J. Construct.

Steel Research 13 (1989) 95-109

Rotation Capacity of H-Section Members as Determined by

Local Buckling

Ben Kato
Department of Architecture,Universityof Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku,Tokyo, 113
Japan

ABSTRACT

Inelastic rotation capacities of H-shaped steel members subject to various

types of loading are investigated. By combining the simplified moment
versus rotation relationship with the statistical critical stress of stub-
columns, the rotation capacities are predicted and they are compared with
test results. The width-to-thickness ratio limitation of flange and web are
presented in a form of interaction according to the ductility requirements.

NOTATION

A Sectional area
Aw Area of web
b Half width of flange
d Depth of web
D Flexural stiffness in strain hardening region
E Young's modulus
Est Strain hardening modulus
h Height of H-section
he Center-to-center distance of equivalent two-flange section
I Geometrical moment of inertia
le Moment of inertia of equivalent two-flange section
Mp Full plastic moment
R Rotation capacity
s Normalized critical stress
tf Thickness of flange
95
J. Construct. Steel Research 0143-974X/89/$03.50 (~) 1989Elsevier SciencePublishersLtd,
England. Printed in Great Britain
96 Ben Kato

tw Thickness of web
a Slenderness parameter of plate element
Deflexion
est Strain at strain hardening point
0 Rotation of members in terms of slope
p Axial stress ratio
crcr Critical stress governed by local buckling
cro Working axial stress
Cry Yield stress
~b Curvature
~st Curvature at strain hardening point
Rotation of members in terms of deflexion angle

1 INTRODUCTION

In plastic design, the first plastic hinge occurring in a frame must rotate
until the collapse mechanism is reached without losing its moment capac-
ity, and a greater inelastic rotation capacity is sometimes required in
seismic design in areas of high seismicity. The rotation capacity of steel
members is severely impaired by the occurrence of local buckling of plate
elements of the constituent members, so limitations of width-to-thickness
ratios of flange and web of H-section members are prescribed in specifica-
tions of various countries. However, their theoretical or experimental
backgrounds are not necessarily clear, and furthermore, width-to-thick-
ness ratio limitation for flange and for web are prescribed independently of
each other. Obviously, flange is restrained by web and, vice versa, web is
restrained by flanges, and therefore an independent limitation is un-
reasonable.
In this paper, the inelastic rotation capacities of H-section steel mem-
bers subject to bending with and without axial thrust as determined by
local buckling are investigated. Also the rotation capacities are predicted
as functions of width-to-thickness ratios of flanges and web. In other
words, the interaction formulae of the width-to-thickness ratio of flanges
and that of web for various loading conditions are given according to any
assigned inelastic rotation capacity. It is assumed that lateral torsional
buckling is restrained by suitable means.

2 R O T A T I O N CAPACITY OF MEMBERS

It can be assumed that local buckling will occur when the stress of a critical
section of a member reaches a certain critical value even in the inelastic
 Rotation capacity of H-section members 97

Mpc

i 1
0 0y 0u 0
Fig. 1. M-O relation.

region. A simplified relationship between the rotation capacity and this

critical stress is derived in the following, in which the stress-strain
relationship of material is assumed to be rigid-plastic-strain hardening.
Usually the rotation capacity is defined as

R = O--z~-l- Ou-Oy _ Opm (1)

Oy Oy Oy
in which Ouis the ultimate rotation corresponding to the critical stress, and
Oy is the elastic rotation at the state when the moment of critical section
reaches the full plastic moment, as illustrated in Fig. 1.
So, the numerator, Opm,in eqn (1) can be calculated directly by using the
rigid-plastic-strain hardening relationship.

2.1 Assumptions

The following assumptions are made:

(1) Shear deformation should be negligible, and the influence of shear
stress on the local buckling should also be negligible.
(2) The H-section can be replaced by the equivalent two-flange model
as shown in Fig. 2, where the equivalency can be maintained by
equating the full plastic moment and the sectional area for both
sections. Then the geometrical relations between these two sections
which satisfy the given conditions are
h 2 + 0.3h/b
he 2 + O.15h/b
! (2 + 0.3h/b)(2 + 0.1h/b) (2)
le (2 + O.15h/b) 2
98 Ben Kato

in which he is the distance b e t w e e n geometrical centers of flanges of

the equivalent section, and Ie is the m o m e n t of inertia of the
equivalent section.
In the calculation of the above equations, a linear m e t h o d was used, 1
and tw = 0.6tf was assumed as the typical p r o p o r t i o n of H-shaped sections.

