Stable Length in Inelastic Design Considering Ductility Requirement

Abstract

The region close to plastic hinge is vulnerable to lateral instability due to the formation of the mechanism. A stable length between lateral restraint at the plastic hinge and adjacent lateral restraint plays a significant role in preventing lateral instability and until after the required hinge rotation has taken place. This phenomenon is studied for beams under uniform moment loading by carrying out an extensive parametric study on a mixed set of I-shaped hybrid and homogeneous plate girders using nonlinear finite element analysis. Geometric dimensions and steel grade of plate girder elements are varied to account for their effect on member slenderness. Effect of overall slenderness is included by varying lateral bracing configuration. Attention is given to the interaction between local and lateral buckling and their influence on inelastic rotation. Regression analysis of the database is carried out to arrive at a prediction equation for stable length to achieve the required rotation capacity. The equation is validated by applying it to thirty-nine selected experiments conducted by others and comparing results with the results of available prediction equations. Statistical analysis of the validation study shows that the proposed equation provides more refined results as compared to available equations. It is observed that use of the new prediction equation when used along with rotation capacity prediction equation suggested by authors in the previous study proves to be a rational solution as available stable length equations that are based only on geometric proportions of sections. At the end of the paper, a flowchart and demonstration examples for use of these equations are presented.