STEEL STRUCTURES Senawonr ‘Stee! Structures 6 (2006) 31-36 Deflection of Castellated I-Beams under Transverse Loading Ioannis G Raftoyiannis* and George I. Toanni Laboratory of Se! Sructures. Deparment of Cit Engng, National Telnical Univesity of athens Greece 15780 Abstract Castellated beams made from steel [-sections with hexagonal or circular web openings are being extensively used in structural applications such as building floor systems, wide roof or hall covering systems, pedestrian bridges, andl other structures, where bending is the main design consideration. Material economy in combination with aesthetic and architectural design have lead to sections made ftom standard profiles with inereased cross-sectional height and load carrying capacity in bending Serviecability checks including flexural deflections under transverse loading is of high importance in the design, especially in floor systems and pedestrian bridges where live load is present. In this paper, analytical models for calculating deflections due to concentrated of uniformly applied transverse loads have been developed. The shear effect of the steel web with openings is included in the analysis. The analytical results presented are verified against numerial solutions and compared with formulas ‘biained by the past European preStandards Keywords: castellated beams, transverse deflections, serviceability limit state, Eurocode 3 1. Introduction Castellated I-béams are being extensively used in structural applications such as building floor systems, wide roof o hall covering, systems, pedestrian bridges, and other structures. Such beam types are made trom standard profile F-sections cut in the web and welded lengthwise to form a new cross section with increased height and moment carrying capacity (Eurocode 3, 1993- 1998). Depending on the web-cutting pattem, the castellated beam produced may have hexagonal or citcular web openings, while the cross-sectional height ‘ean be determined at will, within cerain limits, by selecting an appropriate cutting pattem. The newly: formed cross section is higher than the original one, but its moment carrying capacity is not proportionally increased due to problems that arise from the weakened web such a8 instability problems or problems due to stress concentration around the web openings leading to material failure (Redwood & Demirdjian, 1998), ‘The main initiative for producing and use such seetions is to suppress the cost of material by applying more ‘efficient cross sectional shapes made from. standard profiles in combination with aesthetic and architectural design considerations. The web openings can also be utilized for cross passing utility systems in building floors. Though, the production cost for short span ‘eastellated beams is higher than the material economy. "Corresponding author Tel: +30-210-7722484, Fax: 30-210-7722482 E-mail rafto@eenral nage Thus, the majority of eases in which such beam types are employed are long. span applications, where the main consideration in the design is the moment carrying capacity of the member. Serviceability checks including flexural deflections under transverse loading (Dougherty 1980, Benitez et al 1998) are of high importance in the design, especially in floor systems and pedestrian bridges where live load is present (Eurocode 3, 1993-1998). In the present work, finite element models as well as ‘analytical models for caleulating deflections due to ‘concentrated or uniformly distributed transverse londls have been developed, in which the shear effect of the web With openings is also included in the analysis (Cowper 1966, Timoshenko & Gere 1973). The analytical results presented herein are verified against numerical solutions and compared with the results obtained following the approach ofthe past European preStandards (Eurocode 3, 1993) given in the Appendix. Note that in the revised version of the European Standards (Eurocode 3, 1998), 10 specific approach for computing the deflection of castellated beams is specified, 2. Finite Element Analysis In this paper, various finite element models for determining the transverse deflections of castllated I- beams with hexagonal web openings are developed and useful results have been obtained. More. specifically, single-span simply supported I-beam models have been analyzed and the corresponding transverse deflections are fobisined for a variety of lengths and cross-sectional geometries as listed in Table I, where Lis the beam2 loannis G. Raftoyiannis and George Ioannidis baa aa seb ot + a; t. = IRALYET = + veut \i VY y i I-A SAS i pe Figure 1, Castellated I-beams produced from original profiles. ‘Table 1. Geometrical characteristics of finite element I-beam models Ratio Loading ype Ratio Hity Ratio Hit, 6 Concentrated 60 5 Db amiéspan) ie) epee 20 Uniform 6 a 