the lateral struts develops due to bending of box
girders as discussed in a previous paper by Fan and Helwig
共1999兲. Live loads also add additional brace forces to the internal
cross frames as a result of the cross-sectional distortion of the
fully closed box girders. However, as mentioned above, the dis-
tortion in the closed box will be significantly less than in the
quasi-closed box. The total forces in the box girder cross frames
will be studied in a later paper.
Comparison with Finite Element Analysis Results
Three-dimensional FEA was performed to verify the expressions
developed in the last section for the brace forces in internal cross
frames. The FEA program ANSYS 共ANSYS 1996兲 was used in
the investigation. The girder plates in the top and bottom flanges
and the webs of the quasi-closed box girders were modeled using
shell elements, while the bracing members in the top lateral truss
system and the internal K frames were modeled with either beam
or truss elements. Shell elements were also used to model the
solid diaphragms at the supports and the stiffeners in the box
girders. Analyses were conducted on both straight and curved box
girders.
The straight girder studied was a simple span quasi-closed box
girder subjected to distributed top flange loads, as shown in Fig.
18共a兲. The load was equivalent to an eccentric distributed vertical
load w⫽48.2 kN/m 共3.3 kips/ft兲 with an offset of 0.53 m 共20.83
in.兲 to the centerline of the girder. This loading condition arises in
girders with an unsymmetrical bridge deck, which frequently oc-
curs in the fascia girder of bridges. The girder dimensions as well
as the bracing member sizes are shown in Fig. 18共b兲. Both X- and
SD-type horizontal trusses were considered. The girder length is
divided into 16 bracing panels, each with a length of 48.8/16⫽3.1
m 共10 ft兲. K frames were provided at every other lateral strut and
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002 / 715
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 18. Quasi-closed straight box girder subjected to eccentric
bending load
were spaced at s K⫽6.1 m 共20 ft兲. Solid diaphragms were used at
each of the end supports. Other dimensions for the box girders
can be obtained from Fig. 18共b兲, including a⫽2.03 m, b
⫽3.18 m, h⫽2.29 m, and R⫽⬁ since the girder is straight. The
corresponding diagonal length is L DK⫽2.50 m. Substituting these
values into Eq. 共10兲 yields D⫽20.9 kN 共4.7 kips兲 and S
⫽8.5 kN 共1.9 kips兲, respectively.
The predicted values and FEA results for the K-frame forces in
the straight girder with the X-type top lateral truss are presented
in Fig. 19. Only the tensile components of the diagonals and the
lateral struts are shown in Fig. 19. For each cross frame, equal
magnitudes of compression were obtained in the other diagonal
and the other half of the strut. Although the forces shown in Fig.
19 are not particularly large, the applied torque is relatively small.
Much larger forces are often induced by distortion as will be
demonstrated in the next example for distortional forces in a
curved girder.
Vertical bending of the box girder and the effects of the slop-
ing webs cause uniform axial forces over the length of the lateral
struts of each K frame. These effects have been studied and dis-
cussed previously 共Fan and Helwig 1999兲. The forces in the lat-
Fig. 19. K-frame forces due to eccentric vertical loads
716 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002
J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.
Fig. 20. Curved continuous box girder
eral struts presented in Fig. 19 only include the distortional com-
ponents. Since the distortional components cause equal
magnitudes of tension and compression, the FEA results in Fig.
19 for the strut forces were derived as half the difference of the
total forces in the two sides of the strut. The uniform bending
components and effects of the sloping webs were, therefore, ex-
cluded. There is good agreement between the FEA and predicted
results with the exception of the K frames near the supports where
solid diaphragms were used. However, the actual forces in these
K frames are always less than the predicted values for K frames
near the support under uniform distortional loads due to the large
stiffness of the nearby solid diaphragms.
If a SD-type top lateral truss is used, the FEA brace force
results for internal K frames are nearly identical to those in the
girder with X-type truss shown in Fig. 19. The only relatively
large difference between the FEA results and the predicted forces
again occurred in the K frames adjacent to the supports. However,
conservative results were again obtained in these diaphragms just
as in the X-type case, as shown in Fig. 19.
A three-span curved continuous girder with concentric load-
ing, as shown in Fig. 20, was also studied. Since the structure is
symmetrical, the moments are shown over only half the girder
length 共Segment ABC兲. The bracing members consisted of
WT155⫻19.35 sections for the horizontal diagonals in the X-type
truss and the L102⫻102⫻7.9 for the K-frame diagonals and lat-
eral struts. The U.S. equivalent designations for these shapes have
been previously indicated in Fig. 18. Using the bending moments
at the K-frame locations, the brace forces were calculated from
Eq. 共10兲 with e⫽0. The axial forces in the struts and diagonals at
the interior side of the K frames are presented in Fig. 21. The strut
forces from the FEA results were again derived as half the differ-
ence between the forces in the two sides of each K frame to
eliminate forces induced from bending and the sloping webs.
Good agreement between the FEA results and the forces predicted
from Eq. 共10兲 were obtained, as demonstrated in Fig. 21.
 dimensional FEA results verified the accuracy of the predicted
brace forces as well as the expressions for the distortional load
components derived in this paper. These expressions are funda-
mental for studying the distortional stresses and brace forces in
curved box girders.

Acknowledgments

The results presented in this paper came from a research investi-

gation sponsored by the Texas Dept. of Transportation 共TxDOT兲.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

The writers would like to thank Dr. Karl Frank and Dr. Joseph
Yura of the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Reagan Herman of
Fig. 21. K-frame forces in curved continuous box girder the University of Houston, and J. C. Liu, P.E. and John Vogel,
P.E. of TxDOT for their assistance and support in this study.

