Analysis of Flange Transverse Bending of Corrugated Web

I-Girders under In-Plane Loads

Hassan H. Abbas, A.M.ASCE1; Richard Sause, M.ASCE2; and Robert G. Driver, M.ASCE3

Abstract: This paper presents theoretical, experimental, and finite-element analysis results for the linear elastic behavior of corrugated
web steel I-girders under in-plane loads. A typical corrugated web steel I-girder consists of two steel flanges welded to a corrugated steel
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web. Previous research has shown that a corrugated web I-girder under primary moment and shear cannot be analyzed using conventional
beam theory alone, and a flange transverse bending analysis is required. A theoretical method, the fictitious load method, is presented
herein as an analytical tool for quantifying flange transverse bending in corrugated web I-girders. To validate this method, four-point
bending experimental results for a large-scale corrugated web I-girder are presented. The measured flange transverse displacements and
flange stresses were in good agreement with the theoretical results especially in regions of constant shear. To gain additional insight, finite-
element analysis results for the test girder are presented, and compared to both the experimental and theoretical results.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-9445共2007兲133:3共347兲
CE Database subject headings: Experimentation; Finite element method; Flanges; Plate girders; Shear; Transverse loads; Webs.

Introduction 共2006兲, and presents further theoretical, experimental, and finite-

The research described in this paper is part of an ongoing research
program at the Advanced Technology for Large Structural Sys-
tems 共ATLSS兲 Center at Lehigh University that is investigating
innovative applications of high performance steel in highway
bridges. In particular, the work on corrugated web I-girders in-
cludes research on flexural behavior 共Abbas et al. 2006兲, shear
behavior 共Driver et al. 2006兲, and fatigue life 共Sause et al. 2006兲,
as well as studies of corrugated web I-girder fabrication proce-
dures 共Sause 2003兲. A typical corrugated web steel I-girder con-
sists of two steel flanges welded to a steel web that is corrugated
as shown in Fig. 1共a兲. The web profile is shown as trapezoidal in
Fig. 1共a兲 but it could be sinusoidal, triangular, rectangular, or any
other repeating shape. Corrugated web girders have been used for
steel buildings in Europe since the early 1960s 共Bergfelt and
Leiva-Aravena 1986兲, and for highway bridges in Europe and
Japan since the 1980s 共Abbas 2003兲. Most recently, the Pennsyl-
vania Department of Transportation has completed the design and
construction of the first highway bridge in the United States that
utilizes corrugated web I-girders.
This paper builds upon the theoretical work of Abbas et al.
1
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Auburn Univ.,
Auburn, AL 36849.
2
Joseph T. Stuart Professor of Structural Engineering, and Director,
Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems 共ATLSS兲 Center,
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem,
PA 18015.
3
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of
Alberta, Edmonton AB, Canada T6G 2W2.
Note. Associate Editor: Jin-Guang Teng. Discussion open until
August 1, 2007. Separate discussions must be submitted for individual
papers. To extend the closing date by one month, a written request must
be filed with the ASCE Managing Editor. The manuscript for this paper
was submitted for review and possible publication on September 13,
2005; approved on August 2, 2006. This paper is part of the Journal of
Structural Engineering, Vol. 133, No. 3, March 1, 2007. ©ASCE, ISSN
0733-9445/2007/3-347–355/$25.00.
element analysis results for the linear elastic behavior of corru-
gated web I-girders under primary bending moment and shear,
focusing primarily on the phenomenon of transverse flange bend-
ing. A literature survey has revealed that this aspect of corrugated
web I-girder flexure, despite its importance, has received insuffi-
cient research attention and only two papers 共written in German兲
were identified 共Lindner 1992; Aschinger and Lindner 1997兲.
Other aspects of corrugated web I-girder flexure, such as the
ultimate bending strength 共e.g., Elgaaly et al. 1997兲, local flange
buckling 共e.g., Lindner 1992; Protte 1993; Johnson and Cafolla
1997兲, lateral torsional buckling 共e.g., Lindner and
Aschinger 1990, Lindner 1990, 1992兲, and in-plane shear and
flexure behavior 共e.g., Machimdamrong et al. 2004兲 have received
more research attention. However, a better understanding of the
linear elastic flexural behavior is important to these other aspects
of flexure involving instability and inelastic behavior.
Lindner and co-workers in Germany 共Lindner 1992; Aschinger
and Lindner 1997兲 were the first to demonstrate that corrugated
web I-girders under moment and shear experience flange trans-
verse displacements and flange transverse bending stresses. In
their analysis of this behavior, which was limited to trapezoidal
web I-girders, they considered the horizontal shear forces devel-
oping at the web-to-flange junction based on equilibrium of forces
acting in the plane of the web, and then reversed these forces on
the flanges, which were subsequently analyzed as transversely
oriented beams subjected to a set of in-plane loads. However, as
shown in Abbas 共2003兲, this analysis procedure is valid only in
the case of constant shear but invalid in the case of varying shear
because, in the latter case, the forces that are transferred at the
web-to-flange junction will include forces that are perpendicular
to the axis of the girder in addition to forces that act in the plane
of the web, which invalidates the assumptions of Lindner and his
co-workers.
Most recently, Abbas et al. 共2006兲 developed a rigorous theo-
retical formulation of the linear elastic behavior of corrugated
web I-girders under in-plane loads, and presented closed form
equations for flange transverse bending in corrugated web

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J. Struct. Eng. 2007.133:347-355.

