Elastic lateral-torsional buckling of steel bisymmetric double-tee section beams

Abstract

Elastic lateral-torsional buckling of double-tee section structural steelworks has been widely investigated with regard to the major axis bending of single structural elements as a result of certain loading conditions. No specific attention has been paid to the general formulation in which an arbitrary span load pattern was associated with unequal end moments as a result of the moment distribution between structural members of the load bearing system.Anumber of analytical solutionswere developed on the basis of the Vlasov theory of thin-walled members. Since the accurate closed-form solutions of lateral-torsional buckling (LTB) of beams may only be obtained for simple loading and boundary conditions, more complex situations are treated nowadays by using numerical finite element methods (FEM). Analytical and numerical methods are frequently combined for the purpose of: a) verification of approximate analytical formulae or b) presentation the results in the form of multiple curve nomograms to be used in design practice. Investigations presented in this paper deal with the energy method applied to LTB of any complex loading condition of elements of simple end boundary conditions, bent about the major axis. Firstly, a brief summary of the second-order based energy equation dealt with in this paper is presented and followed by its approximate solution using the so-called refined energy method that in the case of LTB coincides with the Timoshenko’s energy refinement. As a result, the LTB energy equation shape functions of twist rotation and minor axis displacement are chosen such that they cover both the symmetric and antisymmetric lateral-torsional buckling modes. The latter modes are chosen in relation to two lowest LTB eigenmodes of beams under uniform major axis bending. Finally, the explicit form of the general solution is presented as being dependent upon the dimensionless bending moment equations for symmetric and antisymmetric components, and the in-span loads. Solutions based on the present investigations are compared for selected loading conditions with those obtained in the previous studies and verified with use of the LTBeam software. Conclusions are drawn with regard to the application of obtained closed-form solutions in engineering practice.