According to the proposed method, the largest diagonal brace

force in the K frames is ⫾95.1 kN 共21.4 kips兲, which occurred in
the K frame adjacent to Support B in the exterior span. The FEA Notation
solution for the diagonal was ⫾80.2 kN 共18.0 kips兲. Due to its
location near the solid diaphragm, the brace force of this K frame The following symbols are used in this paper:
had the largest error 共19%兲 between the FEA solution and the A 0 ⫽ enclosed area of box;
results based on the proposed method. However, reasonable a ⫽ web spacing of trapezoidal box girder at
agreement is still obtained and the proposed equations are conser- bottom flange;
vative. The good agreement between the FEA results and the b ⫽ web spacing of trapezoidal box girder at top
values from Eq. 共10兲 verifies the accuracy of the expressions for flange;
the pure torsional and distortional components derived in this b t ⫽ width of ith plate;
paper 关Eqs. 共7兲 and 共8兲兴. D ⫽ distortional force induced in diagonal of
Fig. 21 demonstrates that relatively large forces can be gener- internal K frame;
ated due to distortion. When superimposed on forces from bend- D H ⫽ horizontal component of distortional force
ing and torsion, these forces can become even larger and prob- in diagonal of internal K frame;
lems can develop in these critical bracing members since D V ⫽ vertical component of distortional force in
‘‘typical’’ sizes are often used in lieu of actual design. In many diagonal of internal K frame;
situations, relatively small angles that may be structurally inad- e ⫽ eccentricity of gravity load relative to box
equate are used for these bracing members. The proposed equa-
girder centroid;
tions that predict the distortional induced forces in the K frames
f ⫽ uniform shear flow 共kN/m兲;
can be combined with expressions previously derived 共Fan and
H ⫽ horizontal component of distortional load on
Helwig 1999兲 to predict the total force in the K frames from
K frame;
bending and the sloping web. The superposition of these force
h ⫽ box girder depth;
components and design method for the internal K frames will be
L DK ⫽ length of diagonal of internal K frame;
discussed in a later paper.
M ⫽ box girder bending moment;
m T ⫽ torsional load;
p ⫽ applied force that is element of applied dis-
tributed torsional couple 共kN/m兲;
Summary and Conclusions
p w , p t , p b ⫽ equivalent force component on web, top and
Cross-sectional distortion of box girders is a deformation induced bottom plates from distributed applied tor-
by external torsional loads that are not distributed in proportion to sional couple 共kN/m兲;
the Saint-Venant shear flow. A general torsional load is a combi- q i ⫽ distributed force component in ith plate in
nation of both the pure torsional components and the distortional pure torsional or distortional load 共kN/m兲;
components. Distortion of box girders is caused only by the dis- R ⫽ radius of curvature;
tortional components. The magnitude and distribution of the dis- S ⫽ distortional force induced in horizontal strut
tortional components on box girders are a function of the applied of internal K frame;
torsional loads as well as the cross-sectional geometry of the s K ⫽ spacing between internal K frames;
boxes. Most torsional loading on curved girders is caused by ec- T ⫽ applied torsional moment;
centric vertical loads and the bending-induced twisting due to the V ⫽ vertical component of distortional load on K
horizontal curvature. Expressions for the distortional components frame;
for these applied torsional loads on trapezoidal box girders were w ⫽ uniformly distributed vertical load;
derived and presented. The results were used to develop approxi- ␾ ⫽ vertical angle of inclination web of trapezoi-
mate equations for brace forces in internal K-frame bracing mem- dal box girder; and
bers for quasi-closed curved trapezoidal box girders. Three- ␪ ⫽ subtended angle of horizontal curvature.

JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002 / 717

J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.

 References
ANSYS users manual: version 5.3 共1996兲. ANSYS, Houston, Pa.
Dabrowski, R. 共1968兲. Curved thin-walled girders, theory, and analysis,
Cement and Concrete Association, London.
Fan, Z. 共1999兲. ‘‘Field and computational studies of steel trapezoidal box
girder Bridges.’’ PhD dissertation, Univ. of Houston, Houston.
Fan, Z., and Helwig, T. A. 共1999兲. ‘‘Behavior of steel box girders with top
flange bracing.’’ J. Struct. Eng., 125共8兲, 829– 837.
Guide specifications of horizontally curved highway bridges. 共1993兲.
American Association of State Highway Officials, Washington, D.C.
Helwig, T. A., and Fan, Z. 共2000兲. ‘‘Field and computational studies of
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Syracuse University Library on 07/27/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
718 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING / JUNE 2002
J. Struct. Eng. 2002.128:710-718.
steel trapezoidal box girder bridges.’’ TxDOT Rep. No. 0-1395-3F.
Highway Structural Design Handbook. 共1982兲. AISC Marketing, Pitts-
burgh, Pa., 2.
Kollbrunner, C. F., and Basler, K. 共1969兲. Torsion in structures—An en-
gineering approach, Springer, New York.
Tung, D. H. H., and Fountain, R. S. 共1970兲. ‘‘Approximate torsional
analysis of curved box girders by the M /R method.’’ AISC Eng. J.,
7共3兲, 65–74.
Vlasov, V. Z. 共1961兲. Thin-walled elastic beams, 2nd Ed., National Sci-
ence Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Wright, R. N., Abdel-Samad, S. R., and Robinson, A. R. 共1968兲. ‘‘BEF
analogy for analysis of box girders.’’ J. Struct. Eng., 94共ST7兲, 1719–
1046.