Connection rules in cellular beams

A. DETAILED RULES FOR CONNECTION DESIGN IN

CELLULAR BEAMS
Currently, software for the design of cellular beams does not consider the connection details
and their effect on forces in the end web-post. This is because it is normally the responsibility
of the fabricator to design the connections (which are unknown when the beam is designed).
It is good practice to ensure that the end web-post is at least half of the width of the internal
web-post, but this may not be sufficient in all cases, depending on the form of the connection.
Two alternative forms of connections are illustrated in Figure 1:
a.

Beam to beam connections using a bolted cleat (or a welded fin plate).

b.

Beam to column connections using a welded end plate.

In the first case, the flange is notched, which has the effect of:

Increasing the instability of the web in compression.

Reducing the longitudinal shear transfer into the beam.

Reducing the Vierendeel bending resistance of the top Tee.

In the second case, the welded end plate has the effect of:

Maintaining the Vierendeel bending resistance around the opening.

Increasing the horizontal shear resistance of the end web-post.

Developing a nominal moment which reduces the compression force in the top Tee.

Clearly, the difference between the behaviour of the end web-post in the two cases can be
considerable and the end plate provides a more efficient connection. In Figure 1(a), the
critical design checks are:

The compression force in the web at the point where the flange is notched.

The horizontal shear stress in the web-post.

For primary cellular beams, incoming secondary beams cause additional stresses in the web,
depending on the form of the connections. The design cases, as illustrated in Figure 2, are:
a.

Beam to beam connection using a notched secondary beam welded end plate.

b.

Beam to beam connection using a welded fin plate.

The critical design condition for the primary beam is web-post buckling when the narrow
web-post is subject to local forces from the connection and combined with the transfer of
local forces due to the openings.

P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

Connection rules in cellular beams

dn

d
V

xb

T C

Vhe

0.5 d
Vh

0.5 do

d eff

Se

So

(a) Cleated connection

C

Ds

T C

V he

= 45

Vh

0.5 d o

d eff

Se

(b) End plate connection

Figure 1

Forces in end web-post for two connection types

P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

Connection rules in cellular beams

(a)

Cleated Connection with a Notched Beam

For a notched beam, it may be assumed that insufficient composite action is developed at the
centre of the first cell and so equilibrium of the first cell in Figure 1(a) leads to the following
tensile force in the bottom Tee as given by:
T

= (0.5 do + se xb) V/deff

and

Vhe

=T

where do
se
xb
deff
V
T

= opening diameter
= end web-post width
= distance of line of bolts from the end of the beam
= effective beam depth between centre of tees
= applied shear force
= tension force in bottom Tee at first cell

At the line of bolts, the horizontal shear stress in the end post is:
H

V he

(se ) t

0. 6 p y

where:

= bolt diameter
t

= web thickness

The compressive stress acting in the notched web may be established by considering
moment equilibrium about the centre-line of the opening. It is assumed that the shear force V
is distributed equally between the Tees, and the equilibrium is satisfied by:
0.5V (0.5 do + se xb) = t do 0.5( do + d)
where d is the length of the notched web at angle
and

d =
d
dn
c

0. 5 h d n
cos

0. 5 d o

is the beam depth

is the depth of the notch
is the length of the notch

The critical angle is at the end of the notch and is given by:
tan

d o + 2( se c )
d eff

The compressive stress, , acting on the web of the end-post is established from equilibrium
of the notched web as:
=

( h d o )t

2 (d o + 2 (se x b

(d 2 d n )2

) )( h d o ) cos 2
d 0 2 cos 2

= v Factor
P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

Connection rules in cellular beams

where v is the vertical shear stress acting on the perforated section

and

Factor represents the local stress increase due to the notch.