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Fig. 1. Corrugated web I-girder under in-plane loads
I-girders with sinusoidal profiles. To serve the purposes of the
current paper, a summary of the relevant theoretical background
based primarily upon the work of Abbas et al. 共2006兲 will be
presented in the following section. Subsequently, a theoretical
method, referred to as the fictitious load method, is presented as
an analytical tool that is especially useful in the analysis of flange
transverse bending in corrugated web I-girders with piecewise
linear folds 共e.g., trapezoidal, triangular, rectangular, etc.兲. To
verify this theoretical analysis method, a large-scale corrugated
web I-girder specimen with a full-scale trapezoidal web profile
was tested in four-point bending, and the experimental results,
including measured displacements and stresses, are reported. Ad-
ditionally, finite-element analysis results for the test girder are
reported and are compared with theoretical and experimental re-
sults to provide further insight into the behavior. The analyses
described in this paper should be of interest to designers of cor-
rugated web I-girders for both building and bridge applications.
Theoretical Background
Fig. 1共a兲 shows a corrugated web I-girder with a span, L and
constant depth, h. The web and flanges are idealized by their
thin-walled counterparts that pass through the middle surfaces of
the corresponding components. For example, h is measured from
the middle surface of the top flange to the middle surface of the
bottom flange. The span length, L, can be expressed in terms of
the number of corrugations, n, and the corrugation wavelength,
L0, as L = nL0. Both the top and bottom flanges are straight and are
arranged symmetrically with respect to a vertical plane passing
through their centerlines, which is defined as the middle plane.
Loads applied in the middle plane, such as pY in Fig. 1共a兲, are
called in-plane loads, which produce a primary shear force, VY , in
the Y-direction, and a primary bending moment, M X, about the X
axis 关Fig. 1共b兲兴. Both VY and M X act in the middle plane of the
girder and can be determined using conventional beam analysis.
One important characteristic of a corrugated web I-girder is
the longitudinal flexibility of the web. Under axial loading, a
corrugated web behaves essentially as an “accordion,” and there-
fore does not carry any significant axial 共longitudinal兲 stress com-
pared to a flat web under the same loading conditions. Abbas
348 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2007
J. Struct. Eng. 2007.133:347-355.
Fig. 2. Stresses and stress resultants for a corrugated web I-girder
under moment and shear: 共a兲 in-plane bending analyzed by beam
theory; 共b兲 out-of-plane torsion analyzed as flange transverse bending
problem 共as adapted from Abbas et al. 2006兲
共2003兲 demonstrated that the longitudinal flexibility of a corru-
gated web with typical dimensions is from several hundred to
several thousand times the longitudinal flexibility of the flat web
of a conventional I-girder. Because of this special feature, the
web contribution to flexure in the analysis of corrugated web
I-girders is commonly neglected, and it is assumed that the pri-
mary bending moment, M X, is carried entirely by the flanges. This
assumption has been shown to be reasonably accurate by labora-
tory experiments and finite-element simulations 共e.g., Driver et al.
2006; Elgaaly et al. 1997兲, and will be discussed further in this
paper. Further, from the assumptions of thin-walled beam theory
共Vlasov 1961兲, the web and flanges carry forces in their own
cross-sectional plane only, which implies that the primary shear,
VY , is carried entirely by the web.
Based on these simplifying assumptions, Abbas et al. 共2006兲
studied the equilibrium of a free body of an infinitesimal length of
a corrugated web I-girder. The equilibrium analysis showed that
the primary shear force, VY , and the primary bending moment,
M X, in a corrugated web I-girder, in theory, are resisted by two
separate sets of stresses and stress resultants: 共1兲 in-plane bending
with stresses and stress resultants, as shown in Fig. 2共a兲, and 共2兲
out-of-plane torsion with stresses and stress resultants as shown in
Fig. 2共b兲. Therefore, a corrugated web I-girder twists out-of-plane
simultaneously as it deflects in-plane under primary bending mo-
ment and shear. The in-plane bending is analyzed using conven-
 Eq. 共3兲 suggests that each flange can be treated as a trans-
versely oriented beam. The moment-curvature relationship for
either flange is
d 2u t
M t = − EIt 共4兲
dz2
where E⫽modulus of elasticity and ut⫽transverse displacement
of the flange measured in the flange local x-axis direction 共Fig. 3兲.
From Eqs. 共2兲–共4兲, closed form solutions for Vt, M t, and ut have
been developed for corrugated web I-girders with sinusoidal pro-
files for various loading and flange boundary conditions 共Abbas
2003; Abbas et al. 2006兲. The complete state of stress in a corru-
gated web I-girder in the elastic range can be determined by the
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superposition of stresses due to in-plane bending 关Fig. 2共a兲兴 and

those due to flange transverse bending 关Fig. 2共b兲兴.