}-b ~Lb 4

d c~> i he

1 '
Fig. 2. Equivalent section.

2.2 Moment-curvature relationship

Using the stress-strain relationship shown in Fig. 3, the m o m e n t - c u r v a -

ture relationships (M-~b relationships) of the equivalent two-flange section
are calculated as follows.

Case 1
If p > (s - 1)/2, the tension flange does not yield until the stress in the
compression flange reaches the critical stress, O'er, in which 19 = tro/O'y is the
axial stress ratio, (70 is the given axial stress, O-yis the stress, and s = o'er/try

o
J
jJ

~Cr ....
~st
0

I
o £st £

Fig. 3. Rigid-plastic-strain hardening model

 Rotation capacity of H-section members 99

7,,2;: '''°° I

tension (~< (~y

flange
Fig. 4. Stress in a section.

is the normalized critical stress (see Fig. 4). M-th relationships for this axial
stress level are:
(1) For 4) <- (~st, the compression flange is in the plastic flow region, and
the bending moment is
M = (1 - o)Mp (3)
in which 4) = e / h e is the curvature, ~st = est/he is the curvature at the
strain-hardening point, M is the bending m o m e n t , and Mp = Ahe try is the
full plastic moment.
(2) For 4~st< 4) -< ~cr, the compression flange is in the strain-hardening
region, and the bending m o m e n t is
M = (1 - p) M p + 2D (~b - ~bst) (4)
in which D = E~tle is the flexural stiffness in the strain-hardening region.
The upper limit of bending m o m e n t , Mcr, is
Mcr = (O'cr-O'o)Ahe = ( s - p ) M p (5)
By introducing Mcr of eqn (5) into M of eqn (4), the corresponding critical
curvature is

~cr _- (S - 1)Mp + thst (6)

2D
Case 2
If ( s - 1 ) / 2 - p > 0, the tension flange yields after the yielding of the
compression flange. Until the tension flange yields, the M-th rela-
tionships are exactly the same as Case 1, so the foregoing descriptions of
(1) and (2) are due except that the upper limit of the curvature for region
100 Ben Kato

(2) should be that at the yielding of the tension flange. T h e bending

m o m e n t at the yielding of the tension flange is given as M = (1 + p)Mp,
and introducing this value into M of eqn (4) and solving for 4}, the limiting
value of 4} is obtained as 4}st "~- pMp/D. So the equivalerrt expression for
region (2) is written as:
(2) For 4}st< 4} - 4}st + pMp/D, the bending m o m e n t is
M = (1 - p)Mp+2D(~b - ~bst) (4')

(3) For 4}st+ pMp/D< 4} -< 24}st + pMp/D, the tension flange is in the
plastic flow region, and the bending m o m e n t is
M = (1 + p)Mp (7)
(4) For 24}st + pMp/D< 4} < 4}¢. the tension flange is in the strain-
hardening region, and the bending m o m e n t is
M = Mp + D(~ - 2~bst) (8)
The u p p e r limit of the bending m o m e n t is the same as given by eqn (5),
and the critical curvature is obtained by introducing it into M of eqn (8),
and solving for 4} as

~ c r -- (S -- p -- 1)Mp + 2~bs t (9)

D
Case3
If p = 0, both compression and tension flanges yield simultaneously which
represents the situation of the beam.
(1) F o r 4} <-24}st , both flanges are in the plastic flow region, and the
bending m o m e n t is
M = Mp (10)
(2) For 24}st < 4} -< 4}cr, both flanges are in the strain-hardening region,
which is the same situation as that of (4) of Case 2. So the same M-4}
relationship as eqn (8) is due
M = Mp + D(~b - 2~bst) (8')
T h e u p p e r limit of the bending m o m e n t is
Mcr = sMp (11)
and the critical curvature is

