The issues of local stability and ultimate resistance of a continuous beam with thin-walled box section (Class 4) were reduced to the analysis of the local buckling of bilaterally elastically restrained internal plate of the compression flange at longitudinal stress variation. Critical stress of the local buckling was determined using the so-called Critical Plate Method (CPM). In the method, the effect of the elastic restraint of the component walls of the bar section and the effect of longitudinal stress variation that results from varying distribution of bending moments were taken into account. On that basis, appropriate effective characteristics of reliable sections were determined. Additionally, ultimate resistances of those sections were estimated. The impact of longitudinal stress variation and of the degree of elastic restraint of longitudinal edges on, respectively, the local buckling of compression flanges in the span section (p) and support section (s) was analysed. The influence of the span length of the continuous beam and of the relative plate slenderness of the compression flange on the critical ultimate resistance of box sections was examined.

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In modern steel construction, thin-walled elements with Class 4 cross-sections are commonly used. For the sake of the computation of such elements according to European Eurocode 3 (EC3), simplified computational models are applied. These models do not account for important parameters that affect the behavior of a structure susceptible to local stability loss. This study discussed the effect of local buckling on the design ultimate resistance of a continuous beam with a thin-walled Class 4 I-shaped cross-section. In the investigations, a more accurate computational model was employed. A new calculation model was proposed, based on the analysis of local buckling separately for the span segment and the support segment of the first span, which are characterized by different distributions of bending moments. Critical stress was determined using the critical plate method (CPM), taking into account the effect of the mutual elastic restraint of the cross-section walls. The stability analysis also accounted for the effect of longitudinal stress variation resulting from the varied distribution of bending moments along the continuous beam length. The results of the calculations were compared with the numerical simulations using the finite element method. The obtained results showed very good congruence. The phenomena mentioned above are not taken into consideration in the computational model provided in EC3. Based on the critical stress calculated as above, “local” critical moments were determined. These constitute a limit on the validity of the Vlasov theory of thin-walled bars. Design ultimate resistance of the I-shaped cross-section was determined from the plastic yield condition of the most compressed edge under the assumptions specified in the study. Detailed calculations were performed for I-sections welded from thin metal sheets, and for sections made from two cold-formed channels (2C). The impact of the following factors on the critical resistance and design ultimate resistance of the midspan and support cross-sections was analyzed: (1) longitudinal stress variation, (2) relative plate slenderness of the flange, and (3) span length of the continuous beam. The results were compared with the outcomes obtained for box sections with the same contour dimensions, and also with those produced acc. EC3. It was shown that compared with calculations acc. EC3, those performed in accordance with the CPM described much more accurately the behavior of the uniformly loaded continuous beam with a thin-walled section. This could lead to a more effective design of structures of this class.

The paper presents a computational analysis of the effect constructional details of coped connections, assumed to be a fork support in calculations, on the critical LTB moment values. On the basis of analytical formulas by Lindner [1], a formula, having a simple form, was derived for the reduction factor rn for the critical LTB moment. The parameters for the formula were presented in a tabular form, taking into account the beam section (IPE/HEA), the type of beam to end-plate connection (Types 1-3), the load type (q / P) and the way the load is applied (top / bottom flange). The correctness of the derived formula was validated on the basis of the analytical results and the Finite Element Method results obtained with the Abaqus/CAE software. In the program, the beam geometric dimensions and connections were represented as volumetric finite elements. Additionally, the dimensions of the end-plate for IPE and HEA section series were arranged in a systematic manner following the British catalogue.

The study presents the summary of the knowledge of energy-active segments of steel buildings adapted to obtain electrical energy (EE) and thermal energy (TE) from solar radiation, and to transport and store TE. The study shows a general concept of the design of energy-active segments, which are separated from conventional segments in the way that allows the equipment installation and replacement. Exemplary solutions for the design of energy-active segments, optimised with respect to the principle of minimum thermal strain and maximum structural capacity and reliability were given [34]. The following options of the building covers were considered: 1) regular structure, 2) reduced structure, 3) basket structure, 4) structure with a tie, high-pitched to allow snow sliding down the roof to enhance TE and EE obtainment. The essential task described in the study is the optimal adaptation of energy-active segments in large-volume buildings for extraction, transportation and storage of energy from solar radiation.