Teorie Steel 2 – Partea lui Stefanescu

1 ) Cross-section particularities

The most common cross-sections of steel structural members are

developed in the plane of the acting bending moment (Fig. 5.1). This is
typical for metal structural members and they are generally characterized
by:
Classification of cross-sections

Generally, given the strength of steel and aluminium alloys, failure of a

metal member subjected to loads other than tension occurs by buckling or
by local buckling.

Depending on the stress state that causes local buckling, cross-sections

of structural members are classified as (Fig. 5.3):

Class 1 – cross-sections that can form a plastic hinge with sufficient

rotation capacity to allow redistribution of bending moments. Only class 1
cross-sections may be used for plastic design.

Class 2 – cross-sections that can reach their plastic moment resistance

but local buckling may prevent development of a plastic hinge with
sufficient rotation capacity to permit redistribution of bending moments
( plastic design ).

Class 3 – cross-sections in which the calculated stress in the extreme

compression fibre can reach the yield strength but local buckling may
prevent development of the full plastic bending moment.

Class 4 – cross-sections in which it is necessary to take into account the

effects of local buckling when determining their bending moment resistance
or compression resistance.

( + SECTIUNEA IN FORMA DE Z 90 GRADE si SECTIUNEA IN FORMA

DE SIMBOL SUMA )
2) The plastic hinge

The plastic hinge is a concept. It is a model of a cross-section where all

the fibres reached the yielding limit in tension or compression (Fig. 5.3)
generated by a bending moment, presuming a Prandtl behaviour diagram
for the material, while in the neighbour cross-sections the stress state is
elastic.

In reality, the stress and strain state is more complex (Fig. 5.2.0): the
material behaviour is not ideally elasto-plastic and the plastic deformations
extend on a certain length.
The stresses in the region of a plastic hinge ( up )
3) Class Designs

a) Elastic–critical design: CLASS 4 cross-sections

Efforts in structural members are calculated using an elastic model and the
cross section is checked using a critical stress distribution (local buckling
occurs before reaching the yielding limit in the most compressed fibre).

Design :
b) Elastic–elastic design: CLASS 3 cross-sections

Efforts are calculated using an elastic model and the cross-section is

checked using the elastic stress distribution.
c) Elastic–plastic design: CLASS 2 cross-sections

Efforts are calculated using an elastic model and the cross-section is

checked using the plastic stress distribution.
4) Warping torsion

Generally, torsion is avoided in structural metal (steel or aluminium alloy)

members.

There are basically two types of torsion:

• St. Venant torsion (torsiunea cu deplanare liberă);

• Warping torsion (torsiunea cu deplanare împiedicată).

It occurs anytime when at least one of the St. Venant assumptions is not
fulfilled:

• the torsion moment is constant along the bar;

• the area of the cross-section is constant along the bar;

• there are no connections at the ends or along the bar that could prevent

cross-sections from free warping out of their planes.

Fig. 5.7.04. Warping torsion – stress state ( up )
The following aspects can be noticed:
5) St. Venant Torsion

Generally, torsion is avoided in structural metal (steel or aluminium alloy)

members.

There are basically two types of torsion:

• St. Venant torsion (torsiunea cu deplanare liberă);

• warping torsion (torsiunea cu deplanare împiedicată).

St. Venant torsion occurs when all the following assumptions are
accomplished:

• the torsion moment is constant along the bar;

• the area of the cross-section is constant along the bar;

• there are no connections at the ends or along the bar that could prevent

cross-sections from free warping out of their planes.

It is also known as “pure torsion”.

6) The shear centre

The shear centre (centrul de tăiere, centrul de încovoiere-răsucire) is the

point through which the applied loads must pass to produce bending
without twisting.

A force F, acting in the plane xOz in the shear centre of a mono-

symmetrical cross-section, generates only bending moment about the y – y
axis (and shear force) and no torsion moment (Fig. 5.7.08), (Fig. 5.7.09).
Location of the shear centre on different types of CS ( up )
7) Buckling

Buckling and local buckling

The buckling load is the critical force Fcr at which a perfectly straight
member in compression assumes a deflected position (Fig. 5.13a).

Buckling is a limit state, in the meaning that once the force Fcr is
reached the deflection increases until the collapse of the bar is reached.

The member should be subjected only to loads inferior to the critical

force.

Local buckling is the loss of local stability of a part of a member,

produced by in-plane stresses. Stresses that lead to local buckling can be
either normal compression stresses (σ), or shear stresses (τ). In case of
compression members, this means that a certain value of the force Fcr,v
leads to the local buckling of the web

(Fig. 5.13b), of the flanges (Fig. 5.13c) or of both of them (Fig. 5.13d).
Remarks:

1. Local buckling is not necessarily a limit state of a compression member.

The member is often able to resist compression loads superior to Fcr,v, the
force that produced local buckling.

2. Local buckling reduces the critical force Fcr that the member is able to
resist.

Forms of buckling

When subjected to an axial compression force, a straight member may

lose its stability in one of the following forms (Fig. 5.14):

• flexural buckling (v ≠ 0; ϕ = 0) (Fig. 5.14a);

• torsion buckling (v = 0; ϕ ≠ 0) (Fig. 5.14b);

• flexural-torsion buckling (v ≠ 0; ϕ ≠ 0) (Fig. 5.14c);

- v means the lateral displacement in the plane of the cross-section

- ϕ is the rotation of the cross-section in it’s plane.

The behaviour against local buckling can be improved by installing stiffners.
8) Stress diagrams in a runway girder