ANALYSIS OF STEEL PLATE GIRDERS SUBJECTED OF PATCH LOADING WITH GEOMETRICAL AND STRUCTURAL IMPERFECTIONS

The behavior of welded steel I-girders presents a complex stability and elastic-plastic problem. The girders are loaded over a short length of the flange and within the plane of the web, under either concentrated or uniformly distributed loads, commonly referred to as patch loading. This study analyzes welded steel I-girders both with and without longitudinal web stiffening. The girders, or sections of the girders, are not perfectly flat in terms of their geometry, and the materials from which the girders are made exhibit certain deviations, referred to as geometric and structural imperfections. These imperfections can influence the behavior of the girders, and they are accounted for in this research. The load was progressively increased until the ultimate load capacity was reached, which was characterized by the buckling of the web. The analysis was conducted using the ANSYS software package, and the results were compared with experimental data from the literature.