DESIGN OF BEAMS

Beams span between supports to carry loads which are resisted by

bending and shear. However, deflections and local stresses are also
important. Beams may be cantilevered, simply supported, fixed ended or
continuous

Design factors which will influence the lateral stability can be

summarized as:

1) The slenderness of the member between adequate lateral restraints.

2) The shape of cross section.
3) The variation of moment along the beam.
4) The form of end restraint provided.
5) The manner in which the load is applied, i.e. to tension or compression
flange.

Behaviour of steel beams

Laterally stable steel beams can fail only by (a) Flexure (b) Shear or (c) Bearing,
assuming the local buckling of slender components does not occur.
These three conditions are the criteria for limit state design of steel beams.
Steel beams would also become unserviceable due to excessive deflection and this
is classified as a limit state of serviceability.
The factored design moment, M at any section, in a beam due to external actions
shall satisfy
M≤ Md
Where Md= design bending strength of the section.
Design strength in bending (Flexure)
The behaviour of members subjected to bending demonstrated

When the beam is adequately supported against lateral buckling, the beam failure
occurs by yielding of the material at the point of maximum moment. The beam is
thus capable of reaching its plastic moment capacity under the applied loads.
Thus the design strength is governed by yield stress and the beam is classified as
laterally supported beam.
• Beams have much greater strength and stiffness while bending about the
major axis. Unless they are braced against lateral deflection and twisting, they are
vulnerable to failure by lateral torsional buckling prior to the attainment of their
full in plane plastic moment capacity. Such beams are classified as laterally
supported beam.

Buckling:

Buckling is characterized by a sudden sideways failure of a structural member

subjected to high compressive stress, where the compressive stress at the point of
failure is less than the ultimate compressive stress that the material is capable of
withstanding.

Buckling Load: It is the highest load at which the column will buckle.
Crippling

Crippling is just like buckling, but it happens in the web of a beam when it is
being compressed. It often occurs at the supports of a beam, where the bottom
flange is resting on a support, and the top flange is holding up the load, such as
on a bridge abutment. The web in these areas is subject to crippling, so plates are
often welded in perpendicular to the web from the top flange to the bottom
flange.

Crippling Load: It is the max load beyond that load, it can t use further it
becomes disable to use.

The buckling Load < The Crippling Load

Safety load= Crippling Load/ Factor of safety

Due to the action of heavy concentrated load, on a beam a reason of high

compressive stress is formed directly under the loads.The upward reaction at the
support also produces region of high compresses in web. Such high compresses in
the web may lead to web failure like web buckling (also called vertical buckling)
and web crippling (also called web crushing).
Web buckling: Web buckling occurs when the vertical compressive stress in the
web at mid height reaches the critical buckling stress, as the thing web acts as a
long slender column. It is generally found that rolled steel is likely to develop web
crippling before developing web buckling. (Deep build up beans however are
likely to develop web buckling before any crippling).

Web Crippling: In this case due to a concentrated load on the beam due to
reaction at a support, high compressive stresses are produced in the thing web
close to the upper flange or lower flange. As consequences of this, the thin web
may develop a fold at a place close to the flange. Web crippling is analyzed similar
to web buckling by considering load dispersion at a slope 1 : 2.5
 BEAM TO BEAM CONNECTIONS

There are various types of steel beam connections used in structures. Steel beam
connections are categorized into two groups namely framed and seated
connections.

In the framed steel beam connections, the beam is connected to the supporting
steel element through fittings whereas in case of seated connections, the beam is
positioned on seat similar to the case where beam is placed on masonry walls.

Different types of steel beam connections are discussed.

Fig.1: Different Types of Steel Beam to Beam Connections

Types of Steel Beam Connections
Various types of beam connections are provided below:

 Bolted framed connections

 Bolted seated connections
 Welded framed connections
 Welded seat connections
 End plate connections
 Special connections
 Simple, rigid and semi-rigid connections


Bolted Framed Steel Beam Connections

In this type of connection, steel beams are linked to supporting elements whether
it is steel girders or columns with web connection angle as seen in Figure-3.

