Introduction to Cellular Beams

Dr Stephen Hicks, Manager Structural Systems, HERA,

stephen.hicks@hera.org.nz

Presentation overview
Manufacturing

Process

Applications
Design

Software

Recent

Research

New

Developments

P. 2

Range of Applications

2%

2% 3%

Castellated

10%

Architectural
Straight Rafters

15%

Curved Rafters
Floors
Tapers

68%
UK sales stand at just over
30,000 tonnes p.a. (Nov. 2007)
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Manufacturing process

P. 4

Fabrication of cellular beams

Steel beam or column section is cut to create regular

openings

P. 5

Fabrication of cellular beams

Oxycutting N1

HFINAL

HINITIAL
Oxycutting N2

P. 6

Fabrication of cellular beams

Final length

Scrap

P. 7

Flexibility in depth

Ex 533 x 210 UB 82
723 mm deep
cells - 450 dia @ 675 crs

822 mm deep
cells - 600 dia @ 710 crs

Pre-cambering during the fabricating

process

Cellular beams pre-cambered mid-production at NO COST

Creating Asymmetric Sections

The parent section is split to create two top tees

Another section is split to create two bottom tees

Asymmetric cellular beam is created by combining tees

Asymmetric Openings

The cutting profile creates an asymmetric opening position

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Production - Creating Tapers

By cutting the web along a diagonal and rotating the

bottom tee through 1800 a tapered section is formed.

Production - Creating Tapers

By cutting the web along a diagonal a tapered section can be

formed.

Curves

Curves formed mid-manufacturing process.

Range of Applications Floor beams

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Advantages of long-span construction

Long, column free spans

Flexibility & more usable floor area

Less foundations

Faster erection

Reduced fabrication costs

Short Span
9 Beams

Long Span
5 Beams

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Quicker Erection

Short Span

Long-span
P. 18

Depth savings through service

integration
Raised Floor

Raised Floor

Service Zone

Service Zone
Suspended Ceiling
Suspended Ceiling
Short Span

Long-span

Service integration with circular ducting

P. 20

Incorporation of rectangular services

Cellular beam

Cellular beam with elongated opening

P. 21

Elongated openings

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Secondary Beams

5m

9-1

6-

9m

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Secondary beams

P. 24

Primary beams

5m

9-1

6-

9m

m
3.6
4
.
2

P. 25

Primary beams

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Cell closures

P. 27

Le Colisee Phase II, Paris

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Le Colisee Phase II, Paris

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High span/depth ratio (=39)

Le Colisee Phase II- 18.5m span in 470mm

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Le Colisee 16.9m Span Floor Area

BS 6472 Base Curve

1.000

R = 4 (0.2%g)

Response Factor

R = 8 (0.4%g)

RMS Acceleration (m/s)

1.6 Hz along grid-line H

1.6 Hz along grid-line H (with carpet)

0.100

2.5 Hz along grid-line H

2.5 Hz along grid-line H (with carpet)
2.5 Hz along grid-line 5
Two men at 1.6 Hz along grid-line H

0.010

Two men at 2.5 Hz along grid-line H

Two men at 2.5 Hz along grid-line 5
Running at 2.5 Hz along H
Running at 2.5 Hz along H (with carpet)

0.001
1

Steel Construction

10

100

Frequency (Hz)

P. 31

Leeds Nuffield Hospital Cellular Beams

Operating Theatres

Clear span

Response factor measured less

than 1.0 ( 0.05%g)
See SCI P354

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Cardington design guidance used to

reduce fire protection costs

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Range of Applications Roof beams

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Straight Rafters

<20m

30m

>40m

Portal (Elastic)
Simply Supported

P. 35

Straight Rafters

Bridgewater Car Auction

34.0m span, 92 kg/m castellated beam
Rafters 800 x 210 x 82 kg/m Cellular
P. 36

Simply-supported Curves

Cyfartha Retail Park, Cardiff

Spans
- 23.0m .. 970 x 229 x 101 kg/m
- 32.0m .. 1056 x 254 x 125 kg/m
- 44.0m .. 1202 x 292 x 176 kg/m
- 53.0m .. 1357 x 305 x 253 kg/m

P. 37

Portalised Curved Beams

Aldi Distribution Centre, Runcorn. Span 42m

610 x 229 x 101 UB (Plastic design)
700 x 210 x 82 cellular (Elastic design)

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Double Curves

P. 39

Double Curves

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Tapered Sections

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Over 40 stadia
Mostly Tapered:

Chelsea

Carlisle United

Hull Kingston Stadium

Dunfermline AFC

Newcastle Falcons

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Columns

P. 43

Design software

P. 44

Modes of Failure at Openings

Cracking

Concrete
crushing
Compression
Web-post buckling

Yielding or
buckling

Web-post
shear

Web buckling

Shear
force
Tension

Support

Yielding
Web-post
bending

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Vierendeel bending at rectangular

opening

P. 46

Web-post buckling

P. 47

Cellbeam Version 6.0

SCI software

Checks for SCI updates as opened

Cold & Fire Design

SCI QA audit trail down to code level

Import Export with CSC

RAM link underway

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Design optimization through automate

facility

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Help Screens

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Curved Rafters - With Fixity

Add moment and axial to the ends

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Recent research

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Recent European research programme

Full-scale tests on non-composite and composite beams

with regular or isolated web openings to make
comparisons with existing software.

