Seminar - David Cao - Shear Lag Failure Mode of Hollow Flange Channel Sections with Web Side Plate Connections

Wednesday 16 May 2007, 1.10 - 1.50 pm
Civil Engineering Lecture Theatre 3

Abstract:
The LiteSteel Beam (LSB), previously called hollow flange channel, is an innovative structural section developed by Smorgon Steel Tube Mills. The section is primarily intended for use in the light industrial, commercial and domestic flooring and roofing. This presentation will describe the shear lag failure mode observed in an experimental study commenced in The University of Sydney on the behaviour of LSB sections with web side plate (WSP) connections.

Shear lag failure mode is one of the three failure modes observed in the tests. It meanly involves the lateral displacement of the top and bottom hollow flanges of the LSB section and the distortion of the web. It is so termed because it is though that the primary cause of such failure mode is the horizontal shear stresses in the hollow flanges. This presentation will discuss the formation of the failure mode. A quantative determination of the failing load will then be described and a final recommendation of its design will be given after a reliability analysis.