~bcr = ( s - 1)Mp + 2~bst (12)

D
 Rotation capacity of H-section members 101

2.3 Rotation capacity

When a rigid frame is subjected to horizontal loadings such as seismic force

or wind pressure, the constituent beams and columns undergo double
curvature bending which can be simulated by an assembly of the configura-
tions of cantilever beams. Also the rotation capacity of cantilever beams
can be compared to those of centrally loaded beams which are often used
as test specimens. Taking this observation into consideration, rotation
capacities of cantilever beams and pure bending beams, for which a
number of test results are also available, with and without axial thrust as
shown in Fig. 5, are analyzed using the M-tk relationships obtained in the
preceding section. The rotation capacity can be defined either by using the
deflexion angle, ¢, or by using the slope, 0, as (see Fig. 5)

R,- Cpl Ro = 0pj (1')

Cy' 0y
2.3.1 Cantilever beams with and without axial thrust
Taking advantage of the simplicity of the final solutions, the effect of
additional bending due to axial thrust is ignored. The more exact solution
is given elsewhere. 2 Using the corresponding categorization made in
Section 2.2, rotation capacities are analyzed in the following.

Case 1: p > (s - 1)/2

Figure 6 shows the ultimate state of a cantilever beam, in which yielding
starts at point A and the critical moment is reached at point B. From the
. . r , -P

I t I I t I t
(o) (b)

M M

I l I
(c)

Fig. 5. Slope and deflexionof members. (a) Cantilever beam; (b) centrally loaded beam;
(c) pure bending beam.
102 Ben Kato

B
s-1 A / T
~ (1-PIMp (s-p)Mp
±
Lxl -
l t

Fig. 6. Moment and deformation for p > (s - 1)/2.

geometry, the length of plastic region is ~-l, (-r = (s = 1)/(s - p)). T h e n the
bending m o m e n t at x (0 - x --- l) is

(rl-x)
M(x) = (1 - p ) M p + ( s - 1)Mp - - ~

Introducing the M ( x ) into M of eqn (4), and solving for 4},

~b = y" = - ( s -1)MP2D~.Ix + [ ( s - ~1)Mp

bst]2D
+

O(x) = y"dx - ( s - 1)Mp ( s - 1)Mp

4D~l x2 + 2D t- ~bst x

Introducing x = ~-l into the above equation, the s l o p e at the e n d of the

plastic region A is obtained as

[ (s - 1) Mp ]
0m = 0(z/) = [ 4D + thst_ ~'l (13)

T h e slope of the cantilever b e a m w h e n the m o m e n t at fixed end B reaches

(1 - p ) M e is

(1 -p)Mpl (14)
0y= 2et

y = O(x)dx = (s - 1)M r, x3 + t- ~bst x 2

- 12Ozl -2-D
 Rotation capacity of H-section members 103

Introducing x = ~'l into the above equation, the deflexion at point A is

obtained as
6p= y(zl)= [(s-I)Mp t- 1 ]
6D ~ 6st (~./)2
Then the deflexion at the top of the cantilever beam is

8m = ~ p + ( l _ , r ) / 0 m = [(1--T/3)(S--1)MP40 + (1-- "/2) 4~st]~'12 (15)

The elastic deflexion of the cantilever beam when the moment at fixed end
B reaches (1 p)mp is-

(1 - p) Mpl 2 (16)
6y - 3El
According to the definition of eqn (1'), the rotation capacity in terms of 0 is
obtained from eqns (13) and (14), and that in terms of 0 is obtained from
eqns (15) and (16) as

Ro 0m (s-l) [__E__EI 2h est ] (17)

= 0---~= 2(1-p)(s-p)LEst ~ ' ( s - 1 ) + he era
~bm 6m
R~ . . . . .
(S - 1)
~by 6y 4(1 - p)(s - p)2

[ff~t~(2s-3p+l)(s-1)+3-~-~y(s-2p+l)] (18)