Fig. 3. Transverse fictitious loads

Fictitious Load Method

A fictitious load, pt, is introduced as a tool for analyzing flange

tional beam theory, whereas the out-of-plane torsion is analyzed
transverse bending of corrugated web I-girders. This load is de-
as a flange transverse bending problem under the assumption that
fined as the transverse load per unit length of flange that produces
Saint Venant’s torsion contribution can be neglected. This flange
the internal flange forces Vt and M t. As the transverse load, pt,
transverse bending problem is analogous to an I-girder warping
is not actually present in the real problem, it is referred to as
torsion problem 共Abbas et al. 2006兲.
a “fictitious” load and it is determined from equilibrium of an
The in-plane bending is associated with uniform flange nor-
element of infinitesimal length cut from the flange, as shown in
mal stresses, ␴b, uniform shear flow, qw, in the web and linearly
Fig. 3, as
varying shear flow, qb, in the flanges due to changes in ␴b along
the girder length 关Fig. 2共a兲兴. The quantities ␴b, as well as qw dVt
and qb, can be determined from conventional beam theory using pt = − 共5兲
dz
␴b = M XY / IX and q = VY QX / IX, respectively, where QX⫽first
moment of area about the X axis and IX⫽moment of inertia of the From the expression for Vt 关Eq. 共2兲兴 and for sections with
two flanges about the X axis. Both QX and IX are calculated constant depth, h, it follows from Eq. 共5兲 that
neglecting any contribution of the web to flexure. M X can be
reduced into two equal and opposite normal stress resultants, N, 2 d共VY e兲
pt = 共6兲
in the flanges. Vw, the shear stress resultant in the web, is equal in h dz
magnitude to the primary shear, VY . Due to the web eccentricity, Eq. 共6兲 is the general expression for the fictitious load pt. Note
e, a net force, reflecting the resultant of shear stresses in the that, due to differentiation, constants of integration are not part of
flanges, Vb, develops, which is related to the primary shear, VY , by the equation and thus the expression for pt is determinate. One
共Abbas et al. 2006兲 advantage of the fictitious load method is that the flange trans-
verse bending analysis is formulated in a way that is similar to
VY e
Vb = 共1兲 many structural analysis problems, which start with a set of loads
h acting on a structure for which the internal forces, deformations,
The out-of-plane flange transverse bending is associated with and deflections are to be determined. Another advantage of the
linearly varying flange transverse normal stresses, ␴t, and a qua- method is that it can be adopted effectively for any corrugation
dratically varying flange transverse shear flow, qt 关Fig. 2共b兲兴. profile with piecewise linear folds 共e.g., trapezoidal, triangular,
Given the notation and sign convention shown in Fig. 3, ␴t and qt rectangular, etc.兲. To clarify this statement, Eq. 共6兲, is expanded
can be determined using ␴t = M tx / It and qt = VtQt / It, respectively, by differentiation to give
where Vt and M t⫽stress resultants 关Fig. 2共b兲兴, and Qt and It⫽first
moment of area and moment of inertia of an individual flange
about its local y axis, respectively. The flange transverse shear
pt =
2
h
冋 de
VY + e
dz
dVY
dz
册 共7兲

stress resultant, Vt, associated with flange transverse bending is As de / dz = tan ␩, where ␩⫽slope of the web profile as a func-
given by 共Abbas et al. 2006兲 tion of z, and dVY / dz = −pY , where pY ⫽in-plane load applied to
the girder, Eq. 共7兲 becomes
2VY e
Vt = − + A1 共2兲
h 2
pt = 关VY tan ␩ − epY 兴 共8兲
where A1⫽constant of integration that depends on the flange h
boundary conditions. It was shown by Abbas et al. 共2006兲 that the In the absence of distributed loads on the girder 共i.e., in con-
flange transverse moment, M t, is related to Vt by stant shear regions where pY = 0兲, Eq. 共8兲 reduces to

