Variability in the Nonlinear Modelling Parameters of Steel I‐shaped Beams Subjected to Cyclic Loading Considering Manufacturing Tolerances

Abstract

AbstractThis paper focuses on the probabilistic characterization of the cyclic behaviour of steel deep members with European I‐shaped profiles. The variability of the behaviour of the member depends on several factor such as the material variability and geometrical imperfections. The effect of material variability is well recognized by the scientific community and has been considered in international design codes such Eurocode 8. European hot rolled profiles may be produced with some tolerable deviation from the nominal section in terms of shape and dimensions, which are limited by the European standard EN10034. The effect of geometrical imperfections received considerable research attention in the past. However, to the best knowledge of the authors, there are no studies that investigated the effect of the manufacturing tolerances on the behaviour of I‐shaped steel members. The tolerance range on the dimensions of the profile can be significant. The change in the dimensions of the profile changes the web and flange slenderness which may have a significant influence on the flexural behaviour. Thus, the characterisation of the effect of the manufacturing tolerances on the behaviour of the members is of paramount interest. For this purpose, an advanced finite element model, validated with past experimental data, was developed and an extensive parametric study is conducted. Then, statistical methods are used to characterise the variability using different distributions