Chapter Two
PLASTIC ANALYSIS OF STEEL
STRUCTURES
• Increasing the applied load until yielding occurs will result
in elastic-plastic deformations that will eventually reach a
fully plastic condition.
• Fully plastic condition is defined as a condition at which a
sufficient number of plastic hinges are formed to
transform the structure into a mechanism, i.e., the structure
is geometrically unstable
• The maximum moment which a section can resist without
exceeding the yield stress is the yield moment and given by the
smaller of
• where St = tension section modulus= I/ct
Sc = compression section modulus = I/cc
Plastic hinges
• Note that once the plastic moment capacity is reached, the section
can rotate freely – that is, it behaves like a hinge, except with
moment of at the hinge. This is termed a plastic hinge, and is the
basis for plastic analysis.
• At the plastic hinge stresses remain constant, but strains and hence
rotations can increase.
• Plastic hinges may form at point of maximum moment
• The ultimate strength is reached when a sufficient number of
plastic hinges have formed to create a mechanism
• The maximum possible moment is the plastic hinge moment, , and
the magnitude of the moment is:
Shape Factor
• Is the ratio of plastic to elastic moment capacity
Significance of shape factor
1. It gives an indication of reserve capacity of a section
from on set of yielding at extreme fibers to full
plastification
2. If can be calculated
3. A section with higher shape factor gives a longer
warning before collapse and gives greater deflection at
collapse
4. The greater shape factor gives greater collapse load
factor
Assumption used for Plastic Moment
Calculation
• The material obey Hooke’s Law
• The yield stress σy and E is the same in compression
and in tension
• The material is homogenous and isotropic
• There is no axial force applied
• The cross section is symmetrical about an axis
through its centroid parallel to the plane of bending
• Each layer is free to expand and contract
Collapse load of a structure
• Collapse load is found for a structure by investigating
various possible collapse mechanisms of a structure.
• Collapse loads are usually the applied loads multiplied by collapse
load factor λc . λc is defined as the ratio of the collapse load to the
working load acting on any structure / element.
Application for Portal Frames
• A portal frame involves high degrees of indeterminacy.
Therefore, there are always a large number of partial and
complete collapse mechanisms that can be combined to
form new collapse mechanisms.
• For complex frames, it requires substantial judgment and
experience in using this method to identify all possible
partial and combined collapse mechanisms.
• For simple portal frames, the following types of collapse
mechanisms should be identified:
Beam mechanism,
Sway mechanism,
Combined mechanism.
• Beam mechanism—when vertical loads are
applied to beams and horizontal loads to
columns to form partial collapse mechanisms:
• Sway mechanism—when horizontal loads are
applied to form complete collapse mechanisms
• Combined mechanism a combination of beam
and sway mechanisms only if unloading occurs to
one or more plastic hinges.
Analysis of Rectangular Cross Section
Elastic Moment
From the diagram:
But, the force (or the volume of the stress block) is:
Hence:
Elasto-Plastic Moment
• The moment in the section is made up of plastic and elastic components:
The elastic component is the same as previous, but for the reduced
depth, αd instead of the overall depth, d:
The plastic component is:
The lever arm, s, is: But,
Thus,
The force is:
And so the total elasto-plastic moment is:
Plastic Moment
From the stress diagram:
And the force is:
Hence:
• Example 1. A fixed-end beam, of length L and plastic moment
capacity is subjected to a point load P as shown below. Determine
the collapse load P =
Example 2.Determine the location of the plastic neutral axis y and the
plastic moment for the section shown in the figure below. If
(a) the section has a uniform yield stress of 300 MPa
(b) the top and bottom flanges have a yield stress of 300 MPa and the
web has a yield stress of 200 MPa.
(c) Find the collapse load for both cases
• Example 3. determine the collapse load P = for the
continuous beam shown. Plastic moment of the
beam is .
Mechanism 1 Mechanism 2
•
• Example 4. A fixed-base portal frame is subjected to a vertical load of 2P and a
horizontal load of P as shown below. The length of the rafter is 6L and of the
column is 4L. Find the collapse load P =
i) Beam mechanism ii) Sway mechanism Combined mechanism
Values of Collapse loads for different loaded structures.
Quiz (5%)
• A fixed-base portal frame is subject to two horizontal loads of 2P
and 3P as shown. Draw the possible collapse mechanisms and find
the collapse load.
Solution
The end
