Elastic lateral-torsional buckling of tapered I-girder with corrugated webs

Abstract

This paper deals with the elastic lateral-torsional buckling (LTB) strength of tapered I-girders with corrugated webs under two types of loading conditions: uniform moment and moment gradient with various end restraint conditions. A finite element (FE) program using beam elements is developed to study LTB behaviors. The results from this program are compared with those from the commercial software ABAQUS using shell elements. From the comparisons, it is found that the developed FE program's results agree well with the results from ABAQUS. For design purpose, the closed-form equations for the critical buckling moment of the tapered I-girder with corrugated webs under uniform moment and moment gradient with four types of end restraint conditions: simply supported, warping fixed, lateral bending fixed, and completely fixed are proposed based on the results from the developed FE program. From the numerical investigations, the new design equations give reasonably accurate results. These equations increase efficiency in bridges and buildings design.