Design of Beams with Web Openings

Both elastic-design criteria (allowable bending and shear stresses) and plastic-design criteria (allowable bending moments and shear forces) are presented for wide-flange beams with unreinforced holes of varying shapes and sizes, with emphasis on circular and rectangular holes not exceeding 0.6 times the beam depth. The design criteria are related to the AISC specification. Beam deflections and the effects of hole reinforcement are not included. Some tentative rules governing design for buckling problems, particularly severe for beams with holes and for beams with eccentric holes and adjacent holes, are also presented, although it is emphasized that additional research is needed in these areas.