Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.

Santha Kumar

5.3 Local buckling

Local buckling is an extremely important facet of cold formed steel

sections on account of the fact that the very thin elements used will invariably

buckle before yielding. Thinner the plate, the lower will be the load at which the

buckles will form.

5.3.1 Elastic buckling of thin plates

It has been shown in the chapter on “Introduction to Plate Buckling” that a

flat plate simply supported on all edges and loaded in compression (as shown in

Fig. 5.3(a)) will buckle at an elastic critical stress given by

2
Kπ2 E ⎛t⎞
pcr = ⎜ ⎟ (5.1)
(
12 1 − v 2 ) ⎝b⎠

5.3 (a) Axially compressed plate simply supported on all edges

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

5.3 (b) Axially compressed plate with one edge supported and the other
edge free to move

Substituting the values for π, v = 0.3 and E = 205 kN/mm2, we obtain the value
2
⎛t⎞ (5.1a)
of pcr as pcr ≈ 185 x103 x K ⎜ ⎟ with units of N/ mm2
⎝b⎠

Fig.5.4 The technique of stiffening the element

The value of K is dependent on support conditions. When all the edges

are simply supported K has a value of 4.0.

When one of the edges is free to move and the opposite edge is

supported, (as shown in Fig. 5.3b), the plate buckles at a significantly lower load,

as K reduces dramatically to 0.425. This shows that plates with free edges do not

perform well under local buckling. To counter this difficulty when using cold

formed sections, the free edges are provided with a lip so that they will be

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

constrained to remain straight and will not be free to move. This concept of

stiffening the elements is illustrated in Fig. 5.4.

5.3.2 Post - critical behaviour

Fig. 5.5 Local buckling effects

Let us consider the channel subjected to a uniform bending by the

application of moments at the ends. The thin plate at the top is under flexural

compression and will buckle as shown in Fig. 5.5 (a). This type of buckling is

characterised by ripples along the length of the element. The top plate is

supported along the edges and its central portion, which is far from the supports,

will deflect and shed the load to the stiffer edges. The regions near the edges are

prevented from deflecting to the same extent. The stresses are non uniform

across the section as shown in Fig.5.5 (b). It is obvious that the applied moment

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

is largely resisted by regions near the edges (i.e. elements which carry increased

stresses) while the regions near the centre are only lightly stressed and so are

less effective in resisting the applied moment.

From a theoretical stand point, flat plates would buckle instantaneously at

the elastic critical load. Under incremental loading, plate elements which are not

perfectly flat will begin to deform out of plane from the beginning rather than

instantaneously at the onset of buckling and fail at a lower load. This means that

a non-uniform state of stress exists throughout the loading regime. The variation

of mean stress with lateral deflection for flat plates and plates with initial

imperfection, under loading are shown in Fig. 5.6.

This tendency is predominant in plates having b/t (breadth/thickness)

ratios of 30-60. For plates having a b/t value in excess of 60, the in-plane tensile

stresses or the “membrane stresses” (generated by the stretching of the plates)

resist further buckling and cause an increase in the load-carrying capacity of

wide plates.

Fig. 5.6 Mean stress Vs lateral deflection relation

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

5.3.3 Effective width concept

The effects of local buckling can be evaluated by using the concept of

effective width. Lightly stressed regions at centre are ignored, as these are least

effective in resisting the applied stresses. Regions near the supports are far more

effective and are taken to be fully effective. The section behaviour is modeled on

the basis of the effective width (beff) sketched in Fig. 5.5(c).

The effective width, (beff) multiplied by the edge stress (σ) is the same as

the mean stress across the section multiplied by the total width (b) of the

compression member.

The effective width of an element under compression is dependent on

the magnitude of the applied stress fc, the width/thickness ratio of the element

and the edge support conditions.

5.3.4 Code provisions on “Local buckling of compressed plates”

The effective width concept is usually modified to take into account the

effects of yielding and imperfection. For example, BS5950: Part 5 provides a

semi-empirical formula for basic effective width, beff, to conform to extensive

experimental data.

When fc > 0.123 pcr, then

−0.2
⎡ ⎧⎪ ⎡ f ⎤ 0.5 ⎫⎪ ⎤
4
beff ⎢ ⎥
= ⎢1 + 14 ⎨ ⎢ c
⎥ − 0.35⎬ ⎥ (5.2a)
b
⎢⎣ ⎪⎩ ⎣ pcr ⎦ ⎪⎭ ⎥
⎦

When fc < 0.123 pcr, then beff = b (5.2b)

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

Where

fc = compressive stress on the effective element, N/ mm2

pcr = local buckling stress given by

pcr = 185,000 K ( t / b)2 N/ mm2

K = load buckling coefficient which depends on the element type, section

geometry etc.

t = thickness of the element, in mm

b = width of the element, in mm

The relationship given by eqn. 5.2(a) is plotted in Fig.5.7

Fig.5.7 Ratio of effective width to flat width (fy = 280 N/mm2) of compression
plate with simple edge supports

It is emphasised that in employing eqn. (5.2a), the value of K (to compute

pcr) could be 4.0 for a stiffened element or 0.425 for an unstiffened element.

BS5950, part 5 provides for a modification for an unstiffened element

under uniform compression (Refer clause 4.5.1). The code also provides

modifications for elements under combined bending and axial load (ref. Clause

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

4.5.2). Typical formula given in BS 5950, Part 5 for computing K values for a

channel element is given below for illustration. (see BS 5950, Part 5 for a

complete list of buckling coefficients).

1. Lipped channel.

The buckling coefficient K1 for the member having a width of B1 in a lipped

channel of the type shown above is given by

1.8h
K1 = 7 − − 1.43h 3 (5.3a)
0.15 + h

Where h = B2 / B1

For the member having the width of B2 in the above sketch.

2
⎛t ⎞
K2 = K2h ⎜ 1 ⎟
2
(5.3b)
⎝ t2 ⎠

Where t1 and t2 are the thicknesses of element width B1 and B2

respectively. (Note: normally t1 and t2 will be equal). The computed values of K2

should not be less than 4.0 or 0.425 as the case may be.

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

2. Plain channel (without lips)

The buckling coefficient K1 for the element of width B1 is given by

2 2 + 4.8h
K1 = + (5.4)
(1 + 15h )
3 0.5 (
1 + 15h 3 )

K2 is computed from eqn.. 5.3(b) given above.

5.3.4.1 Maximum width to thickness ratios

IS: 801 and BS 5950, Part 5 limit the maximum ratios of (b/t) for

compression elements as follows:

• Stiffened elements with one longitudinal edge connected to a flange

or web element and the other stiffened by a simple lip 60

• Stiffened elements with both longitudinal edges connected to other stiffened

elements 500

• Unstiffened compression elements 60

However the code also warns against the elements developing very large

deformations, when b/t values exceed half the values tabulated above.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

5.3.5 Treatment of elements with stiffeners

5.3.5.1 Edge stiffeners

As stated previously, elements having b/t ? 60 and provided with simple lip

having one fifth of the element width may be regarded as a stiffened element. If

b/t > 60, then the width required for the lip may become too large and the lip itself

may have stability problems. Special types of lips (called "compound" lips) are

designed in such cases and these are outside the scope of this chapter.

5.3.5.2 Intermediate stiffeners

A wide and ineffective element may be transformed into a highly effective

element by providing suitable intermediate stiffeners (having a minimum moment

of inertia (Imin) about an axis through the element mid surface). The required

minimum moment of inertia of the stiffener about the axis 0-0 in Fig. 5.8 is given

by:

⎛ w ⎞ ⎛ fy ⎞
2
I min = 0.2t . ⎜ ⎟ . ⎜
4
⎟ (5.5)
⎝ t ⎠ ⎝ 280 ⎠

Where w = larger flat width of the sub element (see Fig. 5.8) between

stiffeners (in mm)

t = thickness of the element (mm)

fy = yield stress (N/mm2)

Fig.5.8 Intermediate stiffener

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

If the sub-element width/thickness ratio (w/t) does not exceed 60, the total