Design of Steel Beams and Joists

Beams are structural members that receives load from slab and transfers same to the columns. Structural
design of steel beams and joists primarily involves predicting the strength of the member. This requires
the designer to imagine all the ways in which the member may fail during its design life. Modes of failure
of Beams are discussed thus:
1. Bending

Figure 4: Bending Failure of a Beam

The figures above is an illustration of bending failure in Beams. Vertical loading gives rise to bending of the
Beam which results in longitudinal stresses being set up in the beam. These stresses are tensile in one half of
the beam and compressive in the other. As the bending moment increases, more and more of the steel reaches
its yield stress. Eventually, all the steel yields in tension and/or compression across the entire cross section of
the beam. At this point the beam cross-section has become plastic and it fails by formation of a plastic hinge at
the point of maximum moment induced by the loading.
2. Local buckling
During the bending process outlined above, if the compression flange or the part of the web subject to
compression is too thin, the plate may actually fail by buckling or rippling, as shown in Fig.5, before the full
plastic moment is reached.
3. Shear
Shear failure occur due to excessive shear forces, usually adjacent to supports, .The beam web, which resists
shear forces, may fail as shown in Fig. 6(a), as steel yields in tension and compression in the shaded zones. The
formation of plastic hinges in the flanges accompanies this process.
 Figure 5: Local flange buckling failure

Fig. 6 Shear and shear buckling failures: (a) shear failure; (b) shear buckling.
4. Shear buckling
During the shearing process described above, if the web is too thin it will fail by buckling or rippling in the
shear zone, as shown in Fig. 6b.
5. Web bearing and buckling
Due to high vertical stresses directly over a support or under a concentrated load, the beam web may
actually crush, or buckle as a result of these stresses, as illustrated in Fig. 7.
6. Lateral torsional buckling
When the beam has a higher bending stiffness in the vertical plane compared to the horizontal plane,
the beam can twist sideways under the load. This is perhaps best visualised by loading a scale rule on
its edge, as it is held as a cantilever – it will tend to twist and deflect sideways. This is illustrated in
Fig. 8. Where a beam is not prevented from moving sideways, by a floor, for instance, or the beam is not
nominally torsionally restrained at supports, it is necessary to check that it is laterally stable under load.
Nominal torsional restraint may be assumed to exist if web cleats, partial depth end plates or fin plates, for
example, are present as shown in figure 9.

Fig. 7 Web buckling and web bearing failures.

Fig. 8 Lateral torsional buckling of cantilever.

Fig. 9 Nominal torsional restraint at beam support supplied by (a) web cleats ( b) end plate (c) fin plate.
7. Deflection
Although a beam cannot fail as a result of excessive deflection alone, it is necessary to ensure that
deflections are not excessive under unfactored imposed loading. Excessive deflections are those resulting
in severe cracking in finishes which would render the building unserviceable.

• SUMMARY OF DESIGN PROCESS

The design process for a beam can be summarized as follows:
1. Determination of design shear forces, Fv, and bending moments, M, at critical points on the element
2. Selection of UB or UC;
3. Classification of section;
4. Check shear strength; if unsatisfactory return to step 2
5. Check bending capacity; if unsatisfactory return to step 2
6. Check deflection; if unsatisfactory return to step 2
7. Check web bearing and buckling at supports or concentrated load; if unsatisfactory provide web stiffener
or return to step 2
8. Check lateral torsional buckling, if unsatisfactory return to step 2 or provide lateral and torsional
restraints;
9. Summarize results.

INITIAL SECTION SELECTION

It is perhaps most often the case in the design of skeletal building structures, that bending is the critical
mode of failure, and so beam bending theory can be used to make an initial selection of section. To avoid
bending failure, it is necessary to ensure that the design moment, M, does not exceed the moment capacity

of the section, Mc, i.e. M < Mc.

Generally, the moment capacity for a steel section is given by:

Mc = PyS

Where

Py is the assumed design strength of the steel and

S is the plastic modulus of the section.

Rearranging the above equations gives an expression for S:

S > M/Py

This can be used to select suitable universal beam sections from steel tables with the plastic modulus of
section S greater than the calculated value of moment M.
CLASSIFICATION OF SECTION
Having selected a suitable section, or proposed a suitable section fabricated by welding, it must be
Classified.

Strength classification
In making the initial choice of section, a steel strength will have been assumed. If grade S275 steel is to be
used, for example, it may have been assumed that the strength is 275 N/mm2. By referring to the flange
thickness T from the steel tables, the design strength can be obtained from Table 9 of BS 5950, If the
section is fabricated from welded plate, the strength of the web and flange may be taken separately from
Table 9 of BS 5950 as that for the web thickness t and flange thickness T respectively. Having selected a
suitable section, or proposed a suitable section fabricated by welding, the section must be classified to
determine if it is plastic or otherwise.

Section classification
As discussed earlier, the bending strength of the section depends on how the section performs in bending.
If the section is stocky, i.e. has thick flanges and web, it can sustain the formation of a plastic hinge. On
the other hand, a slender section, i.e. with thin flanges and web, will fail by local buckling before the yield
stress can be reached.
Four classes of section are identified in clause 3.5.2 of BS 5950: with the aid of figure 10 below, the
sections are explained.

Fig. 10 Typical moment/rotation characteristics of different classes of section.

Class 1: Plastic cross sections
Are those in which a plastic hinge can be developed with significant rotation capacity. If the plastic design
method is used in the structural analysis, all members must be of this type.
Class 2: Compact cross sections
Are those in which the full plastic moment capacity can be developed, but local buckling may prevent
production of a plastic hinge with sufficient rotation capacity to permit plastic design.
Class 3: Semi-Compact cross sections
Are sections that can develop their elastic moment capacity, but local buckling may prevent the
production of the full plastic moment.
Class 4: Slender cross sections
Are sections that contain slender elements subject to compression due to moment or axial load. Local
buckling may prevent the full elastic moment capacity from being developed.
Limiting width to thickness ratios for elements for the above classes are given in Table 11 of BS 5950.
Once the section has been classified, the various strength checks can be carried out to assess its
suitability as discussed below.

