Design of Steel Equal Angle Lintels

Abstract

Single equal angle steel beams are often used as lintels to support eccentric loading acting normal to one flange. This loading causes combined biaxial bending and torsion, which is not allowed for in most steel design codes. Instead, approximate methods based somewhat loosely on past research studies have been used to develop design approximations and tables. This paper reviews past research on single equal angle beams used as lintels and develops an improved method of predicting their strengths which includes the effects of initial twist rotations, eccentric loads, and large twist rotations, and utilizes the plastic capacities of compact beams. The strengths predicted are significantly higher than those of previous approximations. More accurate strength approximations are proposed, and suggestions are made for serviceability design.