Review and improved method for the design of intermediate transverse stiffeners in steel plate girders

Steel plate girders with slender webs rely on transverse stiffeners to provide web lateral support, thereby enhancing shear resistance. Intermediate stiffeners are essential not only for anchoring the compression from tension field action (TFA) but also for restraining out-of-plane buckling and supporting web panel edges. This paper reviews existing design methods for transverse stiffeners and examines key developments and challenges from elastic buckling to ultimate strength, comparing design provisions with key research findings. Based on these insights, an enhanced design approach is proposed for intermediate web stiffeners in steel plate girders, accounting for flange influence, web slenderness and aspect ratio, and material properties. The proposal is validated against finite element (FE) simulation results and full scale tests to demonstrate its consistency. • Proposal of a new method for designing intermediate stiffeners in plate girders. • The new method targets ultimate shear resistance, not just design shear force. • Proposal uses a stiffness amplification factor Ψ based on 13500 FE simulations. • Considers flange-to-web ratio, web slenderness, and steel grade effects. • Improves economy and sustainability in high-strength steel girder design.