Asian Journal of Civil Engineering

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-020-00262-y

ORIGINAL PAPER

Structural behaviour of castellated steel beams with reinforced web

openings
Samadhan G. Morkhade1   · Rutuja S. Lokhande1 · Umesh D. Gund1 · Ajinkya B. Divate1 · Saurav S. Deosarkar1 ·
Mrunmayi U. Chavan1

Received: 15 February 2020 / Accepted: 30 April 2020

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

Abstract
In recent years, castellated steel beams, in steel structure buildings, have been employed extensively. There is common
practice of adopting the depth of web openings up to 80% depth of the section. Due to large depth of web openings there
is drastic reduction in the stiffness of the beams. The castellated beam becomes structurally more capable by providing the
reinforcement (stiffeners) around the openings. Therefore in this research work, a nonlinear numerical analysis is carried
out so as to observe the effectiveness of stiffeners provided around the periphery of the openings. From the results obtained
it is found that robustness of castellated beams enhances by 44% as compared to conventional steel I beam. The average
increase in strength of castellated steel beams by provision of stiffeners around openings is 36% over unreinforced openings.
The web buckling failure can be prevented by using stiffeners around the openings. The predominant failure mode is found
to be Vierendeel mechanism for both reinforced and unreinforced web openings.

Keywords  Reinforced web openings · Perforated beams · Stiffeners · Experimental study · Castellated steel beams (CSB)

Introduction numerical study has been performed to evaluate the causes

Due to continuous efforts of the research community there
is an advancement in construction technology. These efforts
lead to the emergence of several new structural elements like
the open web beams, castellated beams, beams with corru-
gated web, use of slotted angle sections and many more. The
many researchers have been studying continuously the close
behaviour of such structural elements and provide design
guidelines for analysis and design (Kaveh and Shokohi
2014, 2015, 2016a, b; Kaveh and Dadras Eslamlou 2020;
Morkhade and Gupta 2015a, b, 2017; Morkhade et al. 2018,
Morkhade and Gupta 2019a, b; Morkhade et al. 2019a, b,
2020). Castellated or cellular beam is also called as perfo-
rated beams which are widespread essential parts in steel
structures. Many researchers have been performed numerical
and experimental investigation with the intention to study
the response of castellated beams to the different loading. A
* Samadhan G. Morkhade
samadhanmorkhade@gmail.com
of failure due to Vierendeel mechanism, a prime failure
mode found in castellated beams, and suggests a design rule
to prevent this failure (Kerdal and Nethercot 1984; Chung
et al. 2001; Tsavdaridis and D’Mello 2012). Panedpojama
conducted an extensive finite element study and suggested
an empirical formula to estimate the deflection of cellular
beams (Panedpojaman and Thepchatri 2013). The structural
performance of the perforated beams can be improved by
stiffeners, and it is analogous to stiffened steel plate shear
walls (with and without holes) (Formisano et  al. 2007,
2016a, b). The strengthening techniques of steel beams and
domes have been studied experimentally and numerically by
Nayak and his team (Nayak 2020; Nayak et al. 2020).
Till date the behaviour of castellated steel beam has
been studied thoroughly experimentally as well as numeri-
cally, but due to the presence of openings in webs results
in decrease in strength capacity of steel beam. Hence, the
aim of the current research effort is to explore the structural
performance of castellated beams with and without stiffener
around the openings on strength capacity.

1
Department of Civil Engineering, Vidya Pratishthan’s
Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Baramati, S.P.P.U., Pune, Maharashtra 413 133, India

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Fig. 1  Testing of castellated steel beams

Fig. 2  Geometrical details of tested castellated steel beams

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Table 1  Summary of results for tested castellated beams for the same 12

load
10
S. no. Test results Finite element results Percent-

Applied Load (kN)

8
age (%)
Load (kN) Displace- Load (kN) Displace- difference 6
ment ment deflection
(mm) (mm) 4

CSB1 18.00 16.31 18.00 16.00 1.9 2

CSB2 11.00 16.68 11.00 20.00 19 0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Central Deflection (mm)

FEM Experimental
20
18 Fig. 4  Load–deflection curve for CSB2
16
Applied Load (kN)

