Lateral torsional buckling strength of unsymmetrical plate girders with corrugated webs

Abstract

This paper deals with lateral torsional buckling of plate girders with corrugated webs (CWG). The research includes both theoretical and finite element analyses for un-symmetrical plate girders with corrugated webs subjected to uniform moment. A new warping constant for this un-symmetrical cross-section is derived taking into consideration the cross-sectional variation along the girder length. Trapezoidal corrugated web profile is taken into consideration in the derivation. The location of the shear center is determined and a closed form of the warping constant is derived. The un-symmetry of the web-less beam, which agrees with the case of CWG, is considered in the calculation of the lateral torsional buckling strength. The results are verified with those obtained using the finite element technique and gave good agreement. A comparison with different specifications and codes is conducted to investigate the effect of un-symmetry on the plate girder strength. The effect of cross-section geometrical configurations on the lateral torsional buckling strength under uniform moment is investigated and discussed.