The maximum value of is dependent on buckling of the web that is partially restrained by
the connection of the beam to the slab. As an approximation, consider an effective length of
the notched web as equal to the length of the notch, c. It follows that the slenderness of the
web is:
e

= 3.46 c/t

The compressive strength of the end post, c is determined using 8e from buckling curve c of
EC3-1-1 or BS 5950-1, and it follows that for an acceptable design, e. Instability may be
ignored when c 8t and in this case, = py.
Cleated or fin-plate connections may be problematical when c 0.7 se or when se < 0.5 so.
Example : Cleated connection to a notched beam
V = 300 kN for a typical 15 m span secondary beam at 3 m spacing.
d
= 660 mm
se = 120 mm
t
= 10 mm
S 355 steel
T = V h,e =

deff = 600 mm
c = 150 mm
xb = 50 mm

( 0. 5 450 + 150 50 )

do = 450 mm
dn = 30 mm
= 22 mm

V = 0. 54 V

600

0. 54 1000 V

(150 22 ) 10

= 0. 42 V

For V = 300 kN, H = 126 N/mm2 < 0.6 py = 213 N/mm2

Unity Factor in horizontal shear = 0.59
tan

450 + 2 (120 150 )

= 0.65 = 33o

600

Factor =

2 ( 450 + 2 (120 50 ) )( 660 450 ) 0. 84 2

( 660 2 30 ) 2

450 2 0. 84 2

Factor = 0.8

v =

300 10 3
10 ( 660 450 )

= 143 N/mm2

= 0.8 143
= 114 N/mm2
= 3.46 150/10
= 52
2
pa
= 270 N/mm for buckling curve C of BS 5950-1
Unity factor in web buckling = 114/270 = 0.42.
P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

Connection rules in cellular beams

(b)

Welded End Plate Connection

A welded end plate permits rapid development of composite action in the slab so that
equilibrium of the first cell in Figure 1(b) is given by:
T

= [V (0.5 do + se ) )C (Ds + yt)]/deff

where: C
Ds
yt
and
Vhe

is the compression force developed in the slab over (0.5 do + xe)

is the depth of the slab
is the depth of the elastic centroid of the top tee below the top flange
= T

Allowing a nominal increase in the shear resistance of the end-post due to the thickness of the
end plate, the horizontal shear stress is:

where

te

V he

(se

+ te

)t

0. 6 p y

is the thickness of the end plate

The compressive stress, , acting on the web may be considered to be part of the Vierendeel
bending check at the first cell. Conservatively, the previous analysis for a notched beam may
be repeated by setting dn = 0. No buckling check is required because of the stabilising effect
of the end plate and adjacent flange, in which case py.
In general, end plate connections may be shown to be acceptable when se 0.5 so, and no
further checks on the end web-post are required.
(c)

Secondary Beam-Primary Beam Connections at Web-Post

Connections of incoming secondary beams also affect the design of the web-post of the
supporting primary beam. Two cases are illustrated in Figure 2. They may be treated in a
similar manner by defining the position of centre of the connection below the top flange. For
end plate connections in Figure 2(a), the horizontal distance between the bolts may be
included (default of 90 mm).
The dispersion angle of the compression force, Pc, from the centre of the connection is taken
as 45o. The effective width of the web-post in compression is then dependent on the
projection to the centre-line of the web, as follows:
bwp
bwp

= so
= 2 (d/2 y conn)

for non-infilled openings

for infilled openings

or
where:
d
so
y conn

= web depth
= width of web-post
= centre of connection below top flange

The compressive stress in the web-post due to the force Pa is:

P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

Connection rules in cellular beams

= Pc/(bwpt)

The slenderness of the web for web buckling under a concentrated load is defined as
0.7 depth of web below the centre of the connection, as follows:
c

= 2.5 dwp/t

where:
dwp

= d y com

The thickness of the web is taken as the average of the top and bottom Tees unless the
connection extends below the centre-centre line of the opening in which case the web
thickness of the bottom Tee may be used.