Case 2: (s - 1)/2 - p > 0

In this case, the yielded region is further subdivided in two. Namely,
yielding starts at point A in Fig. 7, and in region AB, compression flange
only is yielded, and the M-~b relationship is given by eqn (4'). In region
BC, both compression and tension flanges are yielded, and the M-~b
relationship is given by eqn (8). By calculation similar to that made in Case
1, R0 and R~, are obtained as follows:

I { E I h est )
Ra = (1 - p)(s - p) ~ "~c [(s - 2p - 1)2 + 2p2] + ~ ~ (s - 1) (19)

R,= 1 [E_~¢
2(1 - p ) ( s - p) 2 ~ [(s-2p-1)2(2s-p+a)+202(p+3)]
h est 2
+3~-~e--~'y ( s - 2 p s 1)} (20)
104 Ben Kato

(1- x - ~ ) ! -~x Ilt~l 1

l t
Fig. 7. Moment for (s - 1)/2 > p > 0.

Case 3: O = 0 (beam)
Ro and R , is obtained simply by introducing p = 0 into eqns (19) and (20)
respectively as

RO=s
l[~t I
L-e(s-1) 2 + ~
h est
ey
(s-l)] (21)

_, LEst __,
= ze le (s - 1)2(2s + 1) + 3 y (s 2 - 1)
] (22)

2.3.2 Pure bending beams with and without axial thrust

By calculations similar to those made in 2.3.1, Ro and R, are obtained as
follows.
For this loading condition, the curvature is constant throughout the
member length, and the rotation capacity is obtained readily as follows:

Case 1: p > (s - 1)/2

Using the critical curvature, 4~cr, of eqn (6), the rotation capacity is
obtained as

1 [ E I . h est ] (23)
no = R , - 2(1- p) " ~ t ~-~( s - 1) +h-~ -'~-y]

Case 2: (s - 1)/2 > p > 0

Using the critical curvature, 4¥r, of eqn (9), the rotation capacity is
obtained as

Ro=R,- 1-p ~L-~(s-p-1)+ eyj (24)

 Rotation capacity of H-section members 105

Case 3: p = 0
The rotation capacity is obtained by introducing p = 0 into eqn (24) as

E I h est
Ro = R ~ , - Est i¢ ( s - l ) + h'-~ e--y- (25)

3 B U C K L I N G S T R E N G T H OF H - S H A P E D S T U B - C O L U M N S

In the preceding section, the rotation capacities of H-shaped steel mem-

bers were expressed in explicit form as functions of the normalized critical
stress, s = trcr/try. The local buckling strength of an H-section m e m b e r is
determined by the stiffnesses of flanges and web, since flange is restrained
by web and so vice versa web is restrained by flanges. Therefore the local
buckling strength of H-section members could be determined using the
slenderness parameters of flange, af = E/fcry(tf/b) 2, and that of web,
aw = E/wtry(tw/d) 2, in which fO'y is the yield stress of flange and wtr. is the
yield stress of web. Using a total of 68 test data on stub-columns, ~3-6 the
following linear regression formula was obtained with the multiple cor-
relation coefficient of 0-91

1 1-600 0-1535
- = 0.6003 + +~ (26)
S ~f Otw

1.1 o SS41 o /
• SMSO o/
1.0 a SS41&SMSO o ~

0.9
• ..o ;Oo
0.~

0.7
8~.~-o
0.6

0.5
0.5 0.6
i
0.7
i I
0.8
i
0.9
1
1.0
I
1.1 1/S~

F i g . 8. C o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n Sst a n d Sex.
106 Ben Kato

Figure 8 shows the correlation between Sex (experimental) and sst which is
predicted by eqn (26).

4 ROTATION CAPACITY AS D E T E R M I N E D BY WIDTH-TO-

THICKNESS RATIOS

It can be reasonably assumed that the normalized critical stress, s, which

appears in equations giving the rotation capacity, R, in Section 2 may be
represented by the s of eqn (26), which is the buckling stress obtained from
the stub-column tests. It should be noted that webs in beams and beam-
columns have a stress gradient while those of stub-columns are uniformly
compressed. This difference is taken into account by introducing an
effective width, de, as

de= 1 + ~-~'wp d (27)

And a~ = E/wtry(tw/de) 2 is used in eqn (26) instead of aw = E/wtry(tw[d) 2.

