Ultimate Strength of Girder Structures (2 nd Report)

Abstract

Subsequent to the previous study on the ultimate strength of girder structures, the author has investigated into the mechanism and the plastic behavior of frame-type structures composed of a deep transverse and vertical webs with round corner at their ends.
A theoretical method is presented of analysis on the plastic failure of the structures subjected to a concentrated load at the center of the transverse. In this analysis, the effect of both axial thrust and shear on the plastic failure of the girder structure is taken into consideration. A discussion is made on the development of yield zones in the girders, and a general method is suggested to determine the location of the plastic hinge at the round corners.
Model tests have also been carried out to examine the collapse mode of the girder structures, where an extensive measurement has been made on the strain distributions in the components. The results of the tests have shown that the ultimate strength of such girder structures can be well predicted by the theoretical analysis which has been reported in this paper.