Effect of Transverse Stiffeners on the Lateral-Torsional Buckling Strength of Steel Beams

Abstract

Lateral-torsional buckling occurs in beams where the section is not adequately supported against lateral movement and twisting.The lateral support can be provided by rigid floors or transverse beams. In this research the effect of transverse stiffeners on the lateral- torsional buckling strength of laterally unsupported steel beam was investigated. Simply supported beam of length 2.5 m was studied. The length of the beam was chosen between Lp and Lr of the section so that inelastic lateral-torsional buckling can occur . Finite element analysis was performed on the beam without stiffeners and with stiffeners at various locations. The analytical results indicated that the magnitude of the load causing lateral-torsional buckling increases with the increase of the number of transverse stiffeners. The analytical results were validated experimentally by testing some of the beams .