STRUCTURAL STEEL DESIGN

COURSE CODE: CE434

CHAPTER

8
Part A
Introduction to Beams
TEXT BOOK, STRUCTURAL STEE DESIGN, JACK McCormack
TYPES OF BEAMS
A beam is generally considered to be
any member subjected to transverse
gravity or vertical loading.

The term transverse loading is taken to

include end moments.

Beams are classified according to their

size, shape, manner in which they are
supported, and their location in any
given structural system.
TYPES OF BEAMS
Among the many types of beams are joists, lintels,
spandrels, stringers, and floor beams:

 Joists are the closely spaced beams supporting the floors

and roofs of buildings, while lintels are the beams over
openings in masonry walls such as windows and doors.
 A spandrel beam supports the exterior walls of buildings
and perhaps part of the floor and hallway loads.
 Stringers are the beams in bridge floors running parallel to
the roadway.
 Floor beams are the larger beams in many bridge floors
which are perpendicular to the roadway of the bridge and
which are used to transfer the floor loads from the stringers
to the supporting girders or trusses.
 A Girder is a large beam and perhaps one into which
smaller beams are framed.
JOIST BEAM
Spandrel beam
Introduction
Introduction
 SECTIONS USED AS BEAMS
 The W-shapes will normally prove to be the most
economical beam sections and they have largely
replaced channels and S sections for beam usage.
 The W-shapes have more steel concentrated in
their flanges than do S beams and thus have larger
moments of inertia and resisting moments for the
same weights. They are relatively wide and have
appreciable lateral stiffness.
 Channels are sometimes used for beams subjected
to light loads, such as purlins, and in places where
clearances available require narrow flanges. They
have very little resistance to lateral forces and
need to be braced by sag rods.
 Stress Due to Bending
 Bending moment produces bending strains on a
beam, and consequently compressive and tensile
stresses.
 Under positive moment (as normally the case),
compressive stresses are produced in the top of the
beam and tensile stresses are produced in the
bottom.
 Bending members must resist both compressive and
tensile stresses. fm

For a linearly elastic material:

Mc M
fm  
I S
 Stress Due to Bending

Variation in Bending Stresses

PLASTIC HINGES
 PLASTIC HINGES
 The yielding spreads out to other fibers away from the
section of maximum moment as indicated in the Figure
above.
 The length in which this yielding occurs away from the
section in question is dependent on the loading
conditions and the member cross section.
 For a concentrated load Pu applied at the center line of a
simply-supported beam with a rectangular cross section,
yielding in extreme fibers at the time the plastic hinge is
formed will extend for one-third of the span.
 For a W section in similar circumstances, yielding will
extend for approximately one-eighth of the span.
 During the same period, the interior fibers at the section
of maximum moment yield gradually until nearly all of
them have yielded and a plastic hinge is formed.
 Yield Moment My
Max moment for which the stress is
linearly varying is the yield moment My

fy

d
d/2

d/2

M yc My My fy
fy   
I S 1 bd 2
6
My  1 f bd 2
6 y
 ElastoPlastic Moment M>My
Moment M > My

fy

d
d/2

d/2

fy

 y 2 
M  32 M Y 1  13 Y2 
 c 
 
 Plastic Moment Mp
The plastic moment can be defined as the moment that
will produce full plasticity in a member cross section
and create a plastic hinge. M = MP

fy

d/2
d

d/2

fy

T  C  1 bdFy M  T  arm
2

M P  1 Fy bd 2
2  
d
2
 1 Fy bd 2
4
 Shape Factor
The shape factor of a member cross section can be
defined as the ratio of the plastic moment Mp to yield
moment My.

MP
Shape Factor 
My
1 F bd 2
Shape Factor  4 y
 1.5 for rectangular sections
1 F bd 2
6 y
The shape factor equals 1.50 for rectangular cross
sections and varies from about 1.10 to 1.20 for
standard rolled beam sections
 Plastic Modulus
 The shape factor of a member cross section can be
defined also as the ratio of the plastic modulus Z to
elastic modulus S.
My
Fy  S = Section modulus
S
MP
Fy  Z = Plastic modulus
Z
Z
Shape Factor 
S
 Unless the section is symmetrical, the neutral axis
for the plastic condition will not be in the same
location as for the elastic condition.

