University Professor Holsteinweg 6A

Dr.-Ing. habil. Hartmut Pasternak 38118 Braunschweig

Tel./Fax: 0531/570657 and

Dept. of Structural Steelwork

BTU Cottbus
P.O. 101344
03013 Cottbus
Tel./Fax 0355/692107

EXPERT OPINION
ON THE TRANSVERSE LOADBEARING CAPACITY OF CORRUGATED WEB
BEAMS

1 Background

Zeman and Co. GmbH, A-1121 Vienna, Austria, commissioned me to give an expert
opinion on the transverse loadbearing capacity of the corrugated web beams the
company had developed.

2 Initial situation

Zeman manufactures girders with a sinusoidally profiled web (Fig. 1) made of S235/St37
and S355/St52. The height of the girder h is up to 1500 mm, the nominal thickness t is
never less than 2 mm, i.e. the ratio of h to t does not exceed 750.

Corrugated web

Fig. 1 The Zeman corrugated web beam

The transverse loadbearing capacity of the web beam of these girders was calculated in
the past by applying the design rules of the DASt-Ri 015 ([1], section 4.3) for trapezoidal
web beams.
According to this method, the effective transverse loadbearing capacity is the lesser of
the least favourable (flat) plate strip (local buckling) and the total web area (global
buckling). Each of these transverse loadbearing capacities is calculated according to the
following formula:

fy , d
VR , d = 0.6 ⋅ κτ ⋅ ⋅ h ⋅ t = 0.35 ⋅ κτ ⋅ fy , d ⋅ h ⋅ t (1)
3

where

κτ is the reduction factor for local and global buckling, and

fy,d is the design yield strength.

With a reduction factor of 0.6, according to [2], it is taken into account that, when [1]
appeared, no definitive results were available for the interaction between local and global
buckling.

3 Tests

To determine the loadbearing behaviour, tests were performed on three corrugated web
beams of type WTA under monotonic and cyclic load (tests 1 to 3 in [3]). The load was
applied in the centre via an interim stiffener. Each of the two web sections has an aspect
ratio of α =1; the h/t ratio of the beam is 750. The tests showed uniformly that

- the bearing behaviour is favourable (no severe drop in load after reaching ultimate load)
and that
- even with this high h/t ratio, no local buckling occurs.

Furthermore, the repetitive loading of the beam up to working load did not result in a
fundamental change in the bearing behaviour compared to monotonic loading (Fig. 2);
the bearing load only differs by 3%.

Pressing force F

Test no. 2

Test no. 3

Deflection v

Deflection [mm]

Fig. 2 Test setup and load deformation curves

4 Finite-Element calculations

In addition to the test results, FE calculations were made with the ABAQUS program
package. Geometrical and physical non-linearity were taken into account. Four node
shell elements (S4R) are used and an elastic - ideally plastic material behaviour was
assumed (i.e. stress hardening is not taken into account).

Test 2 was first recalculated using the characteristic material values measured. Fig. 2
shows the load deformation curve, Fig. 3 the deformation pattern. The match between
the test and the FE calculation is good both as regards stiffness and loadbearing
capacity. The calculated load capacity is 12% greater than that found in the test.

F=814 kN, v=4.5 mm

F=790 kN, v=5.1 mm

Fig. 3 Simulated deformation pattern for test beam 2 (deformations 20x enlarged).
Table 1 summarises the following results for girders in steelgrade St 37 with α=1 and
various different h/t ratios:

- the ideal buckling stress τpi according to [1], formula 415

fy , k
- the non-dimensional slenderness λ pi = where τpi is as in [1]
3 ⋅ τpi

VR
- the reduction factor κτ = according to the finite elements and [1].
Vpl

The ideal buckling stress in [1], formula 415 was taken to be 90% (a factor of 0.9) of that
derived in [4], i.e.

36 32.4
τpi , g = 0.9 ⋅ ⋅ (D x ⋅ D 3y ) 0.25 = ⋅ (D x ⋅ D 3y ) 0.25 (2)
t ⋅ h² t ⋅ h²

with Dx, Dy stiffnesses of the orthotropic plate (Dx << Dy) according to [4].

With the assumption (according to [4]) that the web is simply supported to the flanges,
the ideal buckling stress is under-estimated and the non-dimensional slenderness is
overestimated on the save side. With the additional factor 0,9, the estimate of the non-
dimensional slenderness is even more on the safe side.
If bearing load VR,F of the girder determined by FE is less than the fully plastic ultimate
VR , FE
load of the web Vpl = h ⋅ t ⋅ fy , k / 3 , then, because κτ = < 1 , (global) buckling is
Vpl
critical.

The FE calculation shows that buckling can only occur with a very thin web, but that is
not relevant in practice (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4 Simulated failure mode for a beam 1500 mm high and 0.3 mm thick
(failure deformations 20x enlarged)
Table 1

α=b/h h t τPi(form. 2) ⎯λpi V (test) V (ABAQUS) Vpl κτ=V/Vpl Comments.

