Stiffeners

Stiffeners are secondary plates or sections which are attached to beam webs or flanges to stiffen them against out
of plane deformations.
Almost all main bridge beams will have stiffeners. However, most will only have transverse web stiffeners, i.e.
vertical stiffeners attached to the web. Deep beams sometimes also have longitudinal web stiffeners. Flange
stiffeners may be used on large span box girder bridges but are unlikely to be encountered elsewhere.
Guidance on the design of stiffeners is given below and in Guidance Notes GN 2.04 and GN 2.05.

Contents
Types of stiffener

Stiffener sections

What are stiffeners for?

Controlling local buckling
Connecting bracing or transverse beams

Designing stiffeners for local buckling

Bearing stiffeners
Intermediate transverse web stiffeners
Longitudinal stiffeners

Stiffener detailing
Bearing stiffeners
Intermediate stiffeners
Connections to the flange
Cope holes
Bearing, jacking and internediate web
References stiffenersRiver Eden Bridge, Temple Sowerby
Bypass
Resources

See also

External links

Types of stiffener
There are two principal types of stiffener:

Longitudinal web stiffeners, which are aligned in the span direction

Transverse stiffeners, which are aligned normal to the span direction of the beam.

Types of stiffeners
 Stiffeners on I-section girders Stiffeners on box girders

Longitudinal and transverse stiffeners in a box

girder
(Image courtesy of Atkins)

Transverse web stiffeners are usually provided at bearing positions and these are known as bearing stiffeners.
For future maintenance it is good practice to provide bearing stiffeners at jacking points (for when girders have
to be raised to free bearings for replacement). Other transverse stiffeners are called intermediate transverse web
stiffeners.
 Transverse web stiffeners(Image courtesy of Arup)

Box girders usually have diaphragms at the positions of supports instead of stiffeners. These are usually solid
plates across the inside of the box.

Stiffener sections
A variety of sections have been historically used as stiffeners, however the simple flat stiffener is the type almost
always used in modern designs. Stiffeners can be attached on one side of the plate (single sided), or on both sides
(double sided). Usually bearing stiffeners are double sided, while intermediate web stiffeners are single sided.
Stiffeners can also be doubled up, or even trebled, to form multi-leg stiffeners.
 Stiffener sections

What are stiffeners for?

Stiffeners have one or both of the following functions:

Controlling local buckling

Connecting bracing or transverse beams

Controlling local buckling

Local buckling occurs when a cross section is slender enough for buckling to occur within the cross section, due
either to compression or shear. The webs of bridge beams are usually vulnerable to local buckling, but flanges
are usually much thicker and inherently more resistant to buckling.
Local buckling can occur due to transverse compression load e.g. a web subjected to a bearing reaction,
longitudinal compression load e.g. from bending, or from shear.
In all cases the addition of a relatively small stiffener to a slender plate can increase the resistance to local
buckling substantially.
Reasons for transverse stiffeners
 Reasons for longitudinal stiffeners

Connecting bracing or transverse beams

The easiest way to brace steel beams together is by fixing the bracing to transverse stiffeners. Thus stiffener
positions almost always coincide with bracing positions.
In a ladder deck the webs of transverse beams can be connected directly to the main beam stiffeners, so stiffener
spacing matches transverse beam spacing. In a multi-girder bridge with cross bracing the bracing members are
usually connected to the main beam stiffeners, so that stiffener spacing is the same as bracing spacing.

Examples of stiffeners connecting bracing

Designing stiffeners for local buckling

There are two stages in the design of stiffeners. First the design needs to identify where stiffeners are needed for
the main beams to be adequate. Then the stiffeners themselves need to be designed.

Bearing stiffeners
EN 1993-1-5[1], clause 5.1 (2) gives a criterion for when bearing stiffeners are mandatory. Most bridge beams will
require bearing stiffeners according to this criterion. Even if bearing stiffeners are not required by this clause
they may still be provided if desired - this may benefit the shear resistance as calculated by EN 1993-1-5[1] clause
5.3.
At end supports, if bearing
stiffeners are to be provided,
then a decision has to be
made as to whether to
provide a “rigid end post”, as
shown in EN 1993-1-5[1],
Figures 5.1 and 9.6. A rigid
end post will benefit the
shear resistance as calculated
by EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 5.3.
Although older riveted
girders in the UK may have a
rigid end post end detail,
more recent UK practice has
not been to provide rigid end
End posts
posts but to provide a “non-
rigid end post”. If a rigid end
post is required then minimum stiffener requirements are given in EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 9.3.1.
Having decided that bearing stiffeners are to be provided, to verify the design of bearing stiffeners, determine
the effective stiffener section in accordance with EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 9.1 (2). Note that multi-leg stiffeners must
be split into separate effective cross sections and the loads divided between them. Guidance on design of bearing
stiffeners is given in Section 8.3.2 of SCI P356.
The loads to be considered for the design of bearing stiffeners are given in PD 6695-2[2] clause 16. The majority of
the loading on the stiffener will be the vertical loading from the bearing reaction. There will be horizontal
loading to consider to resist FS forces as given in PD 6695-2[2] clause 10, there may also be horizontal loading
from the bearing if it is fixed. These loads may generate bending moments in the stiffener section.
Having determined the loading, verify the chosen stiffener size by checking the adequacy of the effective
stiffener section to act as a column for combined axial load and bending moment as required by EN 1993-1-5[1]
clause 9.4.