40 Figure 2. Finite element mode! with six web openings under 3-point bending. Jength, his the initial height ofthe standard profile, H is the final height of the built-up cross-section, and fy fis the flange and web thickness, respectively. The most commonly used web-cutting patter studied herein produces final eros-sectional height H™= 1.5, see Fig. 1 For the finite element analysis, a widely used commercial program developed by Algor Inc. is employed (Spyrakos & Raftoyiannis 1997). The flanges and the web are modeled with flat quadrilateral finite elements that account for both membrane and bending action, The flange width b in all cases examined is kept b= 0.45 h. In Fig. 2, a representative model case of a castellated [- ‘beam subjected to a concentrated load P at the mid-span is shown All finite element models are diseretized into a refined mesh of elements sufficient to produce accurate results. This is assured by checking the “precision” command (Spyrakos & Raftoyiannis 1997). For example the model shown in Fig. 2 with length to height ratio L/H =6 has been discretized into S472 elements with $771 nodes, while the same mesh pattem is kept the same to all model cases. The material properties comespond 1 sryctural steel with modulus of elasticity B = 21000 kN! cm’ and Poisson's ratio v= 0.30, For modeling purposes, a sufficiently thick gusset plate is placed at both ends of the beam model as well as the mid-span in the ease of concentrated load. An elastic analysis is performed in all ceases and the results, ie. the deflections, are tabulated in 2 non-dimensional form. 3. Proposed Analytical Approach ‘The analytical models developed herein are used 10 calculate the deflection of castellated I-beams. For a beam with length L subjected to transverse loading, the total deflection fis composed by two terms: the first term ‘Ae cortesponding to pure moment action, and the second ‘one J corresponding to shear action. Thus, the total deflection f can be determined as follows Fofst hak ay ‘where the transversely applied toad P is in form of concentrated loads, & and > are appropriate factors depending on the support conditions and the type of loading, while /yy and Agy are the effective moment of inertia and the effective shear area of the castellated section, respectively. From the numerical results obtained via the finite element method, itis possible to separately determine the deflection due to bending and shear action using 2 curve fiting technique. More specifieally, the first term in Eq. (1) corresponding to pure bending is cubic respect to the length L, while the second term corresponding to shear actions is linear with respect 10 the length L. Henee, Eq, (1) can be writen as feel tegh, @) where the coefficients ¢, and c> are determined applying a curve fitting technique to the results obtained fiom the finite element analyses. Thus, the effective stiffness Ely as well as the shear stiffness Gay of the beam can be accurately estimated In view of the above consideration, itis determined that the effective stiffness Ei,» of the beam can be taken as the mean value of the section stiffness calculated in positions 1-I (full web) and 2-2 (web with opening) as shown in Fig. 3a. Thus, for a standard Lsection with original cross sectional height h and final height H= 1.5 fh, Mange width b, flange thickness t, and web thickness ‘hs the effective moment of inertia yy for the calculation ofthe transverse deflection due to pure moment action is, determined from 6) For calculating the transverse deflection due to shearDeflection of Castellated I-Beams under Transverse Loading 3 forces of a castellated beam with n web openings, a typical element of the beam with length a= 15h is considered (see Fig. 3b). The shear forces V are related to the shear strains y as follows v= Ag 4) where Gaye is the effective shear stiffness of the section with web openings, while the shear strain is determined from ) Taking into account the Vierendeel action (Eurocode 3, 1993-1998) in which bending moments vanish in the middle of T-sections and that the shear deformation of the middle part is negligibly small, a transverse deflection f, will occur due to pure bending of the ‘cantilever parts with length ¢, Thus, a shear force 1/2 acting on each cantilever of the typical element will produce a deflection o G 2 3El, ©) where Jn is moment of inertia about the yoy axis of each cantilever T:sceton passing through is centroid. Substituting Eq, (5) and Ea, (6 nto Eg, (I), the effective shear stiffness GAgy for the whole representative part, and subsequently forthe beam, is determined as Follows 3él, Chg o where the cantilever length e in 9, (7) is estimated using curve fitting on the results obtained via the finite ‘clement analyses and it can be taken as c=3/8a. Thus, for a beam with n-openings the transverse deflection of the opening due to shear aetion is ay vy, 8) aay where Vj are the values from the shear force diagram corresponding to the center of openings. 