Effect of Web Post Width on Strength Capacity of Steel Beams with Web Openings: Experimental and Analytical Investigation

Abstract

Day by day, technology has been changing progressively because of the remarkable hastening of research and development activities. Perforated beams are one such example of advancement in construction technology. Steel beams with web openings are those that have regularly spaced web openings along the length of the beam. The web openings are created in various ways such as wire cutting and welding. Castellated and cellular beams differ in the creation of web openings. Studies addressing the effect of web post width of steel beams with web openings on the strength capacity of beams are rare. Therefore, the objective of the present work was to examine the influence of web post width on the strength capacity of beams with web openings. First, experimental tests were carried out on three full-scale specimens of a steel beam with oval-shaped web openings, cellular beam, and solid web beam. The same beam was modeled using finite-element software ANSYS and the behavior was compared in terms of load–displacement curve and failure modes. Later, a detailed parametric study was carried out to study the behavior of beams with web openings having variation in web post width using nonlinear finite-element analysis. The simply supported steel beams with web openings subjected to midspan concentrated load with varying web post width and shape of openings were modeled and analyzed. From the analysis results, it was found that the shape of web openings and the web post width play an important role in the strength capacity of the perforated beams. The maximum strength reduction capacity was found to be 51.78% for hexagonal openings of depth 150 mm and having a web post width of 50 mm. The minimum strength reduction capacity was found to be 8.93% for hexagonal openings of depth 100 mm having a web post width of 500 mm. Web post width plays a significant role in the ultimate strength capacity of beams. Web post buckling is a predominant failure mode in steel beams with web openings and it can be prevented by maintaining sufficient web post width.