European Journal of Scientific Research ISSN 1450-216X Vol.52 No.4 (2011), pp.470-475 EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2011 http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.

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A New Demountable Built-up Steel Structural System: Optimization of Cross Sectional Properties
Oussama M. Baalbaki Beirut Arab University, Faculty of Engineering, Beirut-Lebanon-P.O.Box 11-5020 E-mail: ousabaki@hotmail.com

Abstract The paper presents a new demountable steel structural system with optimal cross sectional properties. The compromise between the highest inertia and the minimum cross sectional area and/or weight of a structural element constitutes a challenging target for the structural engineer. However, little research has been conducted to explore this general problem. The new system consists of (L) angles, square stiffeners and plates. These elements are assembled to form a unit box consisting of four (L) angles surrounding the stiffeners and riveted together using plates, bolts and nuts. No welding is used to allow the system to be demounted and reconstructed in a different form. The cross section might be built up based on different connected unit boxes. An experimental investigation was conducted to study the flexural behavior of built-up beams with a variable numbers of stiffeners. It was found that the number of stiffeners and their distribution affect the flexural load capacity of the beam. Thus, the optimum weight is defined by the minimum number of stiffeners that ensure the maximum load capacity of the beam. This study focused on the economical aspect of the proposed system. The demountable system provides a fast erection of structures such as portable or temporary houses. This system is beneficial for reducing construction and labor effort and saving time cost due its simplicity and ease of construction.

Keywords: Built-up Section, Flexural Behaviour, Structural Steel, Stiffeners.

1. Introduction
One of the great advantages of structural steel is the immense flexibility that the material provides in forming cross-sections. Steel structures enable innovations in construction and offer an array of irregular shaped structures such as domes and three dimensional trusses. On the other hand, it requires special expertise, welding techniques and connections details. It also provides greater protection during earthquakes. The cross section of a steel member is built-up based on structural design requirements and the desired shape and inertia, Al-Ghamdi S.A. (1999) & (2003). The proposed system consists of assembling four (L) angles riveted together with a stiffener and external plates which are the only elements used in the system with the angles, to form a unit box section, Trahair (2002 & 2004). This system is recognized by its simplicity as well as its performance. No welding is used which make the structural members of this system demountable and re-usable, k. C. Samra & H. Adeli, 2002. These are the main advantages of the system which make it distinguished over the conventional structural steel system which deals with a variety of structural cross sectional shapes and requires special expertise.

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2. Description of the System

The cross section of a structural member is built up by assembling the four (L) angles around the stiffener to form a unit box. External steel plates, bolts and nuts are used to gather the assembly and are tightened firmly to form a unified section without need of welding (Fig. 1). The cross section can be enlarged by combining many boxes in horizontal and vertical directions in order to increase the inertia of the section. A built-up section can be made by combining multiple boxes arranged in different manners to accommodate the architectural requirements (Fig 2). Rectangular boxes can be erected by increasing the distance between the uppers and lowers angles and providing side plates to compensate the gap. Variable scales of (L) angles can be used to fit with the required section properties. Therefore, the size and dimensions of stiffeners and bolts to be used have to correspond to the steel angles dimensions. Structural members such as beams and columns made of these boxes can be connected to form the skeleton of structures ranging from small to mega scale steel constructions (Fig. 3).
Figure 1: Elements of the system
Nut L angle Bolt Plate

Hollow box

Stiffener

Figure 2: Different Configuration shapes

Figure 3: Beams & Columns Connections

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3. Experimental Program
In this paper, A series of flexural experiments were performed on beams made of one box element. Different number of stiffeners was used to investigate their influence on the flexural behavior of beams and to find out the optimal strength to weight ratio. A series of nine beams were assembled and tested under flexure (two points load) as shown in (Fig. 4). Steel (L) 20x20 mm angles of (cross sectional area and 267 MPa of ultimate tensile strength) were used for the preparation of the beams in addition to 8 mm bolts, square stiffeners and external cover plates of 2 mm thickness. The only variable is the number of stiffeners. Different sets of beams of constant total number of stiffeners ranging from four to ten stiffeners were prepared (Table 1). The stiffeners were distributed in the bending zone (between the two concentrated loads), in the shear zone from both sides and at both ends. The behaviors (Loaddeflection curves) of the tested beams (Fig. 5) were monitored online through a system of transducers, data acquisition unit and computer software.
Figure 4: Dimensions and Test set up

Two points Load L angles 230 mm End stiffeners

Support Bending stiffeners 1110 mm Shear stiffeners

Figure 5: Beams under testing

A New Demountable Built-up Steel Structural System: Optimization of Cross Sectional Properties
Table 1: Experimental Test Program
End Stiffeners No. 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