12, (b) igure 3. (a) Full and open web sections, and (b) Vierendeel model for sheae stiffness 4, Numerical Results and Discussion Numerical results for various cases of beams are obtained by the analytical approach proposed herein and ate compared to numerical solutions with finite elements and the results obtained via the past European preStandard approach given in the Appendix. In Fig. (a), a comparison is shown between the deflection f obtained by the proposed analytical approach and the deflection f, obtained by the approach given in the Appendix for various values of the length to height ratio (WH) and ange thickness (#1) for simply supported beams under 3-point bending, while in Fig. 4(b), the same comparison is shown between the deflection f and the deflection fray obtained by the finite element method. In Fig, 4(c), one can see a comparison between the seflection fre obtained by the finite element method and the deflection f; oblained by the approach given in the Appendix for the same cases presented in Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 4(b). In Fig. 5(@), one can see a comparison between deflections f and fy for various values of the length to height ratio (L/H) and web thickness (14,) for simply supported beams under uniformly distributed load, while in Fig, 5(b), the same comparison is shown between the deflection f and the deflection fre obtained by the finite element method. In Fig. 5(€), a comparison is. shown between the deflection feey obtained by the finite element method and the deflection f obtained by the Approach given in the Appendix. In Fig, 6, the contribution of the shear deflection term f to the total deflection f is plotted for the case of uniformly distributed load. This is achieved using Eqs. (3) and (7) for the determination of bending and shear stifiness Ely and Gd respectively, and is verified ‘through curve fitting on the corresponding finite clement results. It can be easily understood that the shear deflection term f, becomes important for beams with short and intermediate lengths, while its contribution to the total deflection f diminishes for long spans. From the above results, it is obvious that the approach given in the Appendix is less accurate than the proposed analytical approach for beams with short and intermediate4 foannis G. Raftoyianis and George 1. loans 108 — fa) + Hitw=70, § g 10 Tete | 3 4 108 | 4 j 1.09 i ie ee sw mM 1000 jp : oon ae (© | Boney 0905 | | F cn Boon | § ooes toms | # oseo § occa / Bows Bose eee os70 og70 110 110 § 100 100 i i $100 S108 i @ § 104 § 108 § 5 2 soz 2 02 100 _ 100 — 5 0 1% 0 2% 5 1% % % length to eight ati LM length ol ate LM Figure 4. (a) Deflection ratios ff, versus L/H for various flange thickness, (b) Deflection ratios /ffew versus LH for various flange thickness, (¢) Deflection ratios fery//, versus LH for various flange thickness, lengths, with a maximum deviation of 9%, while for long spans the two approaches give similar results. This is also confirmed via the finite element method (see Fis, (b,c) and. 5(b.c)). Moreover, the approach given in the Appendix for calculating the shear deflection term is relatively more complex and difficult to apply, while it uses moment values and makes no reference to the shear forces distribution in the corresponding diagram. This may generate in some cases a significant error in determining the deflection, especially in cases of beams with short or intermediate lengths or continuous beams, while in long span beams bending action prevails and the corresponding error in the total deflection diminishes (see Fig. 6). This effect is demonstrated in the following numerical example, Figure 5. (a) Deflection ratios /f, versus I/H for various web) thickness, (b) Deflection ratios /finwy versus LH for various ‘web thickness, (c) Deflection ratios frevéfe versus LH for various web thickness. 5. Illustrative Example A ‘wo-span pedestrian bridge is constructed by two main girders (see Fig. 7) made from castllated I- sections. Each span has length L.