Flexural-Torsional Buckling and Ultimate Resistance of Parabolic Steel Arches Subjected to Uniformly Distributed Vertical Load
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 10
Abstract
This paper focuses on the flexural-torsional buckling and ultimate resistance of parabolic steel arches with box sections subjected to full-span uniformly distributed vertical load by using finite-element numerical analyses. First, analyses on prebuckling internal forces and flexural-torsional buckling loads are performed and compared with the existing theories. They show that parabolic arches under uniformly distributed vertical load are actually subjected to combined axial compressive and in-plane bending actions, rather than pure compression in the classic theory. Because the bending moment is substantial for shallow arches, the classic theory with the assumption of pure compression does not predict exactly the flexural-torsional buckling load. Second, the flexural-torsional ultimate resistance of parabolic arches is explored based on extensive finite-element numerical results, resulting in a design method based on a modified slenderness. The rise-to-span ratio is found to have a great effect on the flexural-torsional performance and resistance of parabolic arches, and for shallow arches the existing design method based on axial compressive force at the arch end cannot give good predictions for the resistance of arches. By introducing and adopting the modified slenderness of arches with distributed vertical load, which accounts for the effect of the in-plane bending moment, the column curve in GB50017, AISC 360-10, or Eurocode No. 3 can be used to predict the flexural-torsional resistance of both deep and shallow arches.
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Acknowledgments
This work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51278273) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2012M510457). Both grants were awarded to the first author. The work has also been supported by College Doctoral Research Foundation of China (Grant No. 20120002110001) and Natural Science Foundation of Beijing (Grant No. 8132036). These grants were awarded to the second author.
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 10 • October 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 13, 2013
Accepted: Nov 7, 2013
Published online: May 14, 2014
Published in print: Oct 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Oct 14, 2014
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