dM t 2
Vt = 共3兲 pt = 关VY tan ␩兴 共9兲
dz h

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Fig. 4. Fictitious load patterns for the top flange for: 共a兲 trapezoidal
web profile; 共b兲 rectangular web profile
Eq. 共9兲 indicates that the fictitious transverse load in a constant
shear region is directly related to ␩. Hence, for corrugation pro-
files with piecewise linear folds 共e.g., trapezoidal, triangular, rect-
angular, etc.兲 pt is either zero for longitudinal folds 共as tan ␩ is
zero兲 or uniform over the inclined folds 共as tan ␩ is constant兲.
This is illustrated by Case I in Fig. 4共a兲 which shows fictitious
load patterns for a trapezoidal web profile in a constant shear
region. Note that as the corrugation slope ␩ approaches 90° 共i.e.,
a rectangular web profile兲, as demonstrated by Case I in Fig. 4共b兲,
the tangent of ␩ approaches infinity and a fictitious concentrated
load, Pt, is used, which can be expressed mathematically in terms
of the fictitious distributed load, pt, as follows:
2VY hr
Pt = lim ptdz = ± 共10兲
dz→0 h
where hr⫽corrugation depth 关Fig. 1共a兲兴. The positive sign in
Eq. 共10兲 is used when the sign of web eccentricity changes from
negative to positive, and the negative sign is used when the sign
of web eccentricity changes from positive to negative 共Fig. 4兲. In
a similar fashion, the pattern of fictitious loads in the presence of
uniform loads, pY , can be determined from Eq. 共8兲, as shown by
Case II in Fig. 4. Although the patterns are slightly more compli-
cated than for Case I, it is seen that the fictitious loads are either
共1兲 concentrated, 共2兲 uniform, or 共3兲 linearly varying, depending
on the corrugation profile. Finally, in the special case when VY is
discontinuous, a fictitious concentrated load is required at the
point of discontinuity. It can be seen from the second term in
Eq. 共7兲 that this fictitious load is directly related to the product of
e and the change in VY at the point of discontinuity.
Once the fictitious loads are determined, the flange transverse
bending problem can be solved using conventional structural
analysis. Although manual calculation is possible, it is often more
convenient to use commercial structural analysis software, espe-
cially as the number of corrugations, n, increases. The flange
transverse bending problem can also be solved numerically
共Abbas 2003兲.
It is worth noting that the method of analysis described herein
for corrugated web I-girders under moment and shear is concep-
350 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2007
J. Struct. Eng. 2007.133:347-355.
tually similar to the so-called V-load method sometimes used for
horizontally curved I-girders 共Grubb 1984; Poellot 1987兲, al-
though there are a number of fundamental differences that should
be pointed out. In this method, the horizontally curved I-girder is
treated as an equivalent straight I-girder and the effect of curva-
ture is accounted for by applying transverse fictitious loads to the
flanges. These transverse loads are related to the primary moment
in the girder, which is different from corrugated web I-girders for
which the transverse fictitious loads, as shown previously, are
related to shear and web eccentricity. As a result, the transverse
load patterns for a horizontally curved I-girder will not change
direction as long as the primary moment maintains its sign. This
is in contrast to corrugated web I-girders, for which the transverse
fictitious loads alternate back and forth along the length. Another
important difference is exhibited by the governing differential
equations of equilibrium. In horizontally curved I-girders, the pri-
mary bending and torsional moments are mathematically coupled,
whereas in corrugated web I-girders, the primary bending mo-
ment and torsion are mathematically uncoupled, which means that
the in-plane bending behavior can be solved independently from
the out-of-plane torsional behavior, as indicated previously.
Experimental Results
Test Girder, Setup, and Instrumentation
To validate the flange transverse bending behavior predicted by
the fictitious load method, a laboratory experiment was conducted
on a simply supported corrugated web I-girder with a trapezoidal
web profile. The specimen belonged to a set of six that were
tested to investigate the fatigue strength of corrugated web
I-girders 共Sause et al. 2006兲. The nominal geometry of the test
girder is shown in Fig. 5. The test girder is 7.4 m 共24.3 ft兲 in
length with an effective span of 7 m 共23.0 ft兲 that includes seven
corrugation wavelengths, each 1 m 共3.28 ft兲 long. The web is
1.2 m 共3.94 ft兲 deep and has a measured thickness of 6.25 mm
共0.25 in. 兲. The top and bottom flanges have a measured width of
227 mm 共8.90 in. 兲 and a measured thickness of 20.4 mm
共0.8 in. 兲. A pair of stiffeners was provided at both the reaction
and load points to minimize local effects due to concentrated
loads. A full-scale trapezoidal corrugated web profile, shown in
Fig. 5共b兲, with a bend radius of 120 mm 共4.72 in. 兲 between the
longitudinal and the inclined folds, was used. The geometry of the
web profile was developed based on shear strength considerations
and fatigue and fracture characteristics, especially in the bend
region 共Abbas 2003兲.
The test specimen was fabricated by High Steel Structures,
Inc., a bridge fabricator in Pennsylvania, using ASTM A709 steel
material 共ASTM 2001兲. The web and flanges were grade HPS
485W, whereas the stiffeners were grade 345W. The nominal
yield stress for the HPS 485W steel material is 485 MPa 共70 ksi兲.
To corrugate the web, a custom-made die was used that required
a four-stoke process with manual incrementing 共Sause 2003兲. The
web-to-flange fillet welds were made using a semiautomatic gas
metal arc welding 共GMAW兲 process, due to its low heat input and
potential for automation. A detailed description of fabrication can
be found in Sause 共2003兲.
The girder was loaded statically in four-point bending as
shown in Fig. 5. The central region between the two loads was
thus subjected to constant bending moment 共zero shear兲, whereas
the end regions were subjected to constant shear 共linearly vary-
ing moment兲. This loading arrangement, combined with the geo-

