• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2002

A model of the process of local buckling in tubular steel structural elements is presented. It is assumed that this degrading phenomenon can be lumped at plastic hinges. The model is therefore based on the concept of plastic hinge combined with the methods of continuum damage mechanics. The state of this new kind of inelastic hinge is characterized by two internal variables: the plastic rotation and the damage. The model is valid if only one local buckling appears in the plastic hinge region; for instance, in the case of framed structures subjected to monotonic loadings. Based on this damage model, a new finite element that can describe the development of local buckling is proposed. The element is the assemblage of an elastic beamcolumn and two inelastic hinges at its ends. The stiffness matrix, that depends on the level of damage, the yielding function and the damage evolution law of the two hinges define the new finite element. In order to verify model and finite element, several small-scale frames were tested in laboratory under monotonic loading. A lateral load at the top of the frame was applied in a stroke-controlled mode until local buckling appears and develops in several locations of the frame and its ultimate capacity was reached. These tests were simulated with the new finite element and comparison between model and test is presented and discussed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.419-444
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• 2009

Flange and web local buckling in beam plastic hinge regions of steel moment frames can prevent beam-column connections from achieving adequate plastic rotations under earthquake-induced forces. Reducing the flange-web slenderness ratios (FSR/WSR) of beams is the most effective way in mitigating local member buckling as stipulated in the latest seismic design specifications. However, existing steel moment frame buildings with beams that lack the adequate slenderness ratios set forth for new buildings are vulnerable to local member buckling and thereby system-wise instability prior to reaching the required plastic rotation capacities specified for new buildings. This paper presents results from a research study investigating the cyclic behavior of steel I-beams modified by a welded haunch at the bottom flange and reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymers at the plastic hinge region. Cantilever I-sections with a triangular haunch at the bottom flange and flange slenderness ratios higher then those stipulated in current design specifications were analyzed under reversed cyclic loading. Beam sections with different depth/width and flange/web slenderness ratios (FSR/WSR) were considered. The effect of GFRP thickness, width, and length on stabilizing plastic local buckling was investigated. The FEA results revealed that the contribution of GFRP strips to mitigation of local buckling increases with increasing depth/width ratio and decreasing FSR and WSR. Provided that the interfacial shear strength of the steel/GFRP bond surface is at least 15 MPa, GFRP reinforcement can enable deep beams with FSR of 8-9 and WSR below 55 to maintain plastic rotations in the order of 0.02 radians without experiencing any local buckling.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.93-114
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• 2011

Flange and web local buckling in beam plastic hinge regions of steel moment frames can prevent beam-column connections from achieving adequate plastic rotations under earthquake-induced forces. This threat is especially valid for existing steel moment frame buildings with beams that lack adequate flange/web slenderness ratios. As the use of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) have increased in strengthening and repair of steel members in recent years, using FRPs in stabilizing local instabilities have also attracted attention. Previous computational studies have shown that longitudinally oriented glass FRP (GFRP) strips may serve to moderately brace beam flanges against the occurrence of local buckling during plastic hinging. An experimental study was conducted at Izmir Institute of Technology investigating the effects of GFRP reinforcement on local buckling behavior of existing steel I-beams with flange slenderness ratios (FSR) exceeding the slenderness limits set forth in current seismic design specifications and modified by a bottom flange triangular welded haunch. Four European HE400AA steel beams with a depth/width ratio of 1.26 and FSR of 11.4 were cyclically loaded up to 4% rotation in a cantilever beam test set-up. Both bare beams and beams with GFRP sheets were tested in order to investigate the contribution of GFRP sheets in mitigating local flange buckling. Different configurations of GFRP sheets were considered. The tests have shown that GFRP reinforcement can moderately mitigate inelastic flange local buckling.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.339-349
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• 2017

In this paper, a conventional refined plastic hinge analysis is improved to account for the effects of local buckling and lateral-torsional buckling. The degradation of flexural strength caused by these effects is implicitly considered using practical LRFD equation. The second-order effect is captured using stability functions to minimize modeling and solution time. An incremental-iterative scheme based on the generalized displacement control method is employed to solve the nonlinear equilibrium equations. A computer program is developed to predict the second-order inelastic behavior of space steel frames. To verify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed program, the obtained results are compared with the existing results and those generated using the commercial finite element package ABAQUS. It can be concluded that the proposed program proves to be a reliable and effective tool for daily use in engineering design.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.439-452
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• 2018

