4/10/2020 Curving and Cambering Steel Sections - The Chicago Curve

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Home  FAQ  Curving and Cambering Steel Sections

Categories Curving and Cambering Steel Sections

 Applications  Bending, FAQ

 Bending Bending steel sections can involve both curving and cambering.

 Angle Bending In the world of structural steel, camber denotes a curve in the vertical plane; sweep
denotes a curve in the horizontal plane.  Steel members produced in a steel mill
 Bar Bending
have at least some camber and some sweep.  The allowed amount of deviation
from straight is defined by the tolerances specified in ASTM A6/A6M.
 Beam Bending
The American Standards for Testing Materials (ASTM) is an international organization
 Channel Bending
that creates and publishes a concensus of technical standards for a wide range of

 Pipe Bending materials.  A6/A6M is the standard specification for general requirements for rolled
structural steel bars, plates, shapes, and sheet piling.  (Note:  “rolled” here means
 Special Bending that the steel was produced by running it through rollers to create straight

 Circular Staircases members.)

There are occasions, however, when camber and sweep are required in a structural
 Structural Steel steel application.  For example, cambered beams may offer superior support in a
building by reducing any sag from the weight of a concrete floor.  A canopy may be
 Tee Bending
supported by a beam with sweep that creates an edge curved the “easy way,” i.e.
 Tube Bending against the weak axis.

Camber can be induced in a structural member in several ways.  Probably the most
 Bending Methods
common is cambering on what is called a “cambering machine,” a device that
holds a steel section at two points and then applies pressure through one or two
 FAQ
hydraulic cylinders to a point between the two points.
 Analysis & Design

 Calculations

 Curved Steel Costs

 Project Management

 Rolling Limitations

 Shipping

 Specification Requirements Cambering a Beam on a

Cambering Machine
 Strength
Camber can also be put in a structural member by the careful application of heat. 
 Tolerances
Skilled workers can do this, but the results are sometimes unpredictable.

 Industry News

 Material

 Plate Rolling

 Uncategorized

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4/10/2020 Curving and Cambering Steel Sections - The Chicago Curve

Archives Cambering with Heat

Another method to induce camber is to use a three-roll section bender.  These

Select Month
machines are also called “angle rolls,” “profile benders,” or “structural benders.”

Curving a Beam on a Beam

Bender

The questions sometimes arises as to what is the difference between a camber and
a curve.  Normally, a camber has a rather small mid-ordinate rise, say 1/2 to 3 inches
over 40ft.  A uniform curvature is typically not required, but, on the other hand, a
uniform curvature can provide a specified camber.  A camber can be put in a beam
simply by applying pressure with a cambering machine in the middle of the beam.

Curving indicates both large and small radii, say from 1000ft radius to 10ft radius.  To
the best of our knowledge, there is no definition of camber that references a radius,
i.e. a definition that says that a radius of a given value is no longer a camber but
now a curve.

According to the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Code of Standard

Practice there are different tolerances for a camber and for a curved structural
steel section.  Section 6.4.4, indicates the tolerances for beam camber.  Without
getting into the details, camber tolerances are usually minus zero plus x measured
at the mid-ordinate rise.  Section 6.4.2 indicates the tolerances for a curved
structural member.  Again, without getting into details, curved steel tolerances
specify that the variation from the theoretical curvature–measured along the arc–
shall be equal to or less than the variation in straightness of an equivalent straight
member as prescribed on ASTM A6/A6M.

← Defining “Curved Steel” in Construction

Shipping Curved Steel Members: Permitted and Non-Permitted Loads →

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