Article In: cienciavitae, orcid, scopus

Axial forces in transverse web stiffeners of steel plate girders – a numerical investigation

Thin-Walled Structures

Nascimento S.; Pedro J.J.O.; Kuhlmann U. — 2025 — Elsevier

Key information

Authors:

Nascimento S. (Sérgio Marcelo de Deus Nascimento); Pedro J.J.O. (José Joaquim Costa Branco de Oliveira Pedro); Kuhlmann U.

Published in

August 26, 2025

Abstract

Transverse web stiffeners in steel plate girders are used to reduce web span and increase the elastic critical buckling load of the panel or sub-panel by providing lateral support. These stiffeners also enhance the ultimate post-buckling resistance of the girder by anchoring the tension field diagonal and prevent the flanges from moving inward [1,2]. As a result, this post-buckling behaviour generates axial compression in the transverse stiffeners which is presently considered by most design standards’ verifications. However, the axial forces specified in design standards for intermediate transverse stiffeners, particularly in EN 1993-1-5 [3], are typically higher than those observed in experimental tests and numerical simulations. This may negatively impact both the economic feasibility and sustainability of steel plated girder structures. To investigate this issue, a calibrated numerical model was developed based on experimental tests [1,2], resulting in 13500 finite element (FE) calculations with a wide range of geometries and materials were analysed using nonlinear elastoplastic simulations. The study explored the influence of web slenderness, aspect ratio, flange dimensions, steel grade, and the presence of longitudinal stiffeners. A statistical analysis of the ratio revealed that the axial force predictions in EN 1993-1-5 are in average overestimated by a factor of 2.

Publication details

Authors in the community:

Publication version

AO - Author's Original

Publisher

Elsevier

Link to the publisher's version

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263823125008687?via%3Dihub

Title of the publication container

Thin-Walled Structures

Volume

217

DOI

10.1016/j.tws.2025.113778

Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)

civil-engineering - Civil engineering

Keywords

  • Steel plate girder
  • Transverse web stiffener
  • High-strength steel
  • Nonlinear numerical analysis
  • Axial force

Publication language (ISO code)

eng - English

Alternative identifier (URI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2025.113778

Rights type:

Open access

Financing entity

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Identifier for the funding entity: SFRH/BD/146561/2019