SHEAR
According to clause 4.2.3 of BS 5950, the shear force, Fv, should not exceed the shear capacity of the

section, Pv, i.e.

Fv ≤ Pv

Where Pv = 0.6 Py Av

In which Av is the shear area = tD for rolled I-, H- and channel sections. The code gives other formula for

getting the shear area based on the type of section selected.

Equation above assumes that the web carries the shear force alone.
Clause 4.2.3 also states that when the buckling ratio (d/t) of the web exceeds 70ε, then the web should be
additionally checked for shear buckling. However, it should be noted that no British universal beam
section, no matter what the grade, is affected.

LOW SHEAR AND MOMENT CAPACITY

As stated in clause 4.2.1.1 of BS 5950, at critical points the combination of (i) maximum moment and co-
existent shear and (ii) maximum shear and co-existent moment, should be checked.

If the co-existent shear force Fv is less than 0.6 Pv, then this is a low shear load. Otherwise, if

0.6 Pv < Fv < Pv, then it is a high shear load.

When the shear load is low, the moment capacity of the section is calculated according to clause
4.2.5.2 of BS 5950 as follows:
For class 1 plastic or class 2 compact sections, the moment capacity

Mc = PyS ≤ 1.2 PyZ

Where
Py = design strength of the steel

S = plastic modulus of the section

Z = elastic modulus of the section
The additional check (Mc ≤ 1.2pyZ) is to guard against plastic deformations under serviceability
loads and is applicable to simply supported and cantilever beams. For other beam types this limit

is 1.5PyZ

For class 3 semi-compact sections

Mc = PyZ

or alternatively Mc = PySeff ≤ 1.2 PyZ

where Seff is the effective plastic modulus mentioned in clause 3.5.6 of BS 5950.

Note that whereas the equation: Mc = PyZ provides a conservative estimate of the moment capacity of
class 3 compact sections, use of the equation below it is more efficient but requires additional
computational effort.
For class 4 slender sections

Mc = PyZeff

Where Zeff is the effective elastic modulus as stated in clause 3.6.2 of BS 5950.

In practice the above considerations do not prove to be much of a problem. Nearly all sections in grade
S275 steel are plastic, and only a few sections in higher strength steel are semi-compact. No British rolled
universal beam sections in pure bending, no matter what the strength class, are slender or have plastic or
compact flanges and semi-compact webs.

Example 1 Selection of a beam section in grade S275 steel to BS 5950

The simply supported beam in Fig. above supports uniformly distributed characteristic dead and imposed
loads of 5 kN/m each, as well as a characteristic imposed point load of 30 kN at mid-span. Assuming the
beam is fully laterally restrained and there is nominal torsional restrain at supports, select a suitable UB
section in S275 steel to satisfy bending and shear considerations.

From steel tables (Appendix B), suitable sections are:

1. 356 × 171 × 67 UB: Sx = 1210 cm3;
2. 406 × 178 × 60 UB: Sx = 1190 cm3;
3. 457 × 152 × 60 UB: Sx = 1280 cm3.
The above illustrates how steel beam sections are specified. For section 1, for instance, 356 × 171
represents the serial size in the steel tables; 67 represents the mass per metre in kilograms; and UB stands
for universal beam.
All the above sections give a value of plastic modulus about axis x–x, Sx, just greater than that required.
Whichever one is selected will depend on economic and engineering considerations. For instance, if
lightness were the primary consideration, perhaps section 3 would be selected, which is also the strongest
(largest Sx). However, if minimizing the depth of the member were the main consideration then section 1
would be chosen. Let us choose the compromise candidate, section 2.

Example 2 Selection of a beam section in grade S275 steel to BS 5950 For High Shear

A proposed cantilever beam 1 m long is to be built into a concrete wall as shown above. It supports
characteristic dead and imposed loading of 450 kN/m and 270 kN/m respectively. Select a suitable UB
section in S275 steel to satisfy bending and shear criteria only.

SERVICEABILITY
DEFLECTION
A check should be carried out on the maximum deflection of the beam due to the most adverse realistic
combination of unfactored imposed serviceability loading. In BS 5950 this is covered by clause 2.5.2 and
Table 8 which outlines recommended limits to these deflections, compliance with which should avoid
significant damage to the structure and finishes.
Calculation of deflections from first principles can be done using the area-moment method, Macaulay’s
method, or some other similar approach. Students should refer to a suitable structural analysis textbook for
more detail on this. However, many calculations of deflection are carried out using formulae for standard
cases, which can be combined as necessary to give the answer for more complicated situations. Figure 11
summarizes some of the more useful formulae.

Fig. 11 Deflections for standard cases. E = elastic modulus of steel (205 kN/mm2) and
I = second moment of area (x–x) of section.

Example 3 Deflection checks on steel beams (BS 5950)

Carry out a deflection check on the examples already treated

Project 1
The floor shown below with an overall depth of 225 mm is to be designed to carry an imposed load of 3
kN/m2 plus floor finishes and ceiling loads of 1 kN/m2. Calculate the design loads acting on beams B1–
C1, B2–C2 and B1–B3. Assume that the beam weight is 70 kg/m run.
Also,
1. Analyze the beams to determine the bending moments, shear forces at ctitical points as well as the
maximum deflection
2. Design the beams for ultimate and serviceability limit states to BS 5950, making references to
relevant sections of the code