SCI 'Members Only' Webinar - Design of Curved Steelwordk 03.12.

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Design of Curved
Steel
David Brown

Curved Steel
 History
 Process
 Design issues
• Mainly in BS 5950 nomenclature (as the SCI
publication P281) – but the physics has not
changed!

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History
 Cast iron – first commercial quantities in
1709
• Curved castings
 Wrought iron - 1784
• Curves from built up members
• Rolled in 1840
 Steel beams - 1880

1829

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Oxford Museum
Wrought Iron
1855

Paddington 1853 - 1857

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1840 - 1855
 Time of big change
• Repeal of the window tax
• Joseph Paxton – Also a director of Midland
Railways – Conservatory at Chatsworth

• Large curved support structures for glass

Kew Gardens - 1848

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But after the railway stations….

 All major cities had one
 Then the war years
 Then concrete design
 Colliery arches required – until the industry
declined
 Not much progress until 1970

 But then more emphasis on leisure and retail

 Advances in rolling technology – capacity,
accuracy, and economy

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How to bend ?
 Grew from ship building – early rolling of
bulb flats
 Mechanical
 Heating

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Specialist equipment
 Point load will crush the web….

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Curved members by fabrication

ASD Westok

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Curved members by fabrication

ASD Westok

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Differences from straight members

 Changes in material properties during

bending
 Analysis – elastic recommended
 Residual stresses
 Resistance checks

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Know your material

 The material has been strained
stress
Reduced reserves of strain

Strain hardening

strain

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Know your material

 And the results of the process…

 Cold bending reduces the Charpy test

results
• Bending companies can advise
• Steel is usually (much) tougher than the
minimum

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Frame Analysis
 Generally use elastic analysis

 Take care if using plastic analysis

• Some strain capacity used
• Deflections more often critical in curved
members – plasticity increases deflections

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Residual stresses
 From cold curving (rollers)
 Curved in elevation – no worse than
straight beams
 Curved on plan – can equal 50% of yield

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𝑀
fy fr fy
𝑊

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Residual stresses

S  𝑊
 pr = p y   1  𝑓 𝑓
𝑊
1
Z 
UB curved in elevation, pr = 0.12py
UB curved on plan, pr = 0.5py

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Resistance checks - I sections

 Adapt the design Standard

 Curved in elevation - modify slenderness

 Curved in plan - modify terms in equations

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Curved in elevation
 How to model in software
• Use plenty of small straight lengths

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Special modelling issues

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With 5 elements

52kNm 35kNm

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With 10 elements

43kNm

51kNm

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 Watch the “supports” – flexibility can have

a serious effect

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 Flexible supports – serious issue,

especially for arches

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Flange bending
Compression on top flange of “beam”. Extra
stress
Flange forces have radial components
near web

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Flange bending

Transverse stress, 2
3 1 b 2
2 = (typically very small)
RT
1 is the direct (longitudinal) stress in the element

To allow for the additional stress 2:

Calculate a reduced design strength
pyd (or fyd) from von Mises

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Flange bending
Similar effect in hollow sections
But whole width of flange affected

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Additional stress 2
 What resistance checks does it affect?

 Where is the resistance check verifying as

a critical point?
• Tips of flanges?
• Anywhere in the flange?

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Flange bending

My,Rd fy,d fy,d

Cross
Nb,y,Rd fy,d fy,d
section
Mz,Rd fy fy,d
Nb,z,Rd fy fy,d
Buckling Mb,Rd fy fy,d

Do the additional stresses impact the resistance checks?

Additional stress is zero at the tips of UB flanges

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Lateral torsional buckling

curved in elevation
 Codes written for straight members

 Slenderness assumes straight members

 A modified slenderness must be used for

curved members

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Curved in the plane of the web

Compression

Tension

Less stable than a straight member

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Curved in the plane of the web

Tension

Compression

More stable than a straight member

But assume straight

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Lateral torsional buckling

 BS 5950-1:2000
 Mx ≤ Mb/mLT
 Mb = pb modulus For straight
members
 pb from 𝜆
𝜆 𝑢𝑣𝜆 𝛽

 What value of 𝜆 should be used for

curved members?