Then the rotation capacities of members with their own width-to-thickness
ratio could be predicted by introducing s of eqn (26) into the relevant ones
of eqns (17) through (25) depending on their loading conditions.
Table 1 compares available test results on beams and beam-columns 7-13
with the predictions thus obtained. In the table, Rex stands for the
experimental rotation capacity and Rpre stands for the predicted rotation
capacity. All tests were carried out by the loading type of Fig. 5(b) and test
results were evaluated by removing the effect of additional bending
moment due to axial force. The ratios (E/Est) in the prediction equations
were estimated as 70 for grade SM41 steel (Fy = 235 MPa) and 97 for
grade SM50 steel (Fy = 323 MPa), and est/ey = 10 for both grades of steel
based on the stub-column tests, in which Fy means the specified minimum
yield stress. The correlation between test results and predictions seems to
be fairly good.

5 WIDTH-TO-THICKNESS LIMITATIONS

In design specifications, width-to-thickness limitations of flange and web

are prescribed indepently according to the ductility demand for structures.
According to the present study, the rotation capacities can be assessed by
the interaction formulae of b/tf and d/tw.
Taking the case of beams with moment gradient as an example, the
width-to-thickness limitation is expressed as follows.
 om
i=i°

H oq J ~
~o
II o
c~ q~

o°
I
~1~ ~l ~
+
~ ~1 ~ tn°

I +
°°
I

I I c~
I I I i

t~

c~

÷
108 Ben Kato

Equating this l/s, to l/s of eqn (26),

0 +
0
t,
e

= 1 (28)
1
,.~f~y(&203) - - O-6003
0.1535,u,
E; s, )

in which d, = f(1 - AlA,p)d.

Equation (28) gives the necessary b/t, and d/t, limitation according to
the specified ductility requirement, Ro. It is obvious that all other limita-
tion formulae for different loading conditions are elliptic.
If Re = 4,2 and 0 are assigned to the corresponding ductility class I, II
and III of the Japanese Specification, respectively, and if E/E,, = 70
EJE,, = 10 are assumed for grade SM41 steel as before, eqn (28) is
reduced as follows.
For ductility class I (R. = 4),

(3’ (z)’
(la)2+(lm)~=1 (29)

For ductility class II (R. = 2),

(30)

For ductility class III (Re = 0),

(3’ (a)’ (31)

(z9)‘+(14B)‘=1
In above formulae, fuY = ,,,a,, = Fin MPa, A/A, = 2-5 and hlb = 4 were
assumed.
 Rotation capacity of H-section members 109

6 CONCLUSION

Rotation capacities of H-shaped beams and beam-columns were evaluated

asfunctionsofthenormalizedorcriticalstress,s = o-cr/O'y,usingasimplified
structural model. The relationship between the normalized critical stress
and width-to-thickness ratios of flanges and web were evaluated statistical-
ly using test data on stub-columns, the maximum stress of which was
governed by local buckling of flanges and webs. Introducing this normal-
ized critical stress into the equations of rotation capacity, the interaction
formulae between the width-to-thickness ratios of flanges and web were
obtained depending on the rotation capacity requirements.

REFERENCES

1. Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members. AISI,

1968.
2. Kato, B., Inelastic Behavior of Steel Beam-Columns. Uno-Shoten, 1968.
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of Kanto-Branch Meeting, AIJ, March 1973 (in Japanese).
4. Imoto, K., Inelastic buckling of high tensile strength steel plate elements.
Nagoya University, 1967 (in Japanese).
5. Saito, R., Deformation capacity of H-section columns subject to bi-axial
bending. Master's Thesis, University of Tokyo, 1975 (in Japanese).
6. Honma, K., Local buckling of H-section members. University of Tokyo, 1974
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determined by local buckling. Proc. of Kanto-Branch Meeting, AIJ, July
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10. Suzuki, T., et al., Deformation capacity of H-section columns as determined
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11. Smith, R. J. & Adams, P. F., Experiments on wide-flange beams under
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moment gradient. Behavior of High Strength Steel Members, Report No. 1,
Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada, May
1967.
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