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Beam # Identification Moment Stiffeners No. Shear Stiffeners No. 1 DS 10-6B-1S 6 1x2 2 DS 10-4B-2S 4 2x2 3 DS 10-2B-3S 2 3x2 4 DS 8-6B-0S 6 0 5 DS 8-4B-1S 4 1x2 6 DS 8-2B-2S 2 2x2 7 DS 6-4B-0S 4 0 8 DS 6-2B-1S 2 1x2 9 DS 4-2B-0S 2 0 DS (Demountable System), B (Bending Stiffeners), S (Shear Stiffeners)

Total No. 10 10 10 8 8 8 6 6 4

4. Test Results and Discussions

Since no welding is allowed in the proposed system, the role of stiffeners is to bind the structural steel angles and to provide stiffness to the member. To improve the flexural capacity of the composite member, the assembly should behave as one entity. The effect of stiffeners was investigated experimentally. 4.1. Influence of Bending Stiffeners Two sets of built up beams of constant number of stiffeners (eight and ten) were tested under flexural loading. The stiffeners were distributed in a manner that an increase of the stiffeners number in the bending zone is accompanied by a decrease in the number of stiffeners in the shear zone at both sides, so that the total number of stiffeners is kept constant. It was found that the number of bending stiffeners play an important role in improving the flexural resistance of the built-up beams (Fig. 5) even though the number of shear stiffeners decreases. 4.2. Influence of Shear Stiffeners To examine the role of shear stiffeners, a comparison was performed based on a constant number of bending stiffeners and increasing number of shear stiffeners. Figure 5 show the test results obtained on two sets of equal bending stiffeners and variable shear stiffeners numbers. As a result, the flexural resistance increases as the shear stiffeners number increases (Fig. 6). 4.3. Influence of Height The main objective of the proposed system is to control the cross sectional moment of inertia and to achieve the optimum stiffness/weight ratio, G. Guerlement and al (2001), Grierson (1991). The same configuration of four (L) angles was used. Side plates of 2 mm thickness can be used to fill the space between upper and lower angles. The depth of the beam was increased by increasing the height of the stiffeners. Flexural tests were conducted on beams of double height with respect to regular beams (Table 2). A comparison was performed between rectangular and ordinary square cross sectional beams. A large improvement of stiffness and flexural resistance was obtained due to the increase of inertia without increasing relatively the weight (Fig. 7).

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Figure 5: Influence of Bending Stiffeners on Load Deflection Curves

Figure 6: Influence of Shear Stiffeners on Load Deflection Curves

Table 2:
Beam # 10 11

Double height beams

Identification DS DH 4-2B-0S DS DH 6-4B-0S Moment Stiffeners No. 2 4 Shear Stiffeners No. 0 0 End Stiffeners No. 2 2 Total No. 4 4

Figure 7: Influence of Height on the Flexural Behavior

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5. Conclusions
The paper presents a demountable hollow box sections with inserts riveted together to form a combined member used as the basis for the production of skeletal structures ranging from a small shelter to industrial compounds. The results shed some light on key features that are important for an optimal and successful built-up cross-section. Generally, the stiffness of the member is proportional to the total number of stiffeners. Although both shear and bending stiffeners have a positive influence on the flexural behavior of built-up composite members, the role of bending stiffeners is determinant to make the cross section of the assembly acting as one unit. Therefore, an optimum number of bending and shear stiffeners need to be used in order to attain the highest performance. Using the proposed system, a relatively small increase of the cross sectional area and/or weight of the structural member leads to a large increase in the cross sectional inertia in comparison to conventional structural steel where the weight cannot be controlled and optimized. This achievement is due to the optimal use of stiffeners which provide the minimum weight to stiffness ratio.

References
[1] Al-Ghamdi S.A, El-Baghdadi MH. 1999, Design Optimization of Non-Uniform Stiffened Steel Beams-LRFD vs ASD, Proceedings of the Fourth ICSAS International Conference on Steel and Aluminum Structures, Finland, pp. 385-97. Al-Ghamdi S.A. 2003, Design Optimization of Non-uniform Stiffened Steel Plate Girders: A Computer Code, Advances in Engineering Software, Volume 34, Issue 6, pp. 357-386. Grierson DE.1991. Optimal Design of Structural Steel Frameworks, Comput Syst Eng 2(4), pp. 409-20. G. Guerlement, R. Targowski, W. Gutkowski 2001,Discrete Minimum weight Design of Steel Structures Using EC3 Code, Structural and Multi Disciplinary Optimization Journal, Vol. 22, NO. 4, pp. 322-327. Kamal C. Samra, Hojjat Adeli, 2002, Life Cycle Cost Optimization of Steel Structures, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, Vol. 25, No. 12, pp. 1451-1462. Trahair, NS 2002, Moment Capacities of Steel Angle Sections, Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, 128 (11), pp. 1387 - 93. Trahair, NS 2004, Biaxial Bending of Steel Angle Section Beams, Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, 130 (4), pp. 554 - 61.

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