14
12
10 castellated steel beam has been fabricated from ISMB100
8 section. The span of CSB’s tested was 1000 mm. Figure 1
6
shows photograph during experimental testing of castellated
4
2 beams. The simulation of the experimental models has been
0 done by using ANSYS software version 12. The standard
0 5 10 15 20 material properties of steel have been considered in the
Central deflection (mm)
analysis (yield strength σy = 250 N/mm2, ultimate strength
FEM Experimental σu = 410 N/mm2, modulus of elasticity E = 210 GPa, strain
hardening modulus ET = 5000 N/mm2 and Poisson’s ratio
Fig. 3  Load–deflection curve for CSB1 µ = 0.30). Figure 2 shows the details of tested castellated
steel beams. Table 1 shows the comparison of test and finite
element results for the same load. Figures 3 and 4 show the
Experimental study load vs central deflection for tested as well as numerically
modelled CSB1 and CSB2. From Fig. 5 it is observed that
As a part of validation of the numerical study an experimen-
failure modes found to be the same obtained from experi-
tal study on two castellated beams has been performed. The
mental as well as numerical study. After validating the

Fig. 5  Comparison of experimental and FE results for CSB1

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Fig. 6  Geometrical details of CSB
model with an experimental, a further extensive analysis
has been carried out.
Numerical parametric study
After validating the numerical model with an experimen-
tal, a thorough investigation has been performed with the
purpose to analyse the structural behaviour of reinforced
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Asian Journal of Civil Engineering
castellated beams. The castellated steel beams CSB300
are prepared from ISMB200 parent section. The reinforce-
ment is provided around the openings. Thickness of stiff-
eners is taken equal to thickness of web. Figure 6 shows
the geometrical details of CSB300. No lateral support was
provided to the beams. The beams have been modelled
using a four-noded shell 181 element from ANSYS element
library. The material as well as geometrical nonlinearity is
taken into consideration of finite element models. An initial
Asian Journal of Civil Engineering

imperfection of L/1000 has been included to account for

geometrical nonlinearity. Figure 7 shows the castellated steel
beam modelled in ANSYS.

Results and discussion

After confirmation of correctness of the results attained

from experimental and numerical analysis, a wide-ranging
extensive investigation has been carried out. The investiga-
tion consists of analysis of castellated steel beams with and
without stiffeners around the openings. The parametric study
reveals that castellated steel beams found to be very effec-
tive as a structural solution as compared to the conventional
solid web beams. But on the contrary, the unreinforced web
openings are not always an economical solution. Provision
Fig. 7  Finite element model of CSB with reinforced web openings
of reinforcement around the web openings proves to be an

Table 2  Comparison of S. no. Type of beam Span (mm) Shape of openings Ultimate Ultimate % Increase in
numerical analysis results for load (kN) load (kN) strength due to rein-
diameter of openings 0.75 H forcement
WOS WS

1 ISMB200 1850 – 290 – –

2 CSB300 1850 Circular 255 395 54.90
3 CSB300 1850 Square 310 395 27.41
4 CSB300 1850 Hexagonal 260 380 46.15
5 CSB300 1850 Octagonal 250 395 58.00

Table 3  Comparison of S. no. Type of beam Span (mm) Shape of openings Ultimate Ultimate % Increase in
numerical analysis results for load (kN) load (kN) strength due to rein-
diameter of openings 0.625 H forcement
WOS WS

1 ISMB200 1850 – 290 – –

2 CSB300 1850 Circular 325 400 23.07
3 CSB300 1850 Square 310 395 27.41
4 CSB300 1850 Hexagonal 280 400 42.86
5 CSB300 1850 Octagonal 265 400 50.94

Table 4  Comparison of S. no. Type of beam Span (mm) Shape of openings Ultimate Ultimate % Increase in
numerical analysis results for load (kN) load (kN) strength due to rein-
diameter of openings 0.5 H forcement
WOS WS

1 ISMB200 1850 – 290 – –

2 CSB300 1850 Circular 300 410 36.67
3 CSB300 1850 Square 345 410 18.84
4 CSB300 1850 Hexagonal 330 405 22.72
5 CSB300 1850 Octagonal 310 405 30.64

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Fig. 8  Load–deflection curve 450

for diameter of openings = 0.5H
400
350
300

Applied Load kN
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Mid span deflection mm

0.5H CIRC WOS 0.5H CIRC WS ISMB 200

Fig. 9  Load–deflection 450
curve for diameter of open-
ings = 0.625H 400
350
300
Applied Load kN

250
200
150
100
50
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Mid span deflection mm

0.625H CIRC WOS 0.625H CIRC WS ISMB 200

excellent solution for enhancing the strength capacity of
castellated beams. Tables 2, 3 and 4 show the comparison
of ultimate load for CSB of various categories of openings,
i.e. web openings of depth equal to 0.75H, 0.625H and 0.5H,
respectively, for beams with and without stiffeners around
the openings. Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
18 and 19 show the load–deflection relationship curves for
the D/H = 0.75, 0.625 and 0.5, respectively, for both vari-
ous shapes of web openings and with and without stiffen-
ers. One can observe that as the reinforcement is provided
along the periphery of openings, the robustness of the beams
increases substantially. The ultimate load-carrying capac-
ity for reinforced openings having D/H = 0.75 increases by
54.90%, 27.41%, 46.15% and 58%, respectively, for circular,