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Fig. 5. Test specimen geometry, loading conditions, and
instrumentation
metric characteristics of the test girder, provided a good opportu-
nity to observe the behavior of corrugated web I-girders under
bending moment and shear. The girder was mounted on two stiff-
ened steel pedestals. The end supports allowed for the free exten-
sion of the bottom flange at one end, thus simulating the intended
simply supported boundary conditions. The loads were applied
using two 489 kN 共110 kips兲 jacks. The jacks were supported by
overhead braced steel frames, and the load points were laterally
braced using hollow steel tubes that were attached to the columns
of the overhead frames.
Instrumentation was selected to measure the flange transverse
bending behavior. A total of 85 uniaxial bondable electrical resis-
tance strain gauges and 13 linear variable displacement transduc-
ers 共LVDTs兲 were used. Two load cells 共one at each jack location兲
were also utilized. The test data were acquired and processed
using a data acquisition system with a 16-bit analog/digital board
and a personal computer. The strain gauges were located on either
the bottom or the top flange and were oriented in the longitudinal
direction. Seven characteristic sections along the span 共four
within the shear regions and three within the constant moment
region兲 were instrumented with strain gauges that were, whenever
possible, provided in pairs to enable the flange middle surface
strains to be estimated. The middle surface strains were used for
direct comparison with theoretical results, which are based on the
assumption of thin-walled cross-sectional components. All strain
gauges were either placed along the flange centerline or at a dis-
tance of approximately 13 mm 共0.5 in. 兲 from the flange edge.
Fig. 5 shows the strain gauge arrangement for the bottom flange.
Note that strain gauges near the intersection of the longitudinal
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2007 / 351
J. Struct. Eng. 2007.133:347-355.
Fig. 6. Load versus midspan deflection
fold with the inclined fold were placed on the top surface of the
bottom 共tension兲 flange only and were intended for the subsequent
fatigue test. The strain gauge arrangement for the top flange was
similar to that of the bottom flange except that strain gauges were
not placed along the centerline 共Abbas 2003兲.
Six LVDTs were used to measure vertical displacements of the
bottom flange at three locations along the span, and seven LVDTs
were used to measure transverse displacements at five locations
along the bottom flange and two locations along the top flange.
These locations are indicated in Fig. 5. The six vertical LVDTs
were placed in pairs approximately 125 mm 共5 in. 兲 apart 共trans-
versely兲 at each of the three locations. The transverse LVDTs
were fixtured at least 1.2 m 共4 ft兲 away from the bottom flange to
reduce the effect of the vertical displacements on the horizontal
displacement data acquired from these LVDTs.
The static load was applied slowly under manual control. Six
static load cycles were conducted to verify the measurements
from the instrumentation and to ensure repeatability. Each jack
applied a maximum load of approximately 489 kN 共110 kips兲.
Results from the final cycle, load cycle 6, are presented in the
following section.
Experimental Results and Comparison with Theory
Fig. 6 shows a plot of the applied load, P, versus the midspan
vertical deflection, ⌬max. Fig. 6 shows that the behavior is linear
elastic. Using beam theory, the initial stiffness, k0 共in the expres-
sion P = k0⌬max兲, including both flexural and shear deformations,
is given by
k bk s
k0 = 共11兲
kb + ks
where kb 共the bending stiffness兲 and ks 共the shear stiffness兲 are
given by
24EIX
kb =
a共3L2 − 4a2兲
ks =
a
冉
GAw ␤ + cos ␣
␤+1
冊 共12兲
where E and G⫽elastic and shear moduli, respectively; a and
L⫽shear span and overall span, respectively; Aw⫽web area; and
IX⫽moment of inertia of the two flanges about the X axis. The
factor in parentheses involving ␣ 共the corrugation angle兲 and ␤
共the ratio of the longitudinal fold width to the inclined fold width兲
in the expression for ks takes into account the reduced stiffness in
shear for a corrugated web as compared to a flat web. This factor
 Fig. 8. Bottom flange transverse displacements
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Fig. 7. Transverse fictitious loads and boundary conditions for:

共a兲 bottom flange; 共b兲 top flange of the test girder
is always less than 1, and is 0.91 for the test girder web profile.
k0, calculated from the measured cross-sectional dimensions and
material properties, is shown in Fig. 6 along with discrete experi-
mental data points. Fig. 6 shows good agreement between the
calculated stiffness and the experimental results.
The flange transverse bending was analyzed using the ficti-
tious load method, which is especially suitable here because the
web profile is trapezoidal and VY is constant, thus leading to uni-
form transverse fictitious loads. Although a fictitious concentrated
load is generally required at locations where VY is discontinuous,
this fictitious load vanishes in the current case because e is zero at
the concentrated load points 共Fig. 5兲. At an applied load of
489 kN 共110 kips兲, the magnitude of the uniform fictitious load,
from Eq. 共9兲, is 0.601 kN/ mm 共3.43 kips/ in. 兲. In computing
these uniform fictitious loads, the web profile is idealized as per-
fectly trapezoidal, neglecting the curvature of the web in the bend
region. Fig. 7 shows the plan view of the fictitious loading
schemes for the bottom and the top flanges, which differ only in
the load direction.
The theoretical boundary conditions for the flanges of the test
girder are illustrated in Fig. 7共a兲 for the bottom flange and in
Fig. 7共b兲 for the top flange, and represent reasonable approxima-
tions of the actual boundary conditions of the test. For the bottom
flange 关Fig. 7共a兲兴, the transverse translation at the ends is effec-
tively prevented by a secure connection between the flange and
the steel pedestals using C-clamps. The restraint at the ends
against flange transverse rotation 共i.e., rotation about the y axis兲,
however, was not measured for the test girder. For example, if no
or little rotational restraint were provided, the flange theoretical
boundary condition should be simply supported 共i.e., free warp-
ing兲. On the other hand, if the end rotations were fully restrained
then the flange theoretical boundary condition should be fixed
共i.e., fully restrained warping兲. As shown subsequently, it was
found that the bottom flange had partial rotational restraint, which
was modeled by introducing rotational springs with stiffness k␪,
as indicated in Fig. 7共a兲. The theoretical boundary conditions for
the top flange are shown in Fig. 7共b兲. At the load points, it is
assumed that the top flange transverse displacement is fully re-
strained by the load jacks and bracing elements. At the ends, the
partial restraint of the flange transverse displacements, repre-
sented by translational springs of stiffness ku, was estimated from
the properties of the bearing stiffeners 共Abbas 2003兲.
With the theoretical boundary conditions established, the test
girder flange transverse bending was modeled and solved using
conventional structural analysis software. Only the results for the
bottom flange are reported in the paper. The results for the top
flange are presented by Abbas 共2003兲. The theoretical bottom
flange transverse displacements along the span at the applied
load level of 489 kN 共110 kips兲 are shown in Fig. 8 for various
values of k␪. The experimental data points are also plotted in
Fig. 8. Fig. 8 shows that the bottom flange deflects globally
out-of-plane in double curvature. This is attributed to the antisym-
metric pattern of the fictitious loads, as shown in Fig. 7共a兲. Local
variations in the flange deflected shape are caused by the fre-
quently alternating fictitious loads. The experimental results indi-
cate that the end rotations are neither free nor fully restrained, but
are rather partially restrained. The best correlation between the
theoretical and the experimental results occurs when k␪ is taken
equal to 3 ⫻ 106 kN mm/ rad 共2,200 kip ft/ rad兲.
Fig. 9 shows the theoretical distribution of the transverse mo-
ment, M t, for the bottom flange as the rotational boundary condi-
tions, represented by k␪, are varied. Fig. 9 demonstrates that M t is
influenced by the boundary conditions, and in particular, M t can
be nonzero in the constant bending moment region despite the
fact that the primary shear, VY , is theoretically zero in this region.
Also, variations in the boundary conditions influence M t within
the shear spans.
The theoretical total normal stresses in the bottom flange, ␴,
are determined by superposition of in-plane bending stresses, ␴b,
and flange transverse bending stresses, ␴t, using
M XY M tx
␴= + 共13兲
IX It
Fig. 9. Theoretical bottom flange transverse moments

