Shear capacity of dapped ended steel plate girders

Abstract

The goal of the project was to investigate the shear capacity of dapped ended steel plate girders. Dapped girders with no intermediate transverse-stiffeners between the bearing stiffener and the first interior diaphragm were the focus of this project. The motivation for minimizing the number of stiffeners is to reduce cost and fatigue sensitivity of the girder. The finite element method was used to estimate the ultimate shear capacity. A linear eigenvalue analysis was used to estimate the buckling capacity and to find the buckled mode shape. The mode shape was used to generate a mesh with an imperfection used to run a nonlinear Riks analysis. The Riks analysis resulted in estimated capacities that accounted for material properties and large deformations. Buckling capacities were found for three particular cases. However, several computer codes are presented that allow for the analysis to be completed for a wide variety of dapped girders. Three main conclusions were drawn from this study. First, it is conservative to assume a full height panel for design purposes. Second, dapped girders without intermediate stiffeners can generate substantial shear capacities. Finally, dapped end panels develop post-buckling strength. This post-buckling strength accounts for a large portion of the shear capacity generated in the dapped end panel.