©COMPUTERS AND STRUCTURES, INC.

, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA DECEMBER 2001

COMPOSITE BEAM DESIGN AISC-ASD89
Technical Note
Width-to-Thickness Checks

This Technical Note describes how the program checks the AISC-ASD89
specification width-to-thickness requirements for compact and noncompact
sections. The width-to-thickness requirements for compact and noncompact
sections are spelled out in AISC-ASD89 Specification Chapter B, Table B5.1.
This program checks the width-to-thickness ratios of the beam flanges and
web, and, if it exists, the cover plate.

Overview
The program classifies beam sections as either compact, noncompact or slen-
der on the basis of their width-to-thickness ratios. The program checks the
compact and noncompact section requirements for each design load combi-
nation separately. A beam section may be classified differently for different
design load combinations. For example, it may be classified as compact for
design load combination A and as noncompact for design load combination B.
One reason that a beam may be classified differently for different design load
cases is that the compression flange may be different for different design load
combinations. If the sizes of the top and bottom flanges are not the same,
classification of the section as compact or noncompact may depend on which
flange is determined to be the compression flange.

For each design load combination, the program first checks a beam section
for the compact section requirements for the compression flange, web and
cover plate (if applicable). If the beam section meets all of those require-
ments, it is classified as compact for that design load combination. If the
beam section does not meet all of the compact section requirements, it is
then checked for the noncompact requirements for the flanges, web and
cover plate (if applicable). If the beam section meets all of those require-
ments, it is classified as noncompact for that design load combination. If the
beam section does not meet all of the noncompact section requirements, it is
classified as slender for that design load combination, and the program does
not consider it for composite beam design.

Overview Page 1 of 6
Composite Beam Design AISC-ASD89 Width-to-Thickness Checks

Limiting Width-to-Thickness Ratios for Flanges

This section describes the limiting width-to-thickness ratios considered by the
program for beam compression flanges. The width-to-thickness ratio for
flanges is denoted b/t, and is equal to bf/2tf for I-shaped sections and bf/tf for
channel sections.

The program does not check the flange width-to-thickness ratios for compos-
ite beams with positive bending. This is consistent with the last sentence of
the first paragraph in AISC-ASD89 Specification Section I2.2.

Compact Section Limits for Flanges

For compact sections, the width-to-thickness ratio for the compression flange
is limited to that indicated by Equation 1.

b 65
≤ , for compact sections Eqn. 1
t Fy

where Fy is the specified yield stress of the beam. Equation 1 applies to both
rolled sections selected from the program's database and to user-defined
(welded) sections.

Noncompact Section Limits for Flanges

For noncompact sections, the width-to-thickness ratio for the compression
flange is limited to that indicated by Equation 2.

b 95
≤ , for noncompact sections Eqn. 2
t Fy k c

where Fy is the specified yield stress of the beam and kc is as follows:

! kc is equal to one (1.0) for rolled sections selected from the program da-
tabase.

! kc is equal to one (1.0) for user-defined (welded) sections with h/tw less
than or equal to 70.

! kc is given by Equation 3 for user-defined (welded) sections with h/tw

greater than 70. For h/tw less than or equal to 70 kc = 1.

Limiting Width-to-Thickness Ratios for Flanges Page 2 of 6

Composite Beam Design AISC-ASD89 Width-to-Thickness Checks

4.05
kc = , for h/tw > 70, Eqn. 3
(h t w )0.46

Limiting Width-to-Thickness Ratios for Webs

This section describes the limiting width-to-thickness ratios considered by the
program for beam webs.

Compact Section Limits for Webs

When checking a beam web for compact section requirements, the width-to-
thickness ratio used is d/tw as shown in Equation 4.

d 640
≤ Eqn. 4
tw Fy

Noncompact Section Limits for Webs

When checking a beam web for noncompact section requirements, the width-
to-thickness ratio used is h/tw. Note that this is different from the width-to-
thickness ratio used for the compact section requirement check. The equation
used for checking the noncompact section limits in the web depends on the
allowable bending stress, Fb, for the noncomposite steel beam plus cover
plate, if it exists. Refer to the Technical Note Allowable Bending Stresses
Composite Beam Design AISC-ASD89 for a description of how the program
calculates the allowable bending stress.