352 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2007

J. Struct. Eng. 2007.133:347-355.

 Fig. 10. Theoretical versus experimental bottom flange stresses
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The value of Y 共the distance from point O in Fig. 1共b兲 to
the middle surface of the bottom flange兲 is 610.2 mm 共24.0 in. 兲.
The bottom flange transverse bending moment associated with k␪
of 3 ⫻ 106 kN mm/ rad 共2,200 kip ft/ rad兲 is used 共Fig. 9兲. The
stresses are calculated along three longitudinal axes 共Fig. 5兲:
共1兲 an axis that is 13 mm 共0.5 in. 兲 from the south edge of the
flange 共the S axis兲, 共2兲 an axis that is along the centerline of the
flange 共the CL axis兲, and 共3兲 an axis that is 13 mm 共0.5 in. 兲 from
the north edge of the flange 共the N axis兲. The corresponding val-
ues of x are −110.5 mm 共−4.35 in. 兲, 0, and 110.5 mm 共4.35 in. 兲,
respectively. The results are shown in Fig. 10. Along the center-
line, the flange normal stresses are not influenced by flange trans-
verse bending 共as x = 0兲. Along the S axis and N axis, however, it
is seen that the flange normal stresses are significantly influenced
by flange transverse bending. For example, the theory predicts
large compressive stresses 共negative兲 near the supports, and large
tensile stresses 共positive兲 near the load points.
The experimental flange stresses are calculated from the cor-
responding experimentally measured strains using Hooke’s law.
Note that the strain gauge pairs were placed along the three afore-
mentioned axes. Thus, a direct comparison between the experi-
mental and theoretical stresses is possible, and is given in Fig. 10.
The experimental data in Fig. 10 represents flange middle surface
normal stresses that were computed from the average of the sur-
face strains measured on each side of the flange. In particular, the
squares represent the normal stresses along the S axis, the circles
represent the normal stresses along the CL axis, and the triangles
represent the normal stresses along the N axis.
The comparison shows that the experimental and theoretical
stresses are generally in good agreement. The agreement is par-
ticularly good within the shear regions, and thus the proposed
analytical model accurately depicts the physical behavior within
the shear region where the flange transverse bending is theoreti-
cally largest. Rather interestingly, the largest difference between
the experimental and theoretical stresses is within the constant
moment region 共between the load points兲 where the flange trans-
verse bending is theoretically small. Fig. 10 shows that the ex-
perimental stresses within this region are, on average, slightly
lower than the theoretical stresses, and that the experimental
transverse stress gradients, although gradual, are opposite in sense
to those of the theoretical stresses. This discrepancy cannot be
explained by the theory presented earlier; however finite-element
analysis results that discuss the phenomena are presented in the
section that follows.
It should be pointed out that the preceding theoretical analysis
is considered approximate due to the use of different boundary
conditions for the flanges. The theoretical analysis of corrugated
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2007 / 353
J. Struct. Eng. 2007.133:347-355.
Fig. 11. FE model
web I-girders under in-plane loads presented by Abbas et al.
共2006兲 assumes that the top and bottom flanges have identical
boundary conditions and as a result, the top and bottom flange
transverse shears at every section are equal and opposite. When
the boundary conditions are different for the top and bottom
flanges, as is the case for the test specimen, the flange transverse
shears at every section are not necessarily equal in magnitude,
thus invalidating certain assumptions of the theoretical analysis.
However, the experimental and theoretical results are in good
agreement despite differences in the boundary conditions. The
influence of the differences in the boundary conditions is dis-
cussed in further detail by Abbas 共2003兲.
Finite-Element Analysis
To gain further insight into the behavior of corrugated web
I-girders under in-plane loads, a finite-element 共FE兲 model of the
test girder was developed and a first-order elastic analysis was
conducted using the general-purpose finite-element package
ABAQUS 共HKS 2002兲. To allow for a direct comparison with the
experimental results, the measured cross-sectional dimensions
and material properties were used.
Fig. 11 shows the FE mesh of the test girder. All girder com-
ponents, including the web, flanges, and stiffeners, were modeled
using reduced integration thin shell elements with five degrees of
freedom per node. The eight-node S8R5 shell element available in
ABAQUS was used for the web, whereas the nine-node S9R5
shell element was used for the flanges. The extra node for the
flange elements was intended to facilitate element connectivity as
shown in Fig. 11. The elements were arranged along the middle
surface planes of the individual girder components. The boundary
conditions of the FE model aimed to simulate the actual boundary
conditions of the test girder. The loads were applied to the top
flange as concentrated loads at the load points used in the test.
The transverse displacements of the nodes at the load points were
restrained to model the braces in the test setup. No other restraints
were imposed on the top flange. To model the boundary condi-
tions of the bottom flange, the vertical and transverse displace-
ments of the lines of nodes at the supports were restrained. The
longitudinal displacements of these nodes were constrained to
impose the condition that plane sections remain plane. To par-
tially restrain the transverse rotation of the bottom flange at the
ends, as discussed previously for the theoretical analysis, a rota-
tional spring was introduced into the FE model, and the spring
constant was taken as 3 ⫻ 106 kN mm/ rad 共2,200 kip ft/ rad兲. As
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by New York University on 05/18/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 12. Web normal stresses from FE analysis
for the previously presented experimental and theoretical results,
the FE results presented in this section are for an applied load
level of 489 kN 共110 kips兲.
The transverse displacements of the bottom flange centerline
from the FE analysis are indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 8.
The FE results are in good agreement with the theoretical and
experimental results, including the local variations. Fig. 12 gives