Fig.3: Bolted Framed Steel Beam Connection

Commonly, the connection is designed based on the loads at the end of the beam.
It is required to take strength, type and size of fasteners and strength of base
materials into consideration while the connection is designed. The minimum
length of connection angle should be at least half of the beam clear web depth.
This measure is specified to ensure sufficient stiffness and stability.
There are various standard sizes of bolted framed connections along with their
capacity provided by codes. The purpose of such standardized connection is to
increase the speed of the design. It is recommended to use minimum connection
sufficient to withstand the applied load to make the design as economical as
possible.

Bolted Seated Steel Beam Connection

There are two major types of bolted seated connections including unstiffened
bolted seat connections and stiffened bolted seat connection as illustrated in
Figure-4 and Figure-5.

Fig.4: Unstiffened Bolted Seat Connection

Fig.5: Stiffened Bolted Seat Connection

If the reactions at the end of the beam is large, then it is recommended to
consider stiffened seat connections because it has adequate capacity to resist
large forces whereas the capacity of unstiffened seat connection is restricted due
to limited bending capacity of seat angle leg that stick out horizontally. The most
outstanding advantage of seat connection is that the beam can be fabricated
economically and seat would provide immediate support during erection. The
function of the top angle used in seat connection is to prevent the beam to suffer
from accidental rotations. It is worth mentioning that this type of connection
does not need considerable shop detailing. Bolted connections are desired from
environmental point of view because the structure can be dismantled and
elements can be used in other projects. Added to that, bolted connections can be
erected with great ease.

Welded Framed Steel Beam Connection

Like other two types of beam connections, various sizes of welded framed
connections with their capacities are available and provided by codes. The weld of
the connection is subjected to direct shear stress and stress caused by loads on
the beam that affect weld pattern. So, these stresses are required to be
considered. Clearly, part of the welding is carried out in the field which is
challenging since it is difficult to achieve high quality weld due to movements of
steel members caused by winds or other factors.

Welded Seat Steel Beam Connections

It is similar to bolt seat connection but welding is used for fastening rather than
bolts. The loads on the beam affect the weld pattern eccentrically and generate
stress. So, like welded framed connections, such stresses need to be considered.
Types of welded seat connections include unstiffened seat and stiffened seat. The
former is used in the case of small applied loads whereas the latter is suitable for
case of large loads. It is advised to use bolts to connect beam bottom flange to the
seat. These bolts can be removed or left at their position after the welding process
is ended. Welded connection is not desired from environmental point of view and
worker. This is because such connection is neither can be dismantled nor erected
easily.

End Plate Steel Beam Connection

This type of connection is made possible through the use of welding art. The end
plate is connected to the beam web through weld because its capacity and size is
governed by shear capacity of the beam web adjoining the weld. The load applied
on the connection at the end of the member does not have eccentricities. There
are different types of end plate connections including flexible, semi-rigid, and
rigid end plate connections. It should be known that, fabrications and cuttings
should be conducted with utmost care to avoid errors. For example, cutting the
beams to length must be as accurate as possible. Finally, end plate connections
are not suitable for tall steel structures.

Special Steel Beam Connections

This type of connections is used for the case where the arrangements of the
structural element are in such a way that standard connections cannot be used.
For example, intersection angels might be different by a certain degree and when
beam centers offset from column centers. Examples of special connections
include bent-plate framed, single web plate, one sided framed, balanced web
plate and Z type connection. The ability of connections to transfer moments to
the columns is based on the degree of fixity of the connections. The higher the
degree of fixity of the beam connection, the greater the ability to transfer
moments to the columns. If the connection is designed to transfer moments, then
it should be able to withstand shear forces from the beam and transfer moments
to the columns.