Module 5A – Flexure

A beam is a structural element that primarily resists loads applied laterally to the beam's axis. Its mode of
deflection is primarily by bending. The loads applied to the beam result in reaction forces at the beam's
support points. The total effect of all the forces acting on the beam is to produce shear forces and bending
moments within the beam, that in turn induce internal stresses, strains and deflections of the beam. Beams
are characterized by their manner of support, profile (shape of cross-section), equilibrium conditions, length,
and their material.

BEAMS
• Members acted upon primarily by transverse loading
• Primarily subjected to flexure or bending
• However, may be subjected (unavoidably) by some axial
loads
• Effects of axial load is generally negligible and treated strictly as a beam
• If axial load is substantial, member is called a “beam–column”
• For most situations, moment of inertia about the x–axis is greater than the moment of inertia about
the y-axis
• In this case, due to symmetry, the neutral axis is at the center of the cross section and distance,
“c”, is equal whether on the tension or compression side
• Maximum stress occurs at the top and bottom of the cross section
• Generally, only the maximum bending stress is of interest

Universal Sections
• Optimized for bending about one axis
• Weak about other axis
• Widely used
• Mid–range spans
• Also used as universal columns

Hollow Sections
• Equal bending capacity about all axes
• Aesthetic
• Connections can be tricky
• Short to medium spans

Parallel Flange Sections

• Used in trusses
• Small spans

Engr. Bryan Dale P. Yu, MSCE PRINCIPLES OF STEEL DESIGN Page 1 of 9

 Module 5A – Flexure

Open Web Beams

• Very efficient
• Allow services to pass through holes
• Prone to complex buckling behaviour
• Castellated, cellular or other
• Weaker in shear
• Long spans

➢ Compact Sections
• One that is capable of developing its plastic moment capacity before any local buckling occurs
• One that satisfy the following conditions:
• Its flanges must be continuously connected to the web
• Section must satisfy the width-thickness ratio of its compression elements
• Section must meet the requirements for the depth-thickness ratio
• Lateral unsupported length of the compression does not exceed the criteria specified in the
code

LATERALLY SUPPORTED BEAMS

➢ Lateral Supports of Beams
• To prevent buckling, compression flange must be supported at frequent intervals
• Complete lateral supports are achieved if beam has its flange welded or bolted along its full length
or encased in concrete
• Where compression flanges are restrained against lateral buckling, allowable bending stress in
tension and compression are equal
• As distance between of lateral support on compression flange becomes larger, there is tendency
for compression flange to buckle laterally
• Necessary to reduce the allowable bending stress
• Reserves some of the beam strength to resist the lateral buckling

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 Module 5A – Flexure

CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL SECTIONS

➢ Steel sections are classified as compact, non–compact and slender element sections
• For a section to qualify as a compact, its flanges must be continuously connected to the web or
webs and the width–thickness ratios of its compression elements must not exceed the applicable
limiting width–thickness ratios
• Steel sections that do not qualify as compact are classified as non–compact if the width–thickness
ratios of the compression elements do not exceed the values shown for non–compact
• If the width–thickness ratios of any compression element exceed the latter applicable value, the
section is classified as a slender element section

➢ For unstiffened elements, which are supported along only one edge, parallel to the direction of the
compression force, the following dimensions shall be taken as follows;
• For flanges of I–shaped members and tees, the width is half the full nominal width
• For stems of tees, the depth is taken as the full nominal depth
• For legs of angles and flanges of channels and zees, the width is the full nominal dimension
• For plates, the width is the distance from the free edge to the first row of fasteners to the line of
welds

➢ For stiffened elements, i.e., supported along two edges parallel to the direction of the compression
force, the following dimensions shall be taken as follows;
• For webs of rolled, built–up or formed sections, the height is clear distance between flanges
• For webs of rolled, built–up or formed sections, the depth is the full nominal depth
• For flange or diaphragm plates in built–up sections, the width is the distance between adjacent
lines of fasteners or lines of welds
• For flanges of rectangular hollow structural sections, the width is the clear distance between the
web less the inside corner radius on each side. If the corner radius is not known, the flat width may
be taken as the total section width minus three times the thickness

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 Module 5A – Flexure

STEEL FLEXURE DESIGN USING NSCP 2010/2015 [Sec. 506]:

Adapts the same set of formulas from the AISC Steel Construction Manual 13th/14th Ed. Chapter
F

Governing Limit States for Various Steel Structural Shapes [NSCP 2015 Table 506.1.1]:

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 Module 5A – Flexure

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 Module 5A – Flexure

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 Module 5A – Flexure

Summary of Flexural Strength

Below is the procedure for determining the nominal moment strength, Mn for I and C-shaped section bent about its major
axis (x-axis) for compact and non-compact shapes.