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Fig. 10  Load–deflection 450
curve for diameter of open-
ings = 0.75H 400

350

300

Applied Load kN
250

200

150

100

50

0
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00
Mid span deflection mm

0.75H CIRCULAR WOS 0.75H CIRCULAR WS ISMB200

Fig. 11  Load–deflection curve 450

for depth of hexagonal open-
ings = 0.5H 400
350
Applied Load kN

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Mid span deflection mm

0.5 HEXA WOS 0.5H HEXA WS ISMB200

square, hexagonal and octagonal openings. Similarly for Conclusion

other D/H = 0.625 and 0.5 it increases by 23.07%, 27.41%,
42.86%, 50.94% and 36.67%, 18.84%, 22.72%, 30.64%,
respectively, for circular, square, hexagonal and octagonal
openings. The web buckling as well as Vierendeel failure
mode is found for the beams without reinforcement around
the openings, while the beams with stiffeners were suscep-
tible to the Vierendeel failure mode. Figure 20 shows the
failure modes observed during the finite element analysis.
In this research work the analysis of castellated steel beams
with and without stiffeners around the web openings has
been studied experimentally as well as numerically. The cas-
tellated steel beams CSB300 used in the analysis have been
prepared from plain ISMB200.

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 Asian Journal of Civil Engineering

Fig. 12  Load–deflection curve 450

for depth of hexagonal open-
ings = 0.625H 400
350

Applied Load kN
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Mid span deflection mm

0.625H HEXA WOS 0.625H HEXA WS ISMB 200

Fig. 13  Load–deflection curve 400

for depth of hexagonal open-
ings = 0.75H 350
300
Applied Load kN

250
200
150
100
50
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Mid span deflection mm

CB300 D0=0.75H WOS CB300 Do=0.75H WS HEX ISMB 200

Fig. 14  Load–deflection curve 450

for depth of octagonal open-
ings = 0.5H 400
350
Applied Load kN

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Mid span deflection mm

0.5H OCTA WOS 0.5H OCTAGONAL WS ISMB200

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Asian Journal of Civil Engineering

Fig. 15  Load–deflection curve 450

for depth of octagonal open-
ings = 0.625H 400

350

300

Applied load kN
250

200

150

100

50

0
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00
Mid Span Deflection (mm)

0.625H OCTA WOS 0.625H OCTA WS ISMB200

Fig. 16  Load–deflection curve 450

for depth of octagonal open-
ings = 0.75H 400
350
Applied Load kN

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00
Mid span deflection mm

0.75H OCTA WOS 0.75H OCTA WS ISMB200

• Castellated steel beams (CSB300) found to be economi-
cal over conventional steel beams (ISMB200). Due to
increase in depth the deflection of CSB300 is 44% less
as compared to ISMB200.
• The average increase in strength by provision of stiffeners
around openings is 46% for D/H = 0.75 over CSB without
stiffeners around the openings.
• The average increase in strength by provision of stiffen-
ers around openings is 36% for D/H = 0.625 over CSB
without stiffeners around the openings.
• The average increase in strength by provision of stiffeners
around openings is 27% for D/H = 0.5 over CSB without
stiffeners around the openings.
• By provision of stiffeners around the openings web buck-
ling failure can be prevented.
• The failure mode Vierendeel mechanism is predominant
for both reinforced and unreinforced web openings.

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Fig. 17  Load–deflection curve 450

for depth of square open-
ings = 0.5H 400

350

300

Applied Load kN
250

200

150

100

50 0.5H SQUARE WOS 0.5H SQUARE WS ISMB 200

0
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00
Mid span deflection mm

Fig. 18  Load–deflection curve 450

for depth of square open-
ings = 0.625H 400
350
Applied Load kN

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00
Mid span deflection mm

0.625H SQUARE WOS 0.625H SQUARE WS ISMB 200

Fig. 19  Load–deflection curve 450

for depth of square open-
ings = 0.75H 400
350
Applied Load kN

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00
Mid span deflection mm

0.75 SQUARE WOS 0.75H SQUARE WS ISMB 200

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Fig. 20  Failure modes for CSB and PWB with and without stiffeners

Compliance with ethical standards  S. Koziel & X. S. Yang (Eds.), Metaheuristic optimization algo-
rithms in civil engineering: New applications. Studies in compu-
tational intelligence (Vol. 900). Cham: Springer.
Conflict of interest  The authors declare that they have no conflict of
Kaveh, A., & Shokohi, F. (2014). Cost optimization of castellated
interest.
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of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering,
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