Strength and Deformation Capacity of H-Shaped Steel Beams Considering Uncertainties of Mechanical Properties in Steel Materials

Abstract

In order to evaluate the safety of steel structures quantitatively, it is important to understand the effect of material property variations on steel member performance. This paper investigates the mean and variance of steel member resistance and deformation capacities while considering the stochastic properties of material properties, such as yield stress, tensile strength, and other factors. The analytical methods employed in the paper are the finite element method (used for the calculation of elastic-plastic behavior of steel beams) and the Monte Carlo simulation method (used for the stochastic calculation). Based on the analytical results, the paper proposes stochastic tri-linear loaddeformation relationship models for H-shaped steel beams that are applicable to the reliability analysis of steel frame structures.