Shear failure characteristics of steel plate girders

A number of full-scale plate girders are modeled and analyzed to determine their shear failure mechanism characteristics. An objective of this numerical nonlinear large deflection elastoplastic finite element study is to clarify how, when, and why plastic hinges that emerge in experimental tests actually form. It is observed that shear-induced plastic hinges only develop in the end panels. These hinges are caused by the shear deformations near supports and not due to bending stresses arising from tension fields. Also, a comparison between the ultimate capacity of various plate girders and different codes and theories is presented. Finally, it is shown that simple shear panels, in the form of detached plates, do not accurately represent the failure mechanism of web plates.