the in-plane normal stresses over the web depth at various char-
acteristic locations along the girder from the FE analysis. These
stresses are nodal point stresses, calculated within ABAQUS by
averaging the stresses extrapolated from the integration points of
the different elements that are connected to the node. The stresses
obtained from ABAQUS are at the upper and lower surfaces of
the element. The middle surface stresses are computed as the
average of these surface stresses, and presented in comparison
with the theoretical and experimental results. Fig. 12 shows that
the web in-plane normal stresses are generally small 共practically
zero兲 over the majority of web depth. Near the flanges, however,
the web stresses are appreciable as a result of the connection to
the flange at the web-to-flange junction. However, the theoretical
analysis neglects the web contribution to flexure.
Fig. 12共a兲 shows the in-plane normal stresses in the web at the
midspan section 共where the web is inclined兲, and at a section that
is located 250 mm 共10 in. 兲 to the west of midspan 共where the
web is longitudinal兲. Fig. 12共a兲 shows that the web normal
stresses are smaller where the web is inclined than where the web
is longitudinal. As a result, the web has a smaller contribution to
flexure where the web is inclined. The same conclusion can be
drawn by examining Fig. 12共b兲 which gives the web stresses at
two sections within the shear region. As the web carries in-plane
normal stresses, the actual flange normal stresses are smaller than
those predicted by the theory, which neglects the web contribu-
tion. This is supported by Fig. 13共a兲 in which the stresses along
the centerline of the bottom flange from the FE analysis are
slightly lower than those from theory. In addition, due to the
nonuniform web contribution to flexure, the normal stresses in the
flange are nonuniform as well. As expected, the greatest differ-
ence between the FE and theoretical flange stresses is where the
web is longitudinal, and the smallest difference is where the web
is inclined, as shown in Fig. 13共a兲. The corresponding experimen-
tal data points are clearly in agreement with the FE results.
Due to the web contribution to flexure and the web eccentric-
ity with respect to the flange centerline, a secondary flange trans-
verse moment develops, leading to a transverse stress gradient
across the flange width. It is important to note that this secondary
transverse bending is different from the flange transverse bending
354 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH 2007
J. Struct. Eng. 2007.133:347-355.
Fig. 13. Comparison of bottom flange stresses from FE analysis,
theory, and experiment
in the constant moment region that is predicted by the theoretical
analysis. Fig. 13共b兲 shows the normal flange stresses along the S
axis and the N axis from the FE analysis and from the theoretical
analysis. Although there is an excellent agreement between the
FE and theoretical results in the shear regions, differences are
observed in the constant moment region. Note that the largest
difference between the FE and theoretical results occurs when
the web is longitudinal, while the smallest difference occurs when
the web is inclined. For regions where the web is longitudinal,
Fig. 13共b兲 shows that the transverse stress gradient across the
flange is in some cases opposite to that expected from theory. The
experimental data points shown in Fig. 13共b兲 are clearly in agree-
ment with the FE results. Thus, the differences between the the-
oretical and experimental stresses in the constant moment region
共Fig. 10兲, are attributed to the web contribution to flexure. For the
constant shear region, the web contribution to flexure does not
seem to have any significant effect. Indeed, the theoretical, ex-
perimental, and FE analysis results are in good agreement.
Summary and Conclusions
A corrugated web I-girder twists out-of-plane simultaneously as it
deflects in-plane under primary moment and shear. The in-plane
bending is analyzed using conventional beam theory, whereas the
out-of-plane torsion is analyzed as a flange transverse bending
problem. In the paper, a theoretical method of analysis, referred to
as the fictitious load method, has been introduced to analyze
flange transverse bending behavior of corrugated web I-girders. In
this method, each flange is analyzed as a beam loaded with trans-
verse fictitious loads that are mathematically described by Eq. 共6兲.
Due to the alternating pattern of the fictitious loads, it is recom-
 mended that structural analysis software be used. The fictitious
load method is particularly useful for corrugation profiles with
piecewise linear folds 共e.g., trapezoidal, triangular, rectangular,
etc.兲.
To validate the proposed theoretical method, experimental re-
sults for a corrugated web I-girder with a trapezoidal web profile
that was tested in four-point bending were presented. The experi-
mentally measured flange transverse displacements and deduced
stresses were found to be in good agreement with the theoretical
results especially in regions where the behavior is dominated by
primary shear. The complete state of stress in a corrugated web
I-girder can be determined by the superposition of stresses due to
in-plane bending and those due to flange transverse bending.
Some differences between the experimental and theoretical flange
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stresses of the test girder were observed in regions where the
behavior is dominated by primary bending. To provide additional
insight into this behavior, an FE analysis of the test girder was
conducted and the results were presented. The FE analysis results
suggest that the differences between the experimental and theo-
retical flange stresses can be attributed to the contribution of the
web to flexural resistance. Further research to quantify this effect
is needed.
Acknowledgments
This research was conducted at the Advanced Technology for
Large Structural Systems 共ATLSS兲 Center at Lehigh University.
The writers are grateful for the financial support of the ATLSS
Center, the Federal Highway Administration 共FHWA兲, the Penn-
sylvania Department of Transportation 共PennDOT兲, and the Penn-
sylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance 共funded by a grant
from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic
Development兲. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed
in this paper are of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of those acknowledged here.
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