 Parts 1 and 3 of the AISC LRFD manual include Z

values for different cross-sectional shapes in the x-
and y-directions.
Example 8.1
Determine the yield moment My, the plastic or nominal
moment Mp(Mn), and the plastic modulus Z for the
simply supported beam having the cross section
shown in Figure below.
Also calculate the shape factor and nominal load Pn
acting transversely through the midspan of the beam.
Assume that FY = 50 ksi.
Solution
Solution
Solution
 Solution
Pn L
MP  Concentrated force Max Moment at mid span
4
4M P 4  950
Pn    158.3 k
L 24
wn L2
MP  Uniformload Max Moment at mid span
8
8M P 8  950
wn  2
 2
 13.2 k / ft
L 24
 Theory of Plastic Analysis
 The basic theory of plastic analysis is considered a
major change in the distribution of stresses after the
stresses at certain points in a structure reach the
yield stress Fy.
 The plastic theory implies that those parts of the
structure that have been stressed to the yield stress
Fy cannot resist additional stresses.
 They instead will yield the amount required to permit
the extra load or stresses to be transferred to other
parts of the structure where the stresses are below
the yield stress Fy, and thus in the elastic range and
able to resist increased stress.
 Plasticity can be said to serve the purpose of
equalizing stresses in cases of overload.
 Theory of Plastic Analysis
 Idealized Stress-Strain Diagram for Steel
 The stress-strain diagram is assumed to have the
idealized shape shown in the Figure.
 The yield stress and the proportional limit are assumed
to occur at the same point for this steel.
 Also, the stress-strain diagram is assumed to be a
perfectly straight line in the plastic range.
 Beyond the plastic range there is a range of strain
hardening.
 Theory of Plastic Analysis
 Idealized Stress-Strain Diagram for Steel
 The strain hardening range could theoretically permit
steel members to withstand additional stress.
 However, from a practical standpoint, the strains
occurring are so large that they cannot be
considered.
 Furthermore, inelastic buckling will limit the ability of
a section to develop a moment greater than Mp, even
if strain hardening is significant.
 The Collapse Mechanism
Statically Determinate Beam
– A statically determinate beam will fail if one plastic
hinge developed.
– Consider the simply-supported beam of Figure below.
That has a constant cross section and loaded with a
concentrated load P at midspan.
– If P is increased until a plastic hinge is developed at the
point of maximum moment (just underneath P), an
unstable structure will be created as shown in Figure b.
– Any further increase in
the load will cause
collapse.
– Pn represents the
nominal or theoretical
maximum load that the
beam can support.
 The Collapse Mechanism
Statically Indeterminate Beam

– For statically indeterminate beam to fail, it is necessary

for more than one plastic hinge to form.
–The number of plastic hinges required for failure of
statically indeterminate structure will be shown to vary
from structure to structure, but never be less than two.
–The fixed-end beam of the Figure below cannot fail
unless the three hinges shown in the figure are
developed.
– Although a plastic hinge may have formed in a statically
indeterminate structure, the load can still be increased
without causing failure if the geometry of the structure
permits.
 The Collapse Mechanism
–The plastic hinge will act like a real hinge as far as the
increased loading is concerned.
– As the load is increased, there is a redistribution of
moment because the plastic hinge can resist no more
moment.
 The Collapse Mechanism
– As more plastic hinges are formed in the structure,
there will eventually be a sufficient number of them to
cause collapse.
– Actually, some additional load can be carried after this
time before collapse occurs as the stresses go into the
strain hardening range.
– However, deflections that would occur are too large to
be permissible in the design.
– The propped beam of the next Figure is an example of a
structure that will fail after two plastic hinges develop.
– Three hinges are required for collapse, but there is a
real hinge on the right end.
– In this beam the largest elastic moment caused by the
design concentrated load is at the fixed end.
– As the magnitude of the load is increased a plastic
hinge will form at that point.
 The Collapse Mechanism
Statically Indeterminate Beam
– The load may be further increased until the moment at
some point (here it will be at the concentrated load)
reaches the plastic moment.
– Additional load will cause the beam to collapse.
 The Collapse Mechanism
The Mechanism is defined as:
the arrangement of plastic hinges and perhaps real
hinges which permit the collapse in a structure as
shown in part (b) of the Figures.