Intermediate transverse web stiffeners

It is usually necessary to provide intermediate stiffeners on main beam webs for the practical purpose of
connecting torsional bracing between the beams. If so, the chosen bracing positions will determine the positions
of at least some of the stiffeners. However, for beams with no bracing , such as transverse girders in a ladder
deck bridge, or if plan bracing is being used, there may be no practical necessity for intermediate stiffeners at all.
The requirement for intermediate transverse web stiffeners is determined by the verification of the shear
resistance - this will indicate where stiffeners are needed, and where stiffeners extra to those for bracing are
needed.
Verification of the shear resistance of the beam is carried out in accordance with EN 1993-1-5[1], clause 5.2 (1)
and 5.3 (1). Note that the strength contribution from the web which comes from EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 5.3 (3) and
EN 1993-1-5[1] Annex A.3 is function of the existence and the spacing of intermediate stiffeners, and whether
those intermediate stiffeners are classified as rigid. As a first step in design, it is suggested that initially it is
assumed there are no intermediate stiffeners at all; if this proves the beam to be adequate in shear then the
benefit of any intermediate stiffeners for bracing attachment will be a bonus.
If the above procedure determines that intermediate stiffeners are required, then the designer will need to
choose the positions and spacing of these stiffeners, and to decide whether they need to be rigid. Verification of
the stiffener size is similar to that for bearing stiffeners, starting with determining the effective stiffener section
in accordance with EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 9.1 (2). To test whether the stiffener is rigid, verify that the requirement
in EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 9.3.3 (3) is satisfied.
The loads to be considered for the design of bearing stiffeners are given in PD 6695-2[2] clause 15. Loads on
intermediate stiffeners are usually much less than for bearing stiffeners but stiffeners may be still subject to
forces and moments due to interaction with transverse beams or bracing. For example, in a ladder deck bridge,
the shear in the transverse beams will cause an axial force in the main beam stiffener. There may also be
horizontal loading to consider from the bracing which may generate bending moments in the stiffener section.
Having determined the loading, verify the chosen stiffener size by checking the adequacy of the effective
stiffener section to act as a column for combined axial force and bending moment (if any) as required by EN
1993-1-5[1] clause 9.4.
If there is no direct loading on the stiffener from any of the above, it is only necessary to ensure the effective
stiffener section satisfies the stiffness criterion given in EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 9.2.1 (5). Further guidance on
design of intermediate stiffeners is given in Section 8.3.1 of SCI P356.

Longitudinal stiffeners
As noted before, most bridges do not have longitudinal stiffeners. Longitudinal stiffeners should not be necessary
on any part of a section that is never in compression nor on any part of the section that is classified as class 1, 2
or 3 in accordance with EN 1993-1-1[3] clause 5.2.2 (8). Even if the part of the section is classified as class 4,
longitudinal stiffeners may still not be required. To determine if the beams have sufficient bending strength
without longitudinal stiffeners, the procedure is to follow EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 4.4. To determine if longitudinal
stiffeners are required on the web to give the main beams sufficient shear strength, the procedure is as for
intermediate stiffeners, i.e. to verify the shear resistance of the beam to EN 1993-1-5[1] clauses 5.2(1) and 5.3(1).
 Continuous and discontinuous longitudinal stiffeners

If they exist, longitudinal stiffeners can be continuous or discontinuous, depending on whether they are
continuous through transverse stiffeners and diaphragms. Discontinuous longitudinal stiffeners stop and start
again either side of the transverse stiffener so that they do not pick up global longitudinal stresses from the web
or flange to which they are attached. They are there simply to resist buckling to the web or flange. Continuous
longitudinal stiffeners, however, do pick up global stresses and add to the cross section.
If longitudinal stiffeners are to be provided they are to be verified by checking the adequacy of the effective
stiffener section to act as a column as required by EN 1993-1-5[1] clause 9.2.2 (3).

Stiffener detailing

Bearing stiffeners
At bearings, the stiffeners usually have to be quite substantial to resist the high compressive forces and may
possibly have to be multi-leg stiffeners. Usually a double sided stiffener is required to avoid a high eccentricity of
loading. Bearing stiffeners are usually thicker than the web.
It is important to make sure the stiffener is “fitted” to the bottom flange, which means the stiffener is ground to
make good contact with the flange. This means the stiffener's share of the axial force in the effective stiffener
section can be transmitted through direct contact between the flange and stiffener. A simple way to determine
the stiffener's share of the axial force is to calculate the stress at its centroid, taking into account eccentricity of
axial force on the effective section, and then multiply this stress by the stiffener area.
Welds are almost always continuous fillet welds all round both sides of the stiffener. A simple 6mm leg length
weld may be adequate but often may have to be 8mm or 10mm. The weld has to be sized so as to be able to
transmit the stiffener's share of the bearing load into the web.

