ABeginner'sGuidetotheSteelConstructionManual,13thed.

(old)

Chapter8BendingMembers
2006,2007,2008T.BartlettQuimby

Introduction

Section8.4.2
Flexure
FlexuralLimit
StateBehavior
Determining
ApplicableLimit
States
FlexuralYielding
LimitState
LateralTorsional
BucklingLimit
State
FlangeLocal
BucklingLimit
State

Shear
ShearBehavior
ShearStrength
LimitState

Deflection
Deflection
Behavior
DeflectionLimit
State

Misc.LimitStates
WebLocal
Yielding
WebCrippling

BeamDesign

DeflectionLimitState
LastRevised:11/04/2014

Intheabsenceofmorespecificcriteria,criteriaforstructureswith
brittlefinishes(asfoundincodedocumentsforyears)isfrequently
used.Thissimplisticcriteriaputsalimitofthespandividedby360on
theincrementaldeflectionduetolive(ortransient)loadonlyanda
limitofthespandividedby240ondeflectionundertotalload.These
limitstatesaremathematicexpressedas:
LL<L/360
TL<L/240
Theselimitswereoriginallydevelopedformemberswith"brittle"
finishes,suchasplaster.Plasterisnotcommonlyusedasafinishing
materialanymore.Thegoalofthelimitswastominimizethe
possibilityofdamagetothefinishandprovidereasonablecomfortfor
thebuildingoccupants.Thecriteriahaspersistedinpractice.
Othercriteriahasbeenusedthatmoreexplicitlyaddressestheuseof
thebeamunderconsideration.Forexample,theTimberConstruction
Manual[ref.12],page66suggeststhevaluesgiveninTable8.4.2.1
and8.4.2.2.Otherreferencesgivedifferent,butsimilar,criteria.
Table8.4.2.1
AITCRecommendedDeflectionLimits
UsedwithPermission

AppliedLoad
Only

AppliedLoad+
DeadLoad

RoofBeams

Industrial

L/180

L/120

Withoutplasterceiling

L/240

L/180

Withplasterceiling

L/360

L/240

UseClassification

Commercialandinstitutional

SelectingSections
CoverPlates
Transverse
Stiffenersfor
Shear
BearingPlates
Transverse
Stiffenersfor
Concentrated
Loads
Continuous
Beams

FloorBeams

L/360

L/240

Highwaybridgestringers

L/200toL/300

Railwaybridgestringers

L/300toL/400

Ordinaryusagea

aOrdinaryusageclassificationforfloorsisintendedforconstructioninwhichwalking
comfortandminimizedplastercrackingarethemainconsiderations.These
recommendeddeflectionlimitsmaynoteliminateallobjectionstovibrationssuchas
inlongspansapproachingthemaximumlimitsorforsomeofficeandinstitutional
applicationswhereincreasedfloorstiffnessisdesired.Fortheseusages,the
deflectionslimitsoftable8.4.2.2havebeenfoundtoprovideadditionalstiffness.

Table8.4.2.2
AITCDeflectionLimitsforUsesWhere
IncreasedFloorStiffnessisDesired

ChapterSummary

ExampleProblems
Homework
Problems
References

ReportErrorsor
MakeSuggestions
PurchaseHardCopy
MakeDonation

UsedwithPermission

UseClassification

AppliedLoad
Only

AppliedLoad+
DeadLoada

FloorBeams
Commercial,Office&Institutional
FloorJoists,spansto26ftb
LL<60psf

L/480

L/360

60psf<LL<80psf

L/480

L/360

LL>80psf

L/420

L/300

LL<60psf

L/480

L/360

60psf<LL<80psf

L/420

L/300

LL>80psf

L/360

L/240

Girders,spansto36ftb

aTheAITCincludesamodifieronDLdependingonwhetherornotthetimberis
seasoned.
bForgirderspansgreaterthan36ftandjoistspansgreaterthan26ft,specialdesign
considerationsmayberequiredsuchasmorerestrictivedeflectionlimitsand
vibrationconsiderationsthatincludethetotalmassofthefloor.

Thespanlength,L,inthelimitequationsaboveistakenasthe
distancebetweencenterofsupports.Forcantileverbeams,avalue
equaltotwicetheactualcantileverlengthisgenerallyusedfortheLin
determiningthedeflectionlimits.
Ponding
Inroofsystemsthatare
essentiallyflat,provisions
mustbemadetosupport

Figure8.4.2.1
FrozenScupper

pondingwater.Pondingis
aprogressiveevent.The
morewaterontheroof,
themoredeflectionyou
get,whichmeansthat
evenmorewatercanbe
retained,whichleadsto
moredeflection,etc...If
thebeamisstiffenough,
thenpondingcanbe
minimized.
Thebestsolutiontothe
pondingproblemis
architectural.Itisstrongly
recommendedthat
sufficientslopebegivento
roofsystems(aminimum
of1/4"perfoot)toprevent
ponding.Appropriate
drainagemustalsobe
provided.
Roofsincoldregionsthatusescupperstodrainarooflocatedbehind
aparapetmaybecomepluggedwithice,resultinginunintentional
ponding,leadingtodisastrousresults.Figure8.4.2.1showssucha
frozenscupper.Scuppersmustalsobemadelargeenoughtoallow
watertoescapeduringadelugeandtominimizeblockagebydebris.
TolerancesofAttachedElementsorNonStructuralElements
Below
Oftentimes,nonstructuralelementshavespecificdeflection
tolerancesthataremorerestrictivethanthegeneralcriteriagiven
above.Thesetolerancesgenerallyareexpressedintermsasa
maximumdeflectionvalueandmustbeconsideredindesign.
Forexample,afloorgirderspanning36ftmaydeflectupto1.2inches
underaliveloadonlydeflectionlimitofL/360.Anynonstructural
partitionunderthebeammustbeabletoaccommodatethis
deflection.However,ifitcannot,thentheamountofliveload
deflectionthatcanbeaccommodatedbecomesthenewdeflection
criteriaforthisbeam.
Vibrations
Certainvibrationshavebeenfoundtobeobjectionableinmost
occupancyclassifications.Vibrationsareoftenlumpedtogetherwith
deflectionsincebotharestiffnessrelated.Vibrationsareafunctionof

stiffnessandmass.Thefrequencyofthevibrationsisofmoreconcern
thantheamplitude.Thetreatmentofvibrationsisbeyondthecurrent
scopeofthistext.
SelectionofCriteria
Thechoiceofdeflectioncriteriaisaprojectdependent.Othercriteria
maybeencounteredthathavebeendevelopedforspecialstructures
and/orsituations.Thesemaybeconsideredasneeded.
Fortheproblemsinthistext,theequationslistedatthestartofthis
sectionwillbeusedunlessotherwisespecified.
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