Global Lateral Buckling of I-Shaped Girder Systems
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 9
Abstract
A closed form solution for elastic global buckling of twin girder systems interconnected with cross frames is derived. Current design specifications for such systems only consider individual girder buckling between cross frames. The solution, which is suitable for design specifications, was developed for a uniform moment loading condition. Finite-element analyses (FEAs) were used to verify the closed form solution and extend it to more practical loading conditions. FEA showed that the load height condition had only a minor effect for twin girders compared to the published effects on single girders. Both singly and doubly symmetric sections were studied and showed that the girder spacing and the in-plane moment of inertia of the girders are the principal variables controlling global buckling of twin girders. The number and size of the intermediate cross frames had little effect. A method for improving the global buckling capacity through the use of a partial top flange lateral bracing system is presented along with a design example.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
AASHTO. (2002). Standard specifications for highway bridges, 17th Ed., Washington, D.C.
AISC. (2005). “Specification for structural steel buildings, March 7, 2005.” Chicago.
ANSYS Inc. (2003). Finite element program users’ manual, version 8.0, Houston.
Fan, Z., and Helwig, T. A. (1999). “Behavior of steel box girders with top flange bracing.” J. Struct. Eng., 125(8), 829–837.
Galambos, T. V. (1968). Structural members and frames, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Helwig, T. A., Frank, K. H., and Yura, J. A. (1993). “Bracing forces in diaphragms and cross frames.” Proc., Is Your Structure Suitably Braced Conf., Structural Stability Research Council, Milwaukee, 129–140.
Helwig, T. A., Frank, K. H., and Yura, J. A. (1997). “Lateral-torsional buckling of singly-symmetric I-beams.” J. Struct. Eng., 123(9), 1172–1179.
Komatsu, S., Nishimura, N., and Ohno, M. (1983). “Overall lateral buckling of the ladder-like plate girder bridges and the stiffening design method.” Trans. Jpn. Soc. Civ. Eng., 15, 18–19.
Michell, A. (1899). “Elastic stability of long beams under transverse forces.” Philos. Mag., 48, 298–309.
Structural Stability Research Council (SSRC). (1998). Guide to stability design criteria for metal structures, 5th Ed., T. V. Galambos, ed., Wiley, New York.
Taylor, A. C., and Ojalvo, M. (1966). “Torsional restraint of lateral buckling.” J. Struct. Div., 92, 115–129.
Timoshenko, S., and Gere, J. (1961). Theory of elastic stability, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Yura, J. A. (2001). “Fundamentals of beam bracing.” Eng. J., 11–26.
Yura, J. A., and Widianto. (2005). “Lateral buckling and bracing of beams—A re-evaluation after the Marcy bridge collapse.” Proc., Structural Stability Research Council, Montreal, 277–294.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 9 • September 2008
Pages: 1487 - 1494
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 26, 2007
Accepted: Mar 3, 2008
Published online: Sep 1, 2008
Published in print: Sep 2008
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Benjamin W. Schafer
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.