Equation 5 defines the noncompact section limit for webs.

h 760
≤ Eqn. 5
tw Fb

The program makes a slight simplifying assumption when using Equation 5 by

assuming that Fb = 0.66Fy. In most cases in the Composite Beam Design
postprocessor, this assumption is exactly correct. When the assumption is not
exactly correct, it errs on the conservative side.

Limiting Width-to-Thickness Ratios for Webs Page 3 of 6

Composite Beam Design AISC-ASD89 Width-to-Thickness Checks

Limiting Width-to-Thickness Ratios for Cover Plates

Width-to-thickness checks are only performed for the cover plate when there
is negative moment in the beam. In this case, the cover plate is in compres-
sion.

The width-to-thickness checks made for the cover plate depend on the width
of the cover plate compared to the width of the beam bottom flange. Figure 1
illustrates the conditions considered.

In Case A of the figure, the width of the cover plate is less than or equal to
the width of the beam bottom flange. In this case, the width-to-thickness ra-
tio is taken as b1/tcp, and it is checked as a flange cover plate.

In Case B of Figure 1, the width of the cover plate is greater than the width of
the beam bottom flange. Two conditions are checked in this case. The first
condition is the same as that shown in Case A, where the width-to-thickness
ratio is taken as b1/tcp and is checked as a flange cover plate. The second
condition checked in Case B takes b2/tcp as the width-to-thickness ratio and
checks it as a plate projecting from a beam. This second condition is only
checked for the noncompact requirements; it is not checked for compact re-
quirements.

Beam
Beam
Cover plate
tcp

tcp

b1 b2 b1 b2
Cover plate

Case A Case B

Figure 1 Conditions Considered When Checking Width-To-Thickness

Ratios of Cover Plates

Limiting Width-to-Thickness Ratios for Cover Plates Page 4 of 6

Composite Beam Design AISC-ASD89 Width-to-Thickness Checks

Compact Section Limits for Cover Plates

The checks made for compact section requirements depend on whether the
width of the cover plate is less than or equal to that of the bottom flange of
the beam (Case A in Figure 1), or greater than that of the bottom flange of
the beam (Case B in Figure 1).

Cover Plate Width Less Than or Equal to Beam Bottom Flange Width
When the cover plate width is less than or equal to the width of the beam
bottom flange, Equation 6 applies for the compact check for the cover plate.

b1 190
≤ Eqn. 6
t cp Fycp

The term b1 in Equation 6 is defined in Figure 1.

Cover Plate Width Greater than Beam Bottom Flange Width

When the cover plate width exceeds the width of the beam bottom flange, the
program checks both Equations 6 and 7 for the compact check for the cover
plate.

b2 95
≤ Eqn. 7
t cp Fycp

The term b2 in Equation 7 is defined in Figure 1.

Noncompact Section Limits for Cover Plates

The checks made for noncompact section requirements depend on whether
the width of the cover plate is less than or equal to that of the bottom flange
of the beam (Case A in Figure 1), or greater than that of the bottom flange of
the beam (Case B in Figure 1).

Cover Plate Width Less Than or Equal to Beam Bottom Flange Width
When the cover plate width is less than or equal to the width of the beam
bottom flange, Equation 8 applies for the noncompact check for the cover
plate.

b1 238
≤ Eqn. 8
t cp Fycp

Limiting Width-to-Thickness Ratios for Cover Plates Page 5 of 6

Composite Beam Design AISC-ASD89 Width-to-Thickness Checks

The term b1 in Equation 8 is defined in Figure 1.

Cover Plate Width Greater than Beam Bottom Flange Width

When the cover plate width exceeds the width of the beam bottom flange,
both Equations 8 and 9 apply for the noncompact check for the cover plate.

b2 95
≤ Eqn. 9
t cp Fycp

The term b2 in Equation 9 is defined in Figure 1.

Limiting Width-to-Thickness Ratios for Cover Plates Page 6 of 6