SIN 323

STRUCTURAL STEEL DESIGN

THEME 6-6 Part 2

MOMENT OF RESISTANCE (Mr)
INELASTIC BUCKLING OF BEAMS
Reference: CSIR § 5.4.2

Actual buckling moment will be influenced by

• Initial geometric imperfections (the beam section not straight)
• Eccentricity of loading (the loading on the beam causes
twisting)
• Initial internal stresses (residual stresses) leading to inelastic
behaviour

Residual
stresses
INELASTIC BUCKLING OF BEAMS
See CSIR Fig. 5.7 and Fig. 5.9: Note analogy with columns
MOMENT OF RESISTANCE

A beam is defined as short, intermediate or slender depending

on the ratio of the critical elastic moment Mcr) to the full capacity
moment (Mp and My)
• Mcr < two thirds of the full moment
capacity – slender. Mode of failure is
lateral torsional buckling

• Mcr > two thirds of the full moment

capacity – intermediate. Mode of
failure is a combination of flexure
and lateral torsional buckling

• Short – mode of failure is pure

flexure
MOMENT OF RESISTANCE

• Full moment capacity of a section where the compression

flange is fully restrained is given by Mr = Zfy

• Sections that have no single “strong” axis (SHS and CHS)

are not susceptible to lateral torsional buckling and Mr is the
full moment capacity of the section.

• I and H sections have an x-axis stronger than the y-axis and

they are susceptible to lateral torsional buckling.
SHAPE OF BENDING MOMENT DIAGRAM

A constant bending moment over the distance between lateral

restraints is relatively rare so a correction factor can be applied,
effectively converting a varying bending moment diagram to an
equivalent uniform moment diagram.
M max

𝜔 1.75 1.05𝑘 0.3𝑘

2 M max

𝜔 2.5

M min  = Mmin/Mmax < 1.0

If the maximum moment of a segment occurs only at one end –
the bending resistance of that segment is increased. To take
this resistance into account we use a modification factor 2 –
based on the distribution of bending moment along the length
of a beam segment.
SHAPE OF BENDING MOMENT DIAGRAM

 is the ratio of the smaller to the larger ultimate moment at

opposite ends of the un-braced length and is positive for
double curvature and negative for single curvature.

Double curvature: the point of contra-flexure occurs over the

length of the segment

With constant bending moment (the reference case):  = -1,

Substitute and find that ω2 = 1.
SHAPE OF BENDING MOMENT DIAGRAM

w2 cannot be used if the maximum moment falls between the

two points of lateral restraint (i.e. w2 = 1.0 for this case).

M1

M min

M max
SHAPE OF BENDING MOMENT DIAGRAM
SHAPE OF BENDING MOMENT DIAGRAM
MOMENT OF RESISTANCE
Condition Moment of resistance Mr
0.28𝑀
Mcr > 0.67Mp 1.15𝜑𝑀 1
𝑀
Class but not more than Mp
1 and 2
Mcr ≤ 0.67Mp Mcr
0.28𝑀
Mcr > 0.67My 1.15𝜑𝑀 1
𝑀
Class but not more than My
3 and 4
Mcr ≤ 0.67My Mcr
BEAM SEGMENTS

Designing a beam with its compression flange supported at

intervals along its length – consider a series of segments

Lateral restraints define the segment length and an effective

length of the compression flange is determined for each
segment
kL = centre to centre distance
between retraining members
• Destabilising load (applied to
compression flange) – increase
by 20%
• No torsional restrain provided at
support – increase KL of
segment adjacent to support by
20% if load is “normal”
DETERMINING EFFECTIVE LENGTH
The buckling length L, provides the
application link between the benchmark
Bending Moment
or calibrated model and the application to
the design problem. Important points
about the buckling length L: Buckling Mode

 The length is consistent with a half

sine wave in the benchmark model.
Compression top(Li)
 Effective length factors in Design
Tension top

Codes convert the length between Bending Moment

lateral restraints in applications to an Compression top(Li+2h)

equivalent half sine wave.

 The shape of the bending moment Buckling Mode

diagram can also be linked the

buckling length.
DETERMINING EFFECTIVE LENGTH

Prior to the introduction of moment-gradient correction factors, steel

designers used modified buckling lengths to eliminate some of the
inherent conservatism attached to assuming that the maximum moment
in a non-uniform case, appears over the full length between lateral
restraints.
As the point of inflection is not necessarily laterally braced, the buckling
length is obtained from adding 2xbeam depth(h) to the distance to the
point of inflection.
The correct design of a steel beam revolves around a correct
assessment of:
 The buckling length L
 The moment gradient correction factor, 2
FACTORS INFLUENCING BEAM STABILITY

• Shape of bending moment diagram

• Unrestrained length of compression flange

• Position of load relative to the neutral axis

• Torsional restraint at beam ends