P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

Connection rules in cellular beams

End plate

y conn

Pc
45

60 mm min.
Dispersion
do
Vh

d wp

so
b wp

(a) Welded end plate

Fin plate

y conn

Pc
45

do
Vh
so

d wp

b wp

(b) Welded fin plate

Figure 2

Connection of secondary beams to web-post

The compressive strength of the web-post, c, for this slenderness is defined using buckling
curve c of BS 5950-1 or EC3-1-1. The combined effect of compression and web-post
buckling due to shear is included by reducing the Unity Factor for web-post buckling
according to:
UFweb-post + p/c 1.0

P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

Connection rules in cellular beams

This maximum Unity Factor is then used to check against the results of Cellbeam 5 for
web-post buckling. The horizontal shear resistance is largely unaffected by combined shear
and compression.
If this check is not satisfied, the compressive strength of the web-post may be increased
locally by one of the following measures:

Half or full infills adjacent to the connection.

Ring stiffener in the adjacent openings.

Vertical stiffener extending at least d/2 from the top flange.

Deeper end plate extending at least d/2 from the top flange.

Generally, one of these measures will be required and, for scheme design, it is suggested that
UFweb-post 0.7 for design at the secondary beam connections.

P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

10

Connection rules in cellular beams

B. SIMPLIFIED RULES FOR CONNECTION DESIGN

IN CELLULAR BEAMS
Maximum available factored loads for limiting conditions
Notes:
1. The tables below have been developed from a parametric assessment of the SCI design proposals for notched connections
2. It is assumed that the opening is of maximum diameter for the given beam depth
3. It is assumed that the internal spacing of the openings is limited to the minimum permissable
4. The web has been assumed to be a nominal thickness of 12.5mm (This should represent a conservative value)
5. The elastic neutral axis has been assumed to be 2/3 depth of the flange (This should represent a conservative estimate)
6. The limiting scenario is assumed when notch depth and length are maximum for an end post length of S0/2
7. Table 1 represents the Westok proposals, Table 2 represents proposals for stricter limits on notch dimensions
Table 1 - For S0/2, 2c or 3dn
S275
Depth
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500

Opening
160
240
320
400
480
560
640
720
800
880
960
1040
1120
1200

S0
230
345
460
575
690
805
920
1035
1150
1265
1380
1495
1610
1725

S355

Max Load
Max Load
Shear UF Buckling UF
Shear UF Buckling UF
(kN)
(kN)
180
0.99
0.77
230
0.98
0.75
270
0.94
0.99
345
0.92
0.99
0.98
395
0.77
0.99
305
0.78
0.99
440
0.68
0.99
345
0.69
485
0.61
0.99
380
0.63
0.99
0.99
520
0.56
0.99
410
0.58
545
0.51
0.99
435
0.53
0.99
0.99
565
0.47
0.99
455
0.49
465
0.45
0.99
570
0.42
0.99
0.99
575
0.39
0.99
475
0.42
0.99
570
0.36
0.99
475
0.38
0.99
555
0.32
0.99
475
0.35
470
0.32
0.99
545
0.29
0.99
0.99
525
0.26
0.99
460
0.29

Table 2 - For S0/2, 3c or 4dn

S275
Depth
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500

Opening
160
240
320
400
480
560
640
720
800
880
960
1040
1120
1200

S0
230
345
460
575
690
805
920
1035
1150
1265
1380
1495
1610
1725

S355

Max Load
Max Load
Shear UF Buckling UF
Shear UF Buckling UF
(kN)
(kN)
180
0.99
0.43
230
0.98
0.43
285
0.99
0.58
370
0.99
0.57
0.66
505
0.99
0.66
390
0.99
495
0.99
0.73
645
0.99
0.74
0.78
780
0.99
0.79
600
0.99
0.84
920
0.99
0.85
705
0.99
810
0.99
0.88
1060
0.99
0.9
920
0.99
0.93
1190
0.99
0.94
1020
0.99
0.97
1325
0.99
0.99
1100
0.97
0.99
1390
0.94
0.99
1150
0.92
0.99
1435
0.89
0.99
1190
0.88
0.99
1485
0.84
0.99
1220
0.84
0.99
1515
0.8
0.99
1245
0.8
0.99
1535
0.75
0.99

P:\CMP\CMP703\21715^Connection rules in cellular beams.doc

11