[-] [mm] [mm] [N/mm²] [-] [kN] [kN] [kN] [-]
2.1 105.7 1.11 369.5 - 409.2 0.90 fy=225 N/mm2
2.1 105.7 1.11 365.0 - 409.2 0.89 E=180000 N/mm2
1)
cyclic loading
2.1 105.7 1.11 353.0 1)
- 409.2 0.86
1 1500 2.1 105.7 1.11 - 407.1 409.2 0.995
2
0.3 46.6 1.63 - 29.1 55.9 0.521 fy=215 N/mm
E=210000 N/mm²
2.0 120.3 1.02 - 370.8 372.4 0.996
2.5 140.8 0.94 - 463.8 465.5 0.996
3.0 160.9 0.88 556.0 558.6 0.995
2.0 120.3 1.02 - 370.9 372.4 0.996

3 1500 2.5 140.8 0.94 - 464.0 465.5 0.997

3.0 160.9 0.88 - 556.0 558.6 0.995
2.0 173.2 0.85 - 309.5 310.3 0.997
1 1250 2.5 202.6 0.78 - 386.5 387.9 0.996
3.0 231.8 0.73 - 464.2 465.5 0.997
2.0 270.7 0.68 - 247.7 248.3 0.997

1 1000 2.5 316.5 0.63 - 309.4 310.3 0.997

3.0 362.1 0.59 371.5 372.4 0.997
α - aspect ratio, h - web height, t - web thickness, τPi - buckling stress where Dx, Dy is as [4], ⎯λpi-
non-dimensional slenderness of the web, V - transverse loadbearing capacity, κτ - reduction factor

Table 1 also contains the comparison of tests and FE calculations, and FE calculations
for beams where α =3 (section properties as above - but due to the greater bending
moments - with 25 mm flange thickness instead of 12 mm). We can see that the κτ values
for α=3 are the same as those for α=1. No researches were carried out for greater α
ratios, because the resulting transverse loadbearing capacity is no longer critical.

Fig. 5 shows the failure mode of a beam with a h/t ratio of 750 (the lower illustration after
reaching ultimate load!).
 F=741 kN, v=17.1 mm

F=725 kN, v=17.3 mm

Fig. 5 Simulated failure pattern (deformations 20x enlarged)

In Figure 6, for all the tests in [3] and FE calculations, the reduction factors are plotted
over the non-dimensional slenderness. At the same time, the very conservative κ curve
according to [1] is entered.
 Tests Cottbus

Fig. 6 Reduction factor κτ plotted over non-dimensional slenderness⎯λpi

(FEM without stress hardening)

It is evident that for non-dimensional slenderness up to 1.02 κτ is approx. 1, i.e. that

yielding of the web is the decisive failure mode. This is also confirmed by the stress
distribution in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 Comparison stress for test beams

For the non-dimensional slenderness of 1.11, κτ falls well below 1.0. To be on the safe
side it is assumed that global buckling will occur from ⎯λpi = 1 and κτ can be calculated
from the following formula:

1.0
κτ = 1.5
(3)
λ pi
5 Conclusions

A realistic calculation of the transverse loadbearing capacity of corrugated web beams is

indeed possible according to DASt-Ri015, but it produces unnecessarily conservative
results,

- because the there assumed interaction between global and local buckling does not
occur, and,
- the reduction factor κτ applied is too small.

So - as the tests and FE calculations both confirm - the transverse loadbearing capacity
of corrugated web beams can be reliably calculated from

fy , d
VR , g , d = κτ, g ⋅ ⋅ h ⋅ t = 0.58κτ, g ⋅ fy , d ⋅ h ⋅ t (4),
3

where the reduction factor κτ,g can be calculated from formula (3), where ⎯λpi is
calculated with τpi according to formula (2) and Dx,Dy according to [4].

Bibliography

1. DASt-Richtlinie 015: Träger mit schlanken Stegen, 1990

(German recommendations for girders with slender web plates)

2. Lindner, J., Aschinger, R.: Grenzschubtragfähigkeit von I-Trägern mit trapezförmig

profilierten Stegen. Stahlbau 57, 1988, p. 377-380 (The ultimate shear load capacity of H-
beams with trapezoidally profiled webs).

3. Versuchsbericht über Tragverhalten von Wellstegträgern. (Final Report on the

Loadbearing Characteristics of Corrugated Web Beams), Brandenburg Technical University
Cottbus, Department of Structural Steelwork (1996)

4. Easley, J. T.: Buckling Formulas for Corrugated Metal Shear Diaphragms. Journal of the
Structural Division, July 1975, pp. 1403 -1417.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. H. Pasternak Dipl.-Ing. P. Branka

Braunschweig/Cottbus, 27.11.1996