5 GENERAL DESIGN ISSUES

5.1 Introduction
This Section reviews the following general design issues that affect curved steel
members:
• Locked-in stresses from curving — their magnitude and effect.
• Out-of-plane bending of flanges.
• Frame analysis — should elastic or plastic analysis be used?
• Modelling issues when using software for analysis.
• Differences between the analysis model and the actual structure.
• Buckling checks in software.

Detailed guidance on the design of members curved in elevation, portal frames

and members curved on plan is given in Sections 6, 7 and 8 respectively.

5.2 Locked-in stresses (or residual stresses)

5.2.1 General
Both induction bending and cold bending affect the residual stresses in
members. The application of heat in the induction bending process allows the
relaxation of any residual stresses; residual stresses in a member curved by
induction bending should be no more important than those in a straight member.

Cold curving changes the residual stresses in members. The magnitude of these
residual stresses remaining after the curving process depends on the section
properties in the plane of curvature. Residual stresses do not affect the
cross-sectional resistance of a section.

As a member passes through the bending rolls, the strain exceeds the yield
strain, so that some plastic deformation occurs. As the member passes out of
the bending rolls, it springs back elastically, so that there is equilibrium at the
cross section. Figure 5.1 shows the stress distribution assuming that the
extreme fibre strain reaches Kc, where C), is the yield strain of the steel. Figure
5.1 also demonstrates that not all of the section reaches yield stress. Close to
the neutral axis, stresses remain in the elastic region. Figure 5.2 shows the
moment induced by the curving, Mbr, and the elastic "spring-back" moment,
MSb, which restores equilibrium such that:

Mbr + MSb = 0

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