| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 285032 | Journal of Constructional Steel Research | 2013 | 17 Pages |
LiteSteel beam (LSB) is a new cold-formed steel hollow flange channel section produced using a simultaneous cold-forming and dual electric resistance welding process. It is commonly used as floor joists and bearers with web openings in residential, industrial and commercial buildings. Their shear strengths are considerably reduced when web openings are included for the purpose of locating building services. A cost effective method of eliminating the detrimental effects of a large web opening is to attach suitable stiffeners around the web openings of LSBs. Experimental and numerical studies were undertaken to investigate the shear behavior and strength of LSBs with circular web openings reinforced using plate, stud, transverse and sleeve stiffeners with varying sizes and thicknesses. Both welding and varying screw-fastening arrangements were used to attach these stiffeners to the web of LSBs. Finite element models of LSBs with stiffened web openings in shear were developed to simulate their shear behavior and strength of LSBs. They were then validated by comparing the results with experimental test results and used in a detailed parametric study. These studies have shown that plate stiffeners were the most suitable, however, their use based on the current American standards was found to be inadequate. Suitable screw-fastened plate stiffener arrangements with optimum thicknesses have been proposed for LSBs with web openings to restore their original shear capacity. This paper presents the details of the numerical study and the results.
► Shear strength of LiteSteel beams with stiffened web openings was investigated. ► Suitable finite element models were developed and validated using test results. ► The developed models predicted the shear capacities and failure modes with good accuracy. ► Optimum screw-fastened plate stiffener systems are proposed to restore the shear strength. ► Simple predictive equations are proposed for the optimum plate stiffener sizes.
