Design rules for out-of-plane stability of roller bent steel arches with FEM

Abstract

Keywords:Roller bent arch Out-of-plane buckling Finite element modeling Design rules This paper describes a numerical investigation into the out-of-plane buckling behavior of freestanding roller bent steel arches. As roller bent arches have structural imperfections which differ considerably from those of hot-rolled or welded sections, specific attention is paid to their inclusion in the numerical model. Sensitivity analyses are performed to assess the influence of the imperfections due to roller bending on the out-of-plane buckling response. The accuracy of the finite element model is checked by comparing the results with earlier performed experiments as presented in a related paper. The finite element model is able to replicate the structural behavior displayed by the experiments with good accuracy. A database is created with elasticplastic buckling loads for a large number of freestanding roller bent arches. The numerical data is analyzed and presented in a so-called imperfection parameter diagram from which imperfection parameter curves are derived. The imperfection parameter curves are substituted into the European column curve formulation, leaving the original column curve formulation unaffected but extending its applicability to the out-of-plane buckling response of roller bent arches. The column curve with proposed imperfection parameter expressions can be used to check the out-of-plane buckling response of a roller bent steel arch with known non-dimensional slenderness.

Out-of-plane stability of roller bent steel arches — An experimental investigation

“…The discrepancy (v h-b ) is defined as the difference between the measured position of the tension rod and the center of the baseline between both supports in the horizontal plane perpendicular to the plane of arch. Values of the misalignments are given in Table 3 and Table 4 for all tested arches as these are necessary for further study, Spoorenberg et al [1].…”

“…Close coherence between both approaches permits the use of the finite element model to evaluate the structural response of arches not part of the experimental program. In the current paper the experiments are presented, and in a related paper by Spoorenberg et al [1] finite element analyses and design rules are presented. Hence the goal of the experiments is two-fold: to provide fundamental data concerning the out-of-plane elastic-plastic buckling response of freestanding arches under compression and bending and to use the data to arrive at design rules to check their stability.…”

Experimental research on stable ultimate bearing capacity of leaning-type arch rib systems

“…Chen et al [12] adopt ANSYS finite element software to explore the impact of 14 different working conditions on the dynamic characteristics of leaning-type arch bridges. Spoorenberg et al [13] provided a numerical investigation into the out-of-plane buckling behavior of freestanding roller bent steel arches. Guo et al [14] presented the out-ofplane elastic buckling behavior of hinged planar truss arch with continuous or discrete lateral bracings.…”

The Effect of Cold Roller-Bending on the Mechanical & Geometric Properties of Steel Hollow Sections

“…The resistance checks presented in this section are based on the checks required in BS 5950-1, with appropriate modifications to account for the effects of curvature. Based on the research surrounding the Bauschinger effect, it is likely that an archway curved using cold-roller bending is more susceptible to out-of-plane buckling (shown in Figure 5-c [19], [47], [51], [52]) as it will have a reduced resistance to deformation when the loading is 180 o from that of the pre-strain. Though it is not specifically stated in the literature surrounding construction of steel structures, the curved section will likely have reduced resistance to out-of-plane buckling [3], [10], [51].…”

“…However, the literature suggests that it is extremely important that the horizontal stiffness of the supports is high enough to counteract the lateral load exerted by the deflection of a curved beam when a vertical load is applied to it, which is likely greater when the section has been cold worked into shape using cold-roller bending [51]. If this is not performed adequately, the abutments will spread and the top of the arch will drop significantly, as shown in Figure 22.…”