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𝜆 in BS 5950
 Rearranging the expression from Annex B
of BS 5950:

𝜆

 What is ME?
 It’s a familiar friend nowadays, Mcr

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ME …....modified Mcr
 For a curved member:

𝑀 0.5 4 𝑎𝑏

 a = Eiy
 b = 𝐺𝐽 𝐺𝐽
 c=a+b
 R is radius to NA. positive when convex flange is in
compression

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Eurocode
 Use a modified Mcr directly
 and then proceed in the normal way:

 𝜆̅

 Choose the curve

 Calculate LT

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A notable reduction in resistance

 5 m long, 533 × 210 × 122 UB 546 kNm
 Varying BMD:

 Straight beam 69 kNm

• Mb = 831 kNm (general case)

 Curved beam, with R = 17 m
• Mb = 522 kNm (general case)

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Compression
 To arch or not to arch ?
• Support stiffness – an issue of significant
concern
• Can the arch spread?
• Flatness
• Will the arch snap through?
• Effective lengths in-plane

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“Soft” supports

A flat arch with a roller support is merely a beam

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Beware of snap-through
 Care required in shallow arches

 Horizontal reaction stiffness critical

• also axial compressibility of member
 Significant deflection at ULS
• drops arch so magnifies arch force
• can cause snap-through

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Flatness and Supports

 Caution required!
• At low rises
• Actual spread of supports
 Simple check presented in the SCI guide:

Does the crown of the arch fall less than

2½ % of rise ? If so, First-order results are OK
(assumes abutment spread and shortening are
modelled)

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Effective Lengths

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Effective Lengths
Buckling length factor, as applied to s

circular


parabolic
Beware,
very flat!

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Buckling- axial in plane

 Continuous construction
i.e. between fixed and pinned
buckling length = 1.0 from springing to apex
 Can be worse
• 2 pin circular arch: up to 1.15
• 3 pin arches: can be 1.15

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Curved on plan
 Often on view, such as balconies
 Beware SLS

 Hollow sections are recommended!

• Simple design
• Hardly affected by torsion
 I-sections – not preferred, structurally
• Involved design
• Always affected by torsion

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Serviceability
 Torsion makes deflections worse
• larger
• more visible
• (so hollow sections strongly recommended!)
 Connection effects
• Any flexibility will increase the deformation
• (so make the joint stiff as well as strong)

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Radial effects

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Hollow sections curved on plan

 C and T have radial components – which try
and twist the section
 But hollow sections are very stiff in torsion
 Stress due to torsion is simply added to the
shear stress

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Hollow sections
 Warping stresses are small
• Neglect the warping stresses
(allowed by BS 1993-1-1)
• Allow for the sum of shear and torsional
stresses from von Mises

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Open sections curved on plan

 C and T have radial components – which try
and twist the section
 Open sections resist torsion by warping
• Apply the radial components
• Calculate the “”minor axis”
bending stress in the flanges
• End connections “warping free”

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Member verification - I sections

 Lateral moments in flanges
 Modify the checks in the interaction
expressions:
(axial) + (major moment) + (minor moment) < 1

• In the minor axis term, substitute minor axis flange

moment and flange resistance

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Curved beam on plan example

 5 m radius

5m

5m

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Overall process
 Apply the vertical loads to the model
• Obtain a varying bending moment diagram
 Calculate the varying radial loads
 Apply the varying radial loads to the model
• Obtain the varying lateral bending moments
• Obtain the additional axial components

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Member design
 An 838 × 292 × 226 (S275!)
• Utilization ratio of 0.82 (so working quite hard)

 Or, 300 × 200 × 12.5 RHS (S355)

• Utilization ratio of 0.80, and 92 kg/m

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Where to get help

 P281 (2001)
 Based on BS 5950
• Still relevant
• 6 worked examples

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P281 Examples
 Curved UB in elevation
 Arch
 Curved truss
To BS 5950, but the
 Curved portal rafter approach is consistent.
 Highly curved hoop
 Curved on plan
• UB
• Hollow section

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Where to get help

 P281 (2001)
 Based on BS 5950
• Still relevant
• 6 worked examples

 Two major companies:

• Angle Ring
• Barnshaws

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Coming up
 Christmas…..

 Webinar: Torsion, 14 January (members)

 Webinar: Non-codified design methods,
29 January

 Course: Frame stability & second order

effects, 21,22 January

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construction sector. We work in partnership with clients,
members and industry peers to help build businesses and
provide competitive advantage through the commercial
application of our knowledge. We are committed to offering
and promoting sustainable and environmentally responsible
solutions.

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