There are various methods that can be used to

perform plastic analysis for a given structure.
Two satisfactory method for this type of analysis
are:
The virtual-work Method (Energy Method)
Equilibrium Method.
In this course, we will focus on the virtual-work
method.
The Virtual-Work Method
 The structure under consideration is assumed
to be loaded to its nominal capacity, Mn.
 Then, it is assumed to deflect through a small
additional displacement after the ultimate load
is reached.
 The work performed by the external loads
during this displacement is equated to internal
work absorbed by the hinges:
External work = Internal work
Wext = Wint
 The small-angle theory is used.
 For this theory, tan() =  expressed in radians.
Example 8.a
Determine the plastic limit (or nominal)
distributed load wn in terms of the plastic (or
nominal) moment Mn developed at the hinges.
 Solution

Wext  Wint
 wn L    ave  M n (    2 )
L 1 L
   ave  2   
2 4
wn L2
  4 M n
4
16 M n
wn 
L2
Mn
wn 
20.25
Example 8.b
Determine the plastic limit (or nominal)
concetrated load Pn in terms of the plastic (or
nominal) moment Mn developed at the hinges.
Solution
Wext  Wint
Pn    M n (  2 )
L
 
2
Pn L
  3M n
2
6M n
Pn 
L
6M n
Pn   0.3M n
20
 Example 8.c
Determine the plastic limit (or nominal)
concetrated load Pn in terms of the plastic (or
nominal) moment Mn developed at the hinges.
Solution
Wext  Wint
Pn    M n (1   2   1  2 )
L 2L
  2 =1   2  21
3 3
Pn  6 M n1
 2L 
Pn  1   6 M n1
 3 
9M n
Pn 
L
9M n
Pn   0.3M n
30
 Example 8.d – More than one mechanism
Determine the plastic limit (or nominal)
concetrated load Pn in terms of the plastic (or
nominal) moment Mn developed at the hinges.
 Solution
Wext  Wint
Pn    M n (1   2   1  2 )
  10 2 =201   2  21
Pn  5M n1
Pn  101   0.6 Pn  201   5 M n1
Pn  0.227 M n  Mechanisim 1
Pn  201   0.6 Pn  101   4 M n1
Pn  0.154 M n  Mechanisim 2
Pn  101   3M n1
Pn  0.30 M n  Mechanisim 3
(1  0.6) Pn  101   3M n1
Pn  0.1875M n  Mechanisim 4

Pn =0.154 Mn is the smallest and controls.

 Example 8.e – Uniform Load on propped beam
Wext  Wint
wn L   ave  M n (1   2   1 )
Lx
  ( L  x)1 =x 2   2  1
x
Lx Lx
wn L ( )1  M n (21  1 )
2 x
1  L  x  2 
wn    Mn
L  x  L  x 
dwn
0
dx
x  0.414 L
Mn
wn  11.66
L2

This value is applicable to uniformly loaded end spans of both

propped and continuous beams with simple supports.
Example 8.2

A W18 × 55 (Zx = 112 in3) has been selected for

the beam shown in the figure. Using 50 ksi steel
and assuming full lateral support, determine the
value of wn.
 Solution
M n  Fy Z  50  112 / 12  466.7in 3
x  0.414 L  9.94 ft 24 - x  14.06 ft
1  15  2  14.06  =1.414
Wext  Wint for the left-hand span
24 wn  1  2  M n (2   )
2
wn  0.0202 M n  0.0202  466.7  9.43 k/ft
 Solution
M n  Fy Z  50  112 / 12  466.7in3
x  0.414 L  9.94 ft 24 - x  14.06 ft
1  15  2  14.06  =1.414
Wext  Wint for the right-hand span
30 wn  1 1  M n (4 )
2
wn  0.0178M n  0.0178  466.7  8.31 k/ft controls
Example 8.3

Using a W21×44 (Zx = 95.4 in3) consisting of

A992 steel, determine the value of Pn for the
beam shown.
Solution

M n  Fy Z  50  95.4 / 12  397.5 ft  k
Wext  Wint for the 1st and 3rd spans
Pn  15  M n (3 )
Pn  0.20 M n  0.20  397.5  79.5 k
Wext  Wint for the center span
1.5 Pn  15  M n (4 )
wn  0.178M n  0.178  397.5  70.8k controls
Questions ?
 References
Structural Steel Design: Lecture Notes (2013), Hosiene Osman, .1
.MSc., Lecturer University of UOS, UAE
Structural Steel Design, LRFD Method, Jack C. McCormac and .2
James Nelson, 5th Edition, 2012 by Pearson Education
.International
Manual of Steel Construction, 14th Ed. (2010), American Institute .3
.of Steel Construction (AISC)
Structural Steel Design: Lecture Notes (2013), Mohammad .4
.AlHamaydeh, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE