Paper by Dr.

Mohan Gupta - for possible publication in January 2006 issue of Steel in

Construction

ADDITIONAL SECTIONAL PROPERTIES OF INDIAN STANDARD TAPERED

FLANGE SECTIONS

Dr. Mohan Gupta

Reader, Department of Civil Engineering
Bhilai Institute of Technology, Durg (C.G.)
E-mail: info@mohangupta.com

INTRODUCTION
Tapered flange sections (Figure 1) are hot rolled steel sections, with sloping flanges having fillets
at the toes and root of flange and web. The Indian Standard medium weight beam (MB) and
channel (MC) sections have tapered flanges and are amongst most readily available sections.
These sections are traditionally used in a variety of applications.

Rolled Beams and Columns Rolled Channels

(Tapered Flanges) (Tapered Flanges)

Figure 1: Traditional Structural Steel sections

In IS : 808 - 1989 (Indian Standard on Dimensions for Hot Rolled Steel Beam, Column, Channel
and Angle Sections) , the strong and weak axes are denoted by x – x and y – y respectively,
whereas in IS : 800 (draft), these axes are denoted as z – z and y – y respectively. In this paper,
the notation adopted in IS : 800 (draft) is followed.

All the section properties of hot rolled tapered flange steel sections are obtained from the
dimensions such as depth and width of the section, thickness of web, mean thickness of flange,
root radius (at the junction of web and flange), toe radius and taper of flange.

The equations for computing the basic and additional section properties, taking into account the
root radius, toe radius and flange taper, are, in general, computationally intensive and it is not
practicable to work out these properties on routine basis. Accordingly, some basic section
properties, such as the mass, gross area, moment of inertia, radius of gyration, elastic and plastic
modulus are given in relevant codes.

Indian Standard Code of Practice for General Construction in Steel (IS : 800 - 1984) is being
revised in the limit state format. The approximate values of few other properties, such as the
depth between root fillets, local buckling ratios for the flange and web, torsion and warping
constant, which are required in limit state design, are provided here for ready reference.

Material strength of tapered flange steel sections shall be confirming to IS : 2062 - 1999 for mild
steel and IS : 8500 - 1991 for medium and high strength steels. All of the sections listed in IS :
808 – 1989, in the desired steel grade, may not be readily available at a given point of time, due
to a variety of reasons. While designing, it is a good practice to ensure that the specified sections
are the ones that are actually available.

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 Paper by Dr. Mohan Gupta - for possible publication in January 2006 issue of Steel in
Construction

INDIAN STANDARD MEDIUM WEIGHT BEAMS

Local buckling ratio for the flange is computed as b/tf and is very frequently required for checking
the section classification. Here, ‘b’ is the half flange width and is equal to bf/2 and tf is the mean
thickness of the flange.

Local buckling ratio for the web is computed as d/tw and is very frequently required for checking
the section classification. Here, ‘d’ is the depth between root fillets and tw is the thickness of the
web.

y
tf

t1
t2
°
r 8
R
eq. eq

hs ≈ h – tf
h
z z
d

tw
Imaginary Circle
of diameter φ

bf y

b = bf /2

Figure 2: Notations for Indian Standard Medium Weight Beams with Tapered Flanges

Warping Constant is given as:

1 2 (1)
Iw = Iy .hs
4

The above expression can be approximately written as:

1
Iw = Iy (h − t f )2 (2)
4

Torsional constant is given as:

 1 2  1
 
6
( )
It =   ( b f − t w )( t1 + t 2 ) t12 + t 22 +   t w t 23 +   (h − 2t 2 ).t w 3 + 2αφ4 − 4Vs t14
 
3 3
(3)

where for I shapes with flange slopes of 1 in 6 (9.46 degrees slope)

tw R t .R t 2
α2 = −0.0836 + 0.2540 + 0.1270 − 0.0806 w 2 − 0.0858 w2 (4)
t2 t2 t2 t2

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and for I shapes with parallel flanges (0 degrees slope)

tw R t .R t 2
α1 = −0.0420 + 0.2200 + 0.1360 − 0.0865 w 2 − 0.0725 w2 (5)
tf tf tf tf

Darwish and Johnston (1965) suggest that the expression for α for intermediate flange slopes
may be found out by linear interpolation between α2 and α1 as given above. This expression for
Indian Standard medium weight beams that have a flange slope of 8 degrees is:

tw R t .R t 2
α = −0.0772 + 0.2487 + 0.1284 − 0.0815 w 2 − 0.0837 w2 (6)
t2 t2 t2 t2

Further,
Vs = 0.1050 + 0.1000S + 0.0848S2 + 0.0675S3 + 0.0515S4 (7)

 t 
(F + m)2 + t w  R + w 
 4  (8)
φ=
F+R+m

 1 t 
F = RS  + 1 − 1− w  (9)
 S2 2R 


2(m − t1 )
S= (10)
bf

Thus, it is obvious that the equation for torsional constant for tapered flange beam sections is
very much involved, even though it ignores toe radius. The expression for α, and hence the
torsional constant, for other Indian Standard beams and columns / heavy weight beams may also
be computed based on the equations presented above. These values are not presented here for
brevity. The flange slopes for some I sections listed in IS : 808 - 1989 are given in Table 1.

Section Flange Slope (Degrees)

Indian Standard junior beams (ISJB) 1.5˚
1.5˚ for depths upto 200 mm
Indian Standard light weight beams (ISLB)
8.0˚ for depths greater 200 mm
Indian Standard wide flange beams (ISWB) 6˚
Indian Standard heavy weight beam (ISHB) 4˚

Table 1: Flange Slopes for Indian Standard Tapered Flange Beam Sections

INDIAN STANDARD MEDIUM WEIGHT CHANNELS

Local buckling ratio for the flange is computed as b/tf and is very frequently required for checking
the section classification. Here, ‘b’ is equal to the flange width bf and tf is the mean thickness of
the flange.

Local buckling ratio for the web is computed as d/tw and is very frequently required for checking
the section classification. Here, ‘d’ is the depth between root fillets and tw is the thickness of the
web.

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Warping Constant is given as:

2
 1  t   t 
Iw =   t f  bf − w   b f − w − 3E0  (h − t f )2 + E0 2Iz (11)
6  2   2 

where,
  t 
2 
 t f  bf − w  
  2  
E0 =   (12)
 t  1
 2t f  bf − w  + t w ( h − t f ) 
  2  3 
 

eq eq

y
tf

t2
t1
r
R

Shear Centre
hs = h – tf

z z
d

tw
E0 – tw/2

°
6

bf y
Figure 3: Notations for Indian Standard Medium Weight Channels with Tapered Flanges

Torsional constant is given as:

 1 2 1
 
6
(  
3
)
It =   ( b f − t w )( t1 + t 2 ) t12 + t 22 +   t w t 23 + .(h − 2t 2 ).t w 3 + 2αφ4 − 2Vs t14 − 0.210t 2 4
3
(13)

where for Channels with flange slopes of 1 in 6 (9.46 degrees slope)

tw R t .R t 2
α2 = −0.1330 + 0.3020 + 0.1400 − 0.1070 w 2 − 0.0956 w2 (14)
t2 t2 t2 t2

and for Channels with parallel flanges (0 degrees slope)

tw R t .R t 2
α1 = −0.0908 + 0.2620 + 0.1230 − 0.0752 w 2 − 0.0945 w2 (15)
tf tf tf tf

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 Paper by Dr. Mohan Gupta - for possible publication in January 2006 issue of Steel in
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The expression for α (by linear interpolation between α2 and α1) for Indian Standard medium
weight channels that have a flange slope of 6 degrees is:

tw R t .R t 2
α = −0.1176 + 0.2874 + 0.1338 − 0.0954 w 2 − 0.0952 w2 (16)
t2 t2 t2 t2

Further,
Vs = 0.1050 + 0.1000S + 0.0848S2 + 0.0675S3 + 0.0515S4 (17)

φ = 2 ( 3R + t w + F ) − 2 ( 2R + t w )( 2R + F )  (18)
 

F = t 2 − R(1 + S − 1 + S ) (19)

t 2 − t1
S= (20)
bf − t w

Thus, it is obvious that the expressions for warping and torsional constants for tapered flange
channel sections are very much involved, even though it ignores toe radius. The expression for α,
and hence the torsional constant, for other Indian Standard channels may also be computed
based on the equations presented above. These values are not presented here for brevity. The
flange slopes for some channel sections listed in IS : 808 - 1989 are given in Table 2:

Section Flange Slope (Degrees)

Indian Standard junior channels (ISJC) 1.5˚
1.5˚ for depths upto 200 mm
Indian Standard light weight channels (ISLC)
6.0˚ for depths greater 200 mm
Indian Standard medium weight parallel
0˚
flange channels (ISMCP)

Table 2: Flange Slopes for Indian Standard Channel Sections

Table 3 provides these additional sectional properties for Indian Standard medium weight beam
and channel sections, based on above equations.

In addition to above properties, plastic section modulus about the major and minor axis is also
tabulated, as these values are also required in limit state design. It is observed that, for MB
sections, the average major axis shape factor (Zpz/Zez) is 1.12 and the average minor axis shape
factor (Zpy/Zey) is 1.69. These values for MC sections are 1.17 and 1.93 respectively.

CONCLUSION
This paper provides the approximate values of few additional properties for Indian standard
medium weight beam and channel sections with tapered flanges, for ready reference. The
equations for torsional and warping constant, presented here, are quite complex and it is not
practicable for practicing designers and budding engineers to compute it routinely. Other
properties, such as the local buckling ratios for the flange and web are not very time consuming
to compute, but are very frequently required in limit state design, are also presented here. In
addition to above properties, plastic section modulus about the major (z – z) and minor (y – y)
axis is also tabulated, as these values are also required in limit state design.

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It is suggested that the relevant code (IS : 808 - 1989) may be amended at the earliest, so as to
include these properties.

NOTATIONS
Symbol Description Units
bf Flange Width mm
d Depth between root fillets mm
h Overall depth of section mm
hs Distance between Centre to Centre of the two Flanges of the Cross-section mm
M Mass Kg/m
R Root Radius mm
r Toe Radius mm
tf Mean Thickness of Flange mm
tw Thickness of Web mm
4
Iz Moment of Inertia about the Major (z – z) Axis cm
4
Iy Moment of Inertia about the Minor (y – y) Axis cm
4
It Torsional Constant of the Cross-section mm
6
Iw Warping Constant of the Cross-section mm
3
Zpz Plastic Section Modulus about the Major (z – z) Axis cm
3
Zpy Plastic Section Modulus about the Minor (y - y) Axis cm

REFERENCES
El Darwish, I.A. and Johnston, B.G., “Torsion of Structural Shapes”, Proceedings of the American
Society of Civil Engineers, Journal of Structural Division, Vol. 91, No. ST1, pp. 203 – 228,
February 1965.

IS : 808 - 1989, “Indian Standard on Dimensions for Hot Rolled Steel Beam, Column, Channel
and Angle Sections”, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, India.

IS : 800 (draft), “Code of Practice for General Construction in Steel (Third Revision)”, Bureau of
Indian Standards, New Delhi, India, November 2005.

IS : 800 - 1984, “Code of Practice for General Construction in Steel (Second Revision)”, Bureau
of Indian Standards, New Delhi, India.

IS : 2062 - 1999, “Steel for General Structural Purposes”, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi,
India.

IS : 8500 - 1991, “Structural Steel – Micro-alloyed (Medium and High Strength Qualities)”, Bureau
of Indian Standards, New Delhi, India.

Nethercot, D.A., Salter, P.R. and Malik, A. S., “Design of Members Subject to Combined Bending
and Torsion”, SCI Publication 057, The Steel Construction Institute, Ascot, Berkshire, 1989.

Seaburg, P.A., and Carter, C. J., “Torsional Analysis of Structural Steel Members”, Steel Design
Guide Series No. 9, Second Printing, American Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago, Illinois,
October 2003.

SteelUK - Dimensions and Properties of UK structural Steel shapes, Techno Consultants Ltd.,
Manchester, England, November 2000.

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 Paper by Dr. Mohan Gupta - for possible publication in January 2006 issue of Steel in Construction

Table 3: Additional Sectional Properties of Indian Standard Tapered Flange Medium Weight Beam and Channel Sections