Intermediate stiffeners
For intermediate transverse web stiffeners,
the stiffener probably does not need to be
very big. Typically a single sided 150x15mm
plate has adequate strength and stiffness.
Sometimes the stiffener size will have to be
increased to accommodate connections. This
can be done by increasing the plate size to
200x20mm or perhaps 250x 5mm.
Alternatively, the stiffener width can be
locally increased to provide connection area,
as shown.
Traditionally the stiffener width to thickness
ratio has been limited to no more than 10 to Stiffener widened to allow room for connections
avoid local buckling. However, the Eurocodes
have no restriction on this ratio, and more
slender stiffeners are permitted, although checks may need to be made that they will not be at risk from local
buckling. It does not matter if the stiffener if thicker than the web, so generally thicker stiffeners are
recommended.
To give a clean appearance to the bridge, it is normal to design the outer beams such that the intermediate
transverse stiffeners are on the inner face of the web and hence not visible on the elevation.
Unless there is a substantial axial force on the stiffener, a simple weld detail such as a 6mm leg length continuous
fillet weld all round both sides of the stiffener should be sufficiently strong and durable.
Further guidance on connection of bracing is given in Guidance Note 2.03.

Connections to the flange

Transverse web stiffeners are
sometimes welded to the
flange, and sometimes
stopped just short of either or
both flanges.
The necessity for a
connection to a flange
depends on whether forces
need to be transferred to the
flanges. If there is a
significant axial force to be Stiffener to flange connections
transferred to the stiffener
from one of the flanges it will be necessary to weld the stiffener to that flange. Hence bearing stiffeners must be
connected to the bottom flange if part of the bearing reaction is to be transferred to the stiffener. If there is
bracing connected to the stiffener then it is likely that it is necessary to weld the stiffener to the compression
flange to transfer the lateral shear force. A connection to the top flange also prevents a fatigue problem in the top
flange to web weld as the deck tries to rotate over the beam due to traffic loads. The advantage of stopping the
stiffener short of the flange is that it avoids a potential water trap on the upper surface of the bottom flange. This
is particularly important to avoid on weathering steel bridges.
Where a stiffener is to be welded to a flange, normal construction tolerances would result in a small gap between
the stiffener and the flange, unless the stiffener is fitted; all the forces will therefore be transferred through the
welds. However, if a stiffener is fitted to the flange, the fabricator will grind the stiffener end so as to make a
good fit with the flange over a substantial proportion of the stiffener area. This exercise requires additional work
(and cost) so stiffeners should only be fitted when necessary, e.g. for bearing stiffeners and for stiffeners at a
change in flange direction. Also, it is not practically possible to fit a stiffener to both flanges so the fitted end will
be at the end where the greatest force is to be transmitted, usually the bottom flange.

Stiffener to flange connections

Cope holes
At the corner of a transverse
web stiffener where the
stiffener plate meets the web
to flange weld, it will be
necessary to shape the
stiffener to avoid the weld.
There are two options, either
snipe the stiffener to suit the
web to flange weld and weld
up all the interfaces, or
provide a cope hole. Although
the first option requires
welding one weld on top of Snipe and cope hole details
another, this detail may be
easier to fabricate than the
second, because it is difficult to satisfactorily complete continuous welds around cope holes and apply paint to all
of the surfaces.

References
1. BS EN 1993-1-5:2006+A1:2017. Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures. Plated structural elements. BSI
2. PD 6695-2:2008+A1:2012 Recommendations for the design of bridges to BS EN 1993. BSI
3. BS EN 1993-1-1:2005+A1:2014, Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures. General rules and rules for buildings, BSI

Resources
 Iles, D.C. (2010) Composite highway bridge design. (P356 including corrigendum, 2014). SCI
Hendy, C.R.; Iles, D.C. (2015) Steel Bridge Group: Guidance Notes on best practice in steel bridge construction (6th
Issue). (P185). SCI
Guidance Note 2.03 Bracing and cross beam connections
Guidance Note 2.04 Bearing stiffeners
Guidance Note 2.05 Intermediate transverse web stiffeners

See also
Multi-girder composite bridges
Ladder deck composite bridges
Box girder bridges
Weathering steel
Bridges - initial design
Design of beams in composite bridges
Fatigue design of bridges
Bracing systems
Connections in bridges
Bridge articulation and bearing specification
Design for steel bridge construction

External links
Highways England DMRB (Design Manual for Roads and Bridges) (http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/ha/standa
rds/dmrb/index.htm)
Highways England MCDHW (Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works) (http://www.standardsforhighways.c
o.uk/ha/standards/mchw/index.htm)
The Steel Bridge Group (SBG) (http://www.steel-sci.com/the-steel-bridge-group.html)

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