1. Determine whether the section is compact or non-compact.

Element 𝜆 𝜆𝑝 𝜆𝑟

Flange 𝑏𝑓
𝐸 𝐸
2𝑡𝑓 0.38√ 1.00√
𝐹𝑦 𝐹𝑦

Web ℎ
𝐸 𝐸
𝑡𝑤 3.76√ 5.70√
𝐹𝑦 𝐹𝑦

𝐸
2. Compute for the value of 𝐿𝑝 = 1.76𝑟𝑦 √𝐹
𝑦

𝐸 𝐽𝑐 𝐽𝑐 2 0.7𝐹𝑦 2
𝐿𝑟 = 1.95𝑟𝑡𝑠 ( ) √ + √( ) + 6.76 ( )
𝐹𝑦 𝑆𝑥 ℎ𝑜 𝑆𝑥 ℎ𝑜 𝐸

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑐 = 1.0 ∗ 𝐼 − 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠

ℎ𝑜 𝐼𝑦
𝑐= √ ∗ 𝐶 − 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠
2 𝐶𝑤

√𝐼𝑦 𝐶𝑤
𝑟𝑡𝑠 =
𝑆𝑥
𝐼𝑦 ℎ𝑜2
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐶𝑤 = ∗ 𝐼 − 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠
4

3. If the shape is compact, solve for Mn for lateral torsion buckling (LTB).
𝐼𝑓 𝐿𝑏 ≤ 𝐿𝑝 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝐿𝑇𝐵 (𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑒 1), 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑴𝒏 = 𝑴𝒑 = 𝑭𝒚 𝒁𝒙
𝑳𝒃 − 𝑳𝒑
𝐼𝑓 𝐿𝑝 < 𝐿𝑏 ≤ 𝐿𝑟 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐿𝑇𝐵 (𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑒 2), 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑴𝒏 = 𝑪𝒃 [𝑴𝒑 − (𝑴𝒑 − 𝟎. 𝟕𝟎𝑭𝒚 𝑺𝒙 ( )] ≤ 𝑴𝒑
𝑳𝒓 − 𝑳𝒑
𝐼𝑓 𝐿𝑏 > 𝐿𝑟 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐿𝑇𝐵 (𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑒 3), 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑴𝒏 = 𝑭𝒄𝒓 𝑺𝒙 ≤ 𝑴𝒑
𝐶𝑏 𝜋 2 𝐸 𝐽𝑐 𝐿 2
𝐹𝑐𝑟 = 2 √1 + 0.078 ( ) (𝑟 𝑏 )
𝐿 𝑆𝑥ℎ𝑜
(𝑟 𝑏 ) 𝑡𝑠
𝑡𝑠

4. If the shape is non-compact, solve for Mn

Flange Local Buckling (FLB);

𝐼𝑓 𝜆 ≤ 𝜆𝑝𝑓 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝐹𝐿𝐵

𝝀−𝝀𝒑
𝐼𝑓 𝜆𝑝𝑓 < 𝜆 ≤ 𝜆𝑟𝑓 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑛 − 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑛 = 𝑀𝑝 = (𝑴𝒑 − 𝟎. 𝟕𝟎𝑭𝒚 𝑺𝒙 (𝝀 ) 𝑜𝑟 𝐿𝑇𝐵
𝒓 −𝝀𝒑

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 Module 5A – Flexure

Roof Purlins

Roof purlins that are part of a sloping roof system can be subjected to biaxial bending of the type
just described. For the roof purlins, the load is vertical, but axes of bending are inclined. This
condition corresponds to the loading of the figure below.

The component of load normal to the roof will cause bending about the x axis, and the parallel
component bends the beam about its y axis. If the purlins are simply supported at the trusses (or
rigid frame rafters), the maximum bending moment about each axis is wL2/8, where w is the
appropriate component of load. If sag rods are used, they will provide lateral support with respect
to x-axis bending and will act as transverse supports for y-axis bending, requiring that the purlin
be treated as a continuous beam. For uniform sag rod spacings, the following formulas for moment
can be used.

Without sag rod:

𝑤𝑛 𝐿2
𝑀𝑥 = (Eq. 4-48)
8
𝑤𝑡 𝐿2
𝑀𝑦 = (Eq. 4-49)
8
With one sag rod at L/2:
𝑤𝑛 𝐿2
𝑀𝑥 = (Eq. 4-50)
8
𝑤𝑡 𝐿2
𝑀𝑦 = (Eq. 4-51)
32

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 Module 5A – Flexure

With two sag rods at L/3:

𝑤𝑛 𝐿2
𝑀𝑥 = (Eq. 4-52)
9
𝑤𝑡 𝐿2
𝑀𝑦 = (Eq. 4-53)
90

Where:
• (𝑤𝑛 ): component of the uniform load normal (along y) to the roof, N/m
• (𝑤𝑡 ): component of the uniform load parallel (along x) to the roof, N/m
• L: length of purlin

Design Criteria for Purlins:

For LRFD:

𝑀𝑢𝑥 𝑀𝑢𝑦
+ ≤ 1.0 (Eq. 4-54)
𝜙𝑏 𝑀𝑛𝑥 𝜙𝑏 𝑀𝑛𝑦

For ASD:

𝑀𝑎𝑥 𝑀𝑎𝑦
+ ≤ 1.0
𝑀𝑛𝑥 /Ω𝑏 𝑀𝑛𝑦 /Ω𝑏

For loads applied to the top flange, only half of the strength in the y-direction will be used to
account for torsional effects.