= 9.00, and the main tirders are loaded by concentrated loads P= 18 KN due to the transversal secondary beams placed at distance 60) ‘em apart. The geometrical characteristics of the castellated I-seetion are h=40 em, 17=60em, 6= 18 em, 4= 135 fem and f,=0.86¢m, while the web cutting patter is shown in Fig. 1 Due to the form of the applied loads, one may consider that the main girder is subjected to an equivalent uniformly distributed load q= 18/0.6=30kNim in the serviceability limit state. Next, the effective moment ofDeflection of Castelated I-Beams under Transverse Loading 35 a0 or 060 050 040 090 020 01 000 ratio tsit 5 Oe tc) ee oe | {ongth to helght ratio Ui Figure 6, Contrbuti total deflection of the shear deflection term f to the inertia fy of the eastellated section is determined by Ea, 6) 21 2, a y) I lwp 5692 7em al ful +360 Thus, the maximum deflection fugue due to pure bending is - gl! 60100) :500' 495, fimo” TREREL , T8H.6x21000%56907 28°22 occurring at distance 0.421L=3.79m from the end support, which lies between the 6th and 7th web opening. Next, the bending stiffness J of the T-sections is computed dn = 192.5 emt and the effective shear stiffness Gayy is. determined from Eq, (7) with ¢= 3/8a=3/8 x 60 = 22.5 em 3E ly _3x21000%192.5.60 = 63881 KN With reference to the shear forces diagram, the maximum 1 pho dddbdeis dae 10862 a b+ 606m —a} deflection finac due 0 shear occurs at distance 0.37SL =3.37m from the end support, ie. at the 6th web ‘opening, Thus, Eg. (8) gives 6018, 63881 hort Sy ah (19213144546 ae Gr, r 5+6) @, 0.355 em Note that the positions of maximum deflection due to ‘moment (0421 L) and due to shear (0.375 L-comresponding to maximum moment and zero shear forces) do. not coincide, but ate very close thus, the maximum total deflection fra of the beam can be determined by Eq, (1) 4s Follows Sowa Su fas = 0.829 + 0,355 = 1.184 6m ‘The influence of the shear deflection term Jf, on the total deflection f is significant in the order of 30%, as expected from the preceding analysis, and needs to be taken into account for the design in the serviceability limit state, I should be noted at this point that the bending ‘moment and shear foree diagrams shown in Fig. 7 do not include the effect of flexibility due to the web openings. ‘The corresponding diagrams are obtained as well via the finite element method and the aforementioned effect is proven to be negligible. 6, Conclusions The analytical models developed herein are used to predict the total deflection of castellated Hbeams subjected to transversely applied loading. The most. important findings ean be summarized as follows: The proposed approach can be very easily applied to cblain the deflections of castellated beams, which play a significant role on the design in the serviceability limit state: 16875 pay 1012s shear forsee (8S) —| Troa6 ‘moments (km) Figure 7. Two-span bridge geometry and bending moments - shear forces diagrams.36 Joannis G. Raftoyianis and George I. toenniis The methodology given by the European preStandards produces accurate results for the deflections of castllated beams only in cases of single-spanned long beams, while for beams with short and intermediate lengths or continuous beams the deflection may be significantly underestimated. Moreover, the deflection term due to shear forces is computed using moment values, while the actual distribution of shear forces is completely ignored. The analytical solution presented herein is based on the same basie principles of a Vierendee| type beam, but it is derived using a different approach in which the deflections are more accurately determined. The defleation term due to shear Forces is determined directly from the shear forces distribution in a rigorous and very easily established way. ye hehe (an where r= H = 204, Ay and dy are the area and! moment of inertia of the cantilever ‘Psections, respectively, and the distances rd. and o are shown in Fig. AL. The parts with slifiness J, are considered infinitely rigid in the model. The deflection due to shear f, is computed For k- opening as follows, aM fas (a2) where M is the corresponding moment and Sur the effective shear stiffness given by 2Elylypd oe ——Pelalapde _—_ (a3) dire laa) a Figure AL. Vierendesl type beam model for castellated sections |, is the moment of inertia of the web, while the distances p and e are also defined in Fig.A.1 References Benitez, M.A. Darwin, D., and Donahey, R.C. (1998). “Deflections of composite beams with web openings.” J Siructural Engineering, 124(10), pp. 1139-47. Cowper, G. (1966). “The shear coefficient in Timoshenkos beam theory." . Appl. Mech. Trans, ASME, 33, pp. 335- 40. Dougherty, B.K. (1980). “Elastic deformation of beams with ‘web openings.” J. Sruct. Dix, ASCE, 106(1), pp. 301-12. Eurocode 3 (EC3) (1993). Design of Steel Structures = Annex N: Openings in webs, ENV 1993-I-1: 1992/2, European Committee for Standardization Euracode 3 (EC3) (1998). Design of Steel Structures, ENV. 1993-1-1, European Committee for Standardization. Redwood, R., and Demirdjian, S. (1998). *Castellated beam web buckling in shear” J. Sructural Engineering, 124(10), pp. 1202-7. Spytakos, C.C., and Rafloyiannis, LG (1997). Linear and Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis in Engineering Prac- tice, Algor Publishing Div. Pitsburgh, PA. ‘Timoshenko, $.P., and Gere, J. (1973). Mechanics of Mate- rials, VanNostrand Reinhold Co., NY.