Defections Of Castellated Beams Subjected To Uniformly Distributed Transverse Loading

As a new steel structural member, castellated beams are widely used in many countries because of their rational section shape and economy. However, the research of the castellated members is not enough and there is no provision on castellated member in Chinese norm of construction. It makes the promotion of the member difficult.This paper presents an analytical solution for determining the deflection of castellated/cellular beams with hexagonal/circular web openings, subjected to a uniformly distributed transverse load. The solution is derived using the principle of minimum potential energy. To validate the derived analytical solution, three-dimensional linear finite element analysis is performed using four-node shell elements built-in ANSYS software. Good agreement between the finite element result and the present analytical solution is demonstrated.Based on the above, one can draw a conclusion that the analytical solution, which is derived using the principle of minimum potential energy, has been verified its accuracy through the finite element software, and it’s more sensitive with shear rigidity obtained from the finite element analysis. What’s more, the web opening of cellular beams is equivalent to castellated beams according to area and moment of inertia. Then, using the deflection formula of castellated beam, its accuracy can be guaranteed. In addition, with the cellular/castellated beam element, diameter-depth Ratio for 1.5 is superior to 1.6, and Diameter-depth Ratio for 1.6 is superior to 1.2. This article proposes the use of diameter-depth Ratio for 1.5.