Transverse Stiffener Requirements in Straight and Horizontally Curved Steel Ⅰ-Girders

摘要

Prior research has demonstrated that transverse stiffeners in straight Ⅰ-girders are loaded predominantly by bending induced by their restraint of web lateral deflections at the shear strength limit state, not by in-plane tension field forces. This is at odds with present specification approaches for the design of these components. Furthermore, recent studies have confirmed that curved Ⅰ-girders are capable of developing substantial shear postbuckling resistance due to tension field action and have demonstrated that the AASHTO LRFD equations for the tension field resistance in straight Ⅰ-girders may be applied to curved Ⅰ-girders within specific limits. However, the corresponding demands on transverse stiffeners in curved Ⅰ-girders are still largely unknown. In this paper, the behavior of one- and two-sided transverse stiffeners in straight and horizontally curved steel Ⅰ-girders is investigated by full nonlinear finite element analysis. New recommendations are developed for design of transverse stiffeners in straight and curved Ⅰ-girders based on the results of this and prior research.