This paper presents experimental and numerical study on buckling behaviors and hysteretic performance of Class 1 H-shaped steel beam subjected to cyclic pure bending within the scope of ultra-low cycle fatigue (ULCF). A loading device was designed to achieve the pure bending loading condition and 4 H-shaped specimens with a small width-to-thickness ratio were tested under 4 different loading histories. The emphasis of this work is on the impacts induced by local buckling and subsequent ductile fracture. The experimental and numerical results indicate that the specimen failure is mainly induced by elasto-plastic local buckling, and is closely correlated with the plastic straining history. Compared with monotonic loading, the elasto-plastic local buckling can occur at a much smaller displacement amplitude due to a number of preceding plastic reversals with relative small strain amplitudes, which is mainly correlated with decreasing tangent modulus of the material under cyclic straining. Ductile fracture is found to be a secondary factor leading to deterioration of the load-carrying capacity. In addition, a new ULCF life evaluation method is proposed for the specimens using the concept of energy decomposition, where the cumulative plastic energy is classified into two categories as isotropic hardening and kinematic hardening correlated. A linear correlation between the two energies is found and formulated, which compares well with the experimental results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.433-445
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• 1999

Sandwich panels comprising steel facings and a polystyrene foam core are increasingly used as roof and wall claddings in buildings in Australia. When they are subjected to loads causing bending and/or axial compression, the steel plate elements of their profiled facing are susceptible to local buckling. However, when compared to panels with no foam core, they demonstrate significantly improved local buckling behaviour because they are supported by foam. In order to quantify such improvements and to validate the use of available design buckling stress formulae, an investigation using finite element analyses and laboratory experiments was carried out on steel plates that are commonly used in Australia of varying yield stress and thickness supported by a polystyrene foam core. This paper presents the details of this investigation, the buckling results and their comparison with available design buckling formulae.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.319-326
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• 2001

In this paper, 3-D frame design using refined plastic-hinge analysis accounting for local buckling is developed. This analysis accounts for material and geometric nonlinearities of the structural system and its component members. Moreover, the problem associated with conventional refined plastic-hinge analyses, which do not consider the degradation of the flexural strength caused by local buckling, is overcome. Efficient ways of assessing steel frame behavior including gradual yielding associated with residual stresses and flexure, second-order effect, and geometric imperfections are presented. In this study, a model consisting of the width-thickness ratio is used to account for local buckling. The proposed analysis is verified by the comparison of the LRFD results.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2002

In this paper, 3-D frame design using refined plastic-hinge analysis accounting for local buckling is developed. This analysis accounts for material and geometric nonlinearities of the structural system and its component members. Moreover, the problem associated with conventional refined plastic-hinge analyses, which do not consider the degradation of the flexural strength caused by local buckling, is overcome. Efficient ways of assessing steel frame behavior including gradual yielding associated with residual stresses and flexure, second-order effect, and geometric imperfections are presented. In this study, a model consisting of the width-thickness ratio is used to account for local buckling. The proposed analysis is verified by the comparison of the LRFD results. A case study shows that local buckling is a very crucial element to be considered in second-order plastic-hinge analysis. The proposed analysis is shown to be an efficient, reliable tool ready to be implemented into design practice.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.371-392
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• 2000

Application of "advanced analysis" methods suitable for non-linear analysis and design of steel frame structures permits direct and accurate determination of ultimate system strengths, without resort to simplified elastic methods of analysis and semi-empirical specification equations. However, the application of advanced analysis methods has previously been restricted to steel frames comprising only compact sections that are not influenced by the effects of local buckling. A concentrated plasticity method suitable for practical advanced analysis of steel frame structures comprising non-compact sections is presented in this paper. The pseudo plastic zone method implicitly accounts for the effects of gradual cross-sectional yielding, longitudinal spread of plasticity, initial geometric imperfections, residual stresses, and local buckling. The accuracy and precision of the method for the analysis of steel frames comprising non-compact sections is established by comparison with a comprehensive range of analytical benchmark frame solutions. The pseudo plastic zone method is shown to be more accurate and precise than the conventional individual member design methods based on elastic analysis and specification equations.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.75-96
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• 2001

Actual buckling curves are always characterised by the erosion of ideal buckling curves. In case of compact sections this erosion is due to the imperfections, while for thin-walled members, a supplementary erosion is induced by the phenomenon of coupled instabilities. The ECBL approach- Erosion of Critical Bifurcation Load - represents a practical and convenient tool to characterise the instability behaviour of thin-walled members. The present state-of-art paper describes the theoretical background of this method and the applications to cold-formed steel sections in compression and bending. Special attention is paid to the evaluation methods of erosion coefficient and to their validation. The ECBL approach can be also used to the plastic-elastic interactive buckling of thin-walled members, and the paper provides significant results on this line.