Shear strength of corrugated web girders with compression tubular flanges

Abstract

The current paper focuses on the shear strength of corrugated web girders with compression tubular flanges (CWGCTFs) which considers the real web-flange juncture behaviour. Accordingly, the real juncture behaviour between the corrugated web (CW) and compression tubular flange in CWGCTFs used in conventional buildings is explored first. An elastic bifurcation buckling analysis is carried out using the finite element (FE) software ABAQUS for isolated CWs with different boundary conditions at their juncture with the flanges. ِAssuming that the dimensions of the generated CWs depend on those of conventional buildings, it is found that the corresponding embedment of the CW by the flanges of the CWGCTFs acts as a fixed connection. Having identified the real web-flange juncture behaviour, a large number of nonlinear FE models are generated to obtain the shear strength of the CWGCTFs taking into account the geometrical imperfection and material nonlinearities. This has been done based on a validation recently presented by the authors. The FE strengths are then compared with available shear strength predictions for CWGs with plate flanges (those of Driver et al. (2006), Moon et al. (2009), Sause and Braxtan (2011), Nie et al. (2013), Leblouba et al. (2017)) as well as on the derived shear force distribution relation for tubular flange and CW of CWGCTFs of the current authors (2022). Finally, the shear strength of CWGCTFs proposed by Leblouba et al. (2017) is modified to design the shear strength of CWGCTFs.