Location Of The Applied Load Effect On The Design Of Steel Beams
Comparison Summary Between the Different Steel Design Codes
The distance of the applied load from the shear center axis significantly affects the buckling resistance.
When the applied load acts below the shear center and moves with the beam during buckling it
increases resistance to buckling. On the other hand, when the applied load acts above the shear center,
it reduces the buckling resistance of the beam.
This summary illustrates how steel design codes deal with the location of the applied load effect on the
design of the steel beams.
Definitions
i. Shear center:
The point in the cross-section (or outside the cross-section) where we can apply load and produce
beam bending without twisting. Loads applied anywhere other than the shear center will produce
both bending (moment) and twisting (torsion).
If a beam has two axes of symmetry, then the Shear Centre coincides with the centroid.
For a section having one axis of symmetry, the shear center does not coincide with the
centroid but lies on the axis of symmetry. ex. C-Section
If the load passes through the shear center, then there will be only bending stress in the
cross-section and no twisting.
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ii. Lateral-torsional buckling:
The buckling mode of a flexural member involves deflection out of the plane of bending occurring
simultaneously with a twist about the shear center of the cross-section.
Figure 1 shows the lateral displacement and twisting experienced by a beam when lateral torsional
buckling occurs.
iii. Cb -lateral-torsional buckling modification factor, (the beam bending coefficient):
Cb, the lateral-torsional buckling modification factor for non-uniform moment diagrams when both
ends of the segment are braced.
The buckling resistance for a section subject to a uniform bending moment distribution along its
length is less than the buckling resistance obtained for the same section subjected to a different
bending moment distribution
The bending modification factor, Cb, accounts for the shape of the moment gradient within the
unbraced length and allows for adjustment of the member’s flexural strength, possibly increasing it
by a considerable amount.
The flexural strength of members based on the limit state of lateral-torsional buckling is a function
of the moment gradient of the unbraced length under consideration.
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iv. Stabilizing / Destabilizing load
The described situation is when both the load and the flange are free to deflect laterally.
When a load on the bottom flange moves with the beam during buckling, it causes an
additional moment about the shear center of the beam. This moment is opposite to the
twist rotations of the beam, and therefore, resists the tendency of the beam to buckle.
(Stabilizing)
By the same reasoning, top flange loading causes an additional moment about the shear
center which is additive to the twist rotations of the beam. Buckling resistance is
therefore decreased. (Destabilizing)
Destabilizing loads are relatively common in steelwork supporting equipment, where there
may be no floor to provide restraint.
Equipment supported on multiple beams may still be a destabilizing load if all the beams
can buckle in the same direction and the load can move.
The runway for a crane girder is a common example of a load applied to the top flange of a
beam, whereas bottom-flange loading can be illustrated by a runway beam with the hoist
suspended from the bottom flange
Also, this generally occurs during construction while the top compression flange is not yet
braced by the deck.
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Location of the applied load effect on the Design of the steel beams summary between
the different steel design codes
I. Eurocode:
Within the Eurocode approach, the impact of the load position is accounted for in the
determination of Mcr which may be calculated by a closed expression shown below:
The dimension zg is the distance from the shear center to the point of load application. As shown in
Figure 5, in the conventional orientation, if the load is applied to the top flange (a destabilizing
load), zg is positive. If the load is stabilizing, applied below the shear center, zg is negative.
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II. ANSI/AISC 360:
ANSI/AISC 360 does not provide any explicit provision to account for the load height effect,
although loads are commonly applied either above or below the shear center of the cross-section.
So, AISC 360 is generally not conservative in most cases.
Cb equations, the load was assumed to act along the shear center of the beam’s cross-section. Thus,
the effect of the applied load location with respect to the shear center is ignored.
Helwig et al. (1997) presented the following simplified equation for Cb for singly symmetric I-
shaped girders subjected to transverse loading applied at different heights on the cross-section.
Where Cb can be calculated using Eq. (2-3), h is the beam depth, and y is the distance from the
mid-height to the point of load application. The distance y is negative for loading applied above
mid-height and positive for loading applied below mid-height.
For the two basic simple span cases of loading at the top flange, Eq. (2-4) gives a Cb* value of
0.94 for a point load at mid-span and 0.81 for a load uniformly distributed over the entire span.
AISC live webinar on the design of underhung cranes, the subject of load height was discussed.
The webinar presented the SSRC 4th Edition method and directly used calculations with the SSRC
modification, as follows:
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ANSI/AISC 360 code states the followings:
F1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
The equations for the limit state of lateral-torsional buckling in Chapter F assume that the loads are
applied along the beam centroid axis. Cb may be conservatively taken equal to 1.0, with the
exception of some cases involving unbraced overhangs or members with no bracing within the
span and with significant loading applied to the top flange.
If the load is placed on the top flange and the flange is not braced, there is a tipping effect that
reduces the critical moment; conversely, if the load is suspended from an unbraced bottom flange,
there is a stabilizing effect that increases the critical moment (Ziemian, 2010).
For unbraced top flange loading on compact I-shaped members, the reduced critical moment may
be conservatively approximated by setting the square root expression in Equation F2-4 equal to
unity.
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III. BS 5950
Provides a simple method to account for the destabilizing effect by using an effective length LE is 1.0
LLT under normal conditions, and 1.2 LLT if the loads are destabilizing
IV. Canadian Institute of steel construction, S16:19
Provides a simple method to account for the destabilizing effect by using an effective unbraced length
of 1.2L for flexural simply-supported ends or 1.4L for other end restraint conditions.
V. Egyptian Code of Practice for steel construction ECP
Provides a simple method to account for the destabilizing effect only for cantilever beams by using an
effective unbraced length higher than the normal loading condition.
Recommendations for designing steel beams on Sap2000 using AISC360 and ECP codes:
1) The destabilizing effect has to be considered by using an effective unbraced length of min.
1.2L for flexural simply-supported ends or 1.4L for other end restraint conditions.
2) Alternatively, Cb has to be overwritten, and conservatively taken equal to 1.0.
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