Web Flange Root Toe Flange Moment Section modulus Depth Local Torsional Warping
Mass Area Depth Width between Buckling
Thk. Thk. Radius Radius Slope of Inertia Plastic Constant Constant
Designation Root Fillets ratios
M A h bf tw tf R r Iz Iy Zpz Zpy d It Iw
Flange Web
kg/m cm2 mm mm mm mm mm mm cm4 cm4 cm3 cm3 mm x 104 mm4 x 109 mm6
MB 100 11.5 14.60 100 75 4.0 7.2 9.0 4.5 8° 257.5 40.8 58.65 18.3 65.0 5.2 16.2 2.95 0.88
MB 125 13.0 16.60 125 75 4.4 7.6 9.0 4.5 8° 449.0 43.7 81.85 19.6 89.2 4.9 20.3 3.52 1.51
MB 150 14.9 19.00 150 80 4.8 7.6 9.0 4.5 8° 726.4 52.6 110.48 22.4 113.9 5.3 23.7 4.00 2.67
MB 175 19.3 24.62 175 90 5.5 8.6 10.0 5.0 8° 1272.0 85.0 166.08 32.2 134.5 5.2 24.5 6.56 5.88
MB 200 25.4 32.33 200 100 5.7 10.8 11.0 5.5 8° 2235.4 150.0 253.86 50.0 152.7 4.6 26.8 12.49 13.42
MB 225 31.2 39.72 225 110 6.5 11.8 12.0 6.0 8° 3441.8 218.3 348.27 66.4 173.3 4.7 26.7 18.32 24.81
MB 250 37.3 47.55 250 125 6.9 12.5 13.0 6.5 8° 5131.6 334.5 465.71 89.8 194.1 5.0 28.1 25.02 47.17
MB 300 44.2 56.26 300 140 7.5 12.4 14.0 7.0 8° 8603.6 453.9 651.74 110.7 241.5 5.6 32.2 29.99 93.86
MB 350 52.4 66.71 350 140 8.1 14.2 14.0 7.0 8° 13630.3 537.7 889.57 129.7 288.0 4.9 35.6 42.38 151.58
MB 400 61.6 78.46 400 140 8.9 16.0 14.0 7.0 8° 20458.4 622.1 1176.18 149.4 334.4 4.4 37.6 58.75 229.33
MB 450 72.4 92.27 450 150 9.4 17.4 15.0 7.5 8° 30390.8 834.0 1533.36 186.8 379.2 4.3 40.3 79.83 390.19
MB 500 86.9 110.74 500 180 10.2 17.2 17.0 8.5 8° 45218.3 1369.8 2074.67 259.5 424.1 5.2 41.6 101.57 798.24
MB 550 103.7 132.11 550 190 11.2 19.3 18.0 9.0 8° 64893.6 1833.8 2711.98 327.6 467.5 4.9 41.7 147.59 1291.19
MB 600 122.6 156.21 600 210 12.0 20.8 20.0 10.0 8° 91813.0 2651.0 3510.63 429.0 509.7 5.0 42.5 204.81 2223.34
°
MC 75 6.8 8.67 75 40 4.4 7.3 8.5 4.5 6 76.0 12.6 24.17 8.69 41.4 5.5 9.4 1.43 0.113
MC 100 9.2 11.70 100 50 4.7 7.5 9 4.5 6° 186.7 25.9 43.83 14.30 64.0 6.7 13.6 2.05 0.447
MC 125 12.7 16.19 125 65 5 8.1 9.5 5 6° 416.4 59.9 77.15 25.56 85.4 8.0 17.1 3.38 1.698
MC 150 16.4 20.88 150 75 5.4 9 10 5 6° 779.4 102.3 119.82 37.88 106.7 8.3 19.8 5.27 4.256
MC 175 19.1 24.38 175 75 5.7 10.2 10.5 5.5 6° 1223.3 121.0 161.65 44.40 128.4 7.4 22.5 7.26 6.717
MC 200 22.1 28.21 200 75 6.1 11.4 11 5.5 6° 1819.3 140.4 211.26 51.07 150.2 6.6 24.6 9.80 10.036
MC 225 25.9 33.01 225 80 6.4 12.4 12 6 6° 2694.6 187.2 277.93 63.64 170.9 6.5 26.7 13.25 26.589
MC 250 30.4 38.67 250 80 7.1 14.1 12 6 6° 3816.8 219.1 356.72 73.90 192.5 5.7 27.1 18.78 23.999
MC 300 35.8 45.64 300 90 7.6 13.6 13 6.5 6° 6362.6 310.8 496.77 91.21 240.7 6.6 31.7 21.37 51.601
MC 350 42.1 53.66 350 100 8.1 13.5 14 7 6° 10008.0 430.6 672.20 110.70 288.1 7.4 35.6 25.58 101.382
MC 400 49.4 62.93 400 100 8.6 15.3 15 7.5 6° 15082.8 504.8 891.03 127.69 332.8 6.5 38.7 35.44 152.584

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