For LRFD (with torsional effects):

𝑀𝑢𝑥 𝑀𝑢𝑦
+ ≤ 1.0
𝜙𝑏 𝑀𝑛𝑥 0.5𝜙𝑏 𝑀𝑛𝑦

For ASD (with torsional effects):

𝑀𝑎𝑥 𝑀𝑎𝑦
+ ≤ 1.0 (Eq. 4-56)
𝑀𝑛𝑥 /Ω𝑏 0.5𝑀𝑛𝑦 /Ω𝑏

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 Module 5A – Flexure

Shear Strength
NSCP Specification Requirements for Shear

For LRFD:

𝑉𝑢 ≤ 𝜙𝑣 𝑉𝑛 (Eq. 4-58)

Where:
• (𝑉𝑢 ): required shear strength from factored loads
• (ϕ𝑣 ): resistance factor for shear

For ASD:

𝑉𝑛
𝑉𝑎 ≤ (Eq. 4-59)
Ω𝑣

Where:
• (𝑉𝑎 ): required shear strength from service loads
• (Ω𝑣 ): factor of safety for shear

The resistance factor and factor of safety for shear depends on the web width-to-thickness ratio.

According to Section 507.2 of NSCP, the nominal shear strength, 𝑉𝑛 , of unstiffened or stiffened
webs, according to the limit states of shear yielding and shear buckling, is

𝑉𝑛 = 0.6𝐹𝑦 𝐴𝑤 𝐶𝑣 (𝐸𝑞. 4 − 60)

where:
𝐴𝑤 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑒𝑏 = 𝑑𝑡𝑤
𝑑 = 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚
𝐶𝑣 = 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑏 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠

The value of 𝐶𝑣 depends on whether the limit state is web yielding, web inelastic buckling, or web
elastic buckling.

1. For webs of rolled I-shaped members with ℎ/𝑡𝑤 ≤ 2.24√𝐸/𝐹𝑦 , the limit state is shear yielding,
and

𝐶𝑣 = 1.0(𝐸𝑞. 4 − 61)

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 Module 5A – Flexure

𝜙𝑣 = 1.00(𝐿𝑅𝐹𝐷)
Ω𝑣 = 1.50(𝐴𝑆𝐷)

Most W shapes with 𝐹𝑦 ≤ 345 MPa fall into this category.

2. For webs of all other doubly symmetric shapes and singly symmetric shapes and channels,
except round HSS:

𝜙𝑣 = 0.90(𝐿𝑅𝐹𝐷)
Ω𝑣 = 1.67(𝐴𝑆𝐷)

The value of 𝐶𝑣 is computed as follows:

a. For ℎ/𝑡𝑤 ≤ 1.10√𝑘𝑣 𝐸/𝐹𝑦 , there is no web instability, and

𝐶𝑣 = 1.0 (𝐸𝑞. 4 − 62)

b. For 1.10√𝑘𝑣 𝐸/𝐹𝑦 < ℎ/𝑡𝑤 ≤ 1.37√𝑘𝑣 𝐸/𝐹𝑦 , inelastic web buckling can occur, and

1.10√𝑘𝑣 𝐸/𝐹𝑦
𝐶𝑣 = (𝐸𝑞. 4 − 63)
ℎ/𝑡𝑤

c. For ℎ/𝑡𝑤 > 1.37√𝑘𝑣 𝐸/𝐹𝑦 , the limit state is elastic web buckling, and

1.51𝐸𝑘𝑣
𝐶𝑣 = (𝐸𝑞. 4 − 63)
(ℎ/𝑡𝑤 )2 𝐹𝑦

The web plate buckling coefficient, 𝑘𝑣 , is determined as follows:

a. For unstiffened webs with ℎ/𝑡𝑤 < 260, 𝑘𝑣 = 5 except for the stem of tee shapes and single
angle where 𝑘𝑣 = 1.2.

Note: In proportioning I-shaped members, Section 506.13.2 of NSCP stated that in unstiffened
girders ℎ/𝑡𝑤 shall not exceed 260. Thus 𝑘𝑣 = 5 for rolled I-shaped members.

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 Module 5A – Flexure

b. For stiffened webs:

5
𝑘𝑣 = 5 + 𝐸𝑞. 4 − 65
(𝑎/ℎ)2

Also,
𝑎 𝑎 260 2
𝑘𝑣 = 5 when > 3.0 or >( )
ℎ ℎ ℎ/𝑡𝑤

where:
a = clear distance between transverse stiffeners, mm
h = for rolled shapes, the clear distance between flanges less the fillet or corner radii, mm
= for built-up welded sections, the clear distance between flanges, mm
= for built-up bolted sections, the distance between fastener lines, mm
= for tees, the overall depth, mm

Shear is rarely a problem in rolled steel beams; the usual practice is to design a beam for flexure
and then to check it for shear.

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