MINIMUM WEIGHT DESIGN OF COLD-FORMED STEEL BEAMS 25

(3.8)

(3.9)

(3.10)

where RA and RB are the left and right beam reactions, respectively, and Pi is the design concentrated load i
located at a distance xi from the left support. The design web crippling strength, Pd, is given by one of four
formulas for a particular shape. The appropriate equation to be used depends on: (1) the distance of the
concentrated load from the beam support, and (2) the spacing between the concentrated load and the nearest
concentrated load in the opposite direction. All distances are measured from the edge of the bearing plates
whose width, B, is a parameter in the formulas.

3.3.5
Constraint on Combined Web Crippling and Bending Strength
The combined effect of concentrated load and bending is accounted for by the following constraint:

(3.11)

where Mi is the design moment at the location of concentrated load i, and P and Q are constants depending
on the shape of cross section and type of specification. For example, for I shape beams designed according
to the AISI LRFD Specification P and Q are equal to 0.6212 and 0.7575, respectively.

3.3.6
Deflection Constraint
Maximum deflection, max, of the beam must be less than or equal to the allowable deflection, a.

(3.12)

The maximum deflection is determined at service loads. Because the effective widths of the compression
elements depend on flexural stresses the moment of inertia varies with the bending moment along the length
of the beam. The effective moment of inertia used is that at maximum bending moment. This results in a small
error which is on the conservative side (Yu, 1991). The effective cross-sectional properties for deflection
determination are calculated by a procedure similar to that used for bending strength determination.