The Design Values of Bow Imperfections Rationale for Damaged I-Beams

Abstract The article is devoted to studying steel I-beams under lateral-torsional buckling with operational geometric bow imperfections revealed during inspections of damaged elements of reconstructed buildings. The influence of imperfection in the form of initial curvature in the horizontal plane on the stability of structures is analyzed. An unresolved before part of the general problem of analyzing the condition of steel elements which is the subject of this article is to determine the permissible design values of steel I-beam curvature in the horizontal plane when restoring damaged parts of buildings. Then attention is focused on ensuring the stability and efficiency of further operation of the beams. The possibility of using bearing capacity resources, namely lateral bracing restraint with the help of structures attached to a steel beam, is considered. The proposed approaches are aimed at optimizing the use of materials and increasing savings by detailing the verification calculations of damaged steel beams.