Development of generalised design guidance for

implementation within European steel and composite
Standards, Eurocode 3 and 4 (EN 1993-1-1 and EN
1994-1-1).

Full-scale fire tests on composite beam with regular web

openings.

Development of improved manufacturing techniques.

P. 53

Test 1 Secondary beam with

symmetric cross-section

7.03 m span length

1.80 m width ( L / 4 )
4 point loads to simulate UDL

End of spans left

unconcreted to check
influence of local
composite action

Test specimen 1 failure modes

Web-post buckling & development of Vierendeel

bending failure observed

Test 2 Primary beam with symmetric

cross-section

Test 2A
Behaviour at elongated
openings

Test 2B
Load introduction through
secondary beams

Load introduction through secondary

beam

Test 2

Test 2 failure modes

Test

2A

- Vierendeel bending
developing at elongated
opening

Test

2B

- Excessive yielding in
bottom Tee at mid-span

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Test 3 Secondary beam with

asymmetric cross-section

7.03 m span length

1.80 m width ( ~ L / 4 )
4 point loads

Hybrid beam with Af,b / Af,t = 4

IPE 300 as upper chord
HEB 340 as bottom chord

Test 3 failure modes

Web-post buckling between

openings 11 and 12

Test 4 - Influence of stiffening cells in

non-composite beam

Test 4

Test 4: Vierendeel mechanism at

opening 4

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Measured failure load vs. predictions

from Cellbeam
Test No

Load measured
at failure (kN)

Cellbeam
Predicted
resistance
(kN)

Experimental /
prediction

806

540

1.49

2A

500

436

1.15

2B

780

440

1.77

656

276

2.38

749

400

1.87

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Full-scale fire tests on composite

cellular beams

In total, 2 fire tests were undertaken at CTICM Test

Station in Maizires-les-Metz :

Test P1: Loaded 7.2 m span composite beam protected with

a cementitious spray
- Based on Test 3 specimen tested at University of Kaiserslautern.

Test P2: Unloaded 7.2 m span composite beam with

protected with a cementitious spray
- Based on Test 1 specimen tested at University of Kaiserslautern.

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Full-scale fire tests on composite

cellular beams

Specimen P1

Specimen P2

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Specimen P1 and P2 in furnace at

CTICM Test Station Maizires-les-Metz

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Specimen P1 (loaded with jacks) and P2

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Specimen P1 after failure

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Specimen P1 after failure

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Improvement of the welding procedures

Large scale tests

P
310

20

423.7-566.6

1020

1700 - 2000

P. 70

Improved manufacturing of cellular

beams
The following 1.7 to 2 m span beam tests were undertaken by
University of Kaiserslautern under the direction of Arcelor
Profil Luxembourg Research:

1-ss tw = 8.6 mm, sw = 122mm

2-hs tw = 8.5/21 mm, sw = 95 mm

3 -ss tw = 13.5 mm, sw = 63 mm

4-ss tw = 8.6 mm, sw = 55mm

5-hs hs tw = 7.1/21 mm, sw = 55mm

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Improvement of the welding procedures

Large scale tests

Specimen
n

Upper Profile

1-ss

IPE 400

2-hs

Lower
Profile

Span Length
[mm]

Total Depth
[mm]

Web post width

[mm]

Opening Diameter
[mm]

IPE 400

1897

558

122

358

HEA 300

HEM 300

1800

475

95

350

3-ss

HEB 400

HEB 400

1940

599

63

422

4-ss

IPE 400

IPE 400

1944

600

55

430

5-hs

IPE 300

HEM 300

1644

482

55

354

6-ss

HEM 300

HEM 300

1559

495

50

334

7-hs

HEB 300

HEM 300

1866

472

123

350

8-hs

HEA 300

HEB 300

1800

415

147

300

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Improvement of welding procedures

Large scale tests

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Improvement of welding procedures

Large scale tests

Macrography of weld failure

(web thickness 11/21 mm)

P. 74

New Developments - Ultra Shallow Floor

Beam

USFB
P. 75

USFB Made to any depth

PC Units

Min 75 mm
bearing

Or metal deck

Min 50mm bearing

For Metal Decking

For PC Units
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Integrated beams

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Integrated beams with deep decking

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USFB

Blackpool 1.5km of 7.5m long USB

250mm deep 74 kg/m with Comflor deck

P. 79

Integrated beams with precast hollow

core units

P. 80

Conclusions

In the UK, cellular beams are the most popular

form of long-span construction

Long, column free spans are provided which

permit flexibility in the layout and more usable
floor area

Design software is freely available which permits

calculations to be made rapidly

Extensive structural, fire and in situ tests have

been undertaken over the last 10-years to develop
and validate the design software.

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Licensed producers of
Cellular Beams

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Where can I get further information?

Cellbeam (NZ) Ltd

Tel.:

+64 (09) 279 7783

Fax:

+64 (09) 278 8595

E-mail:

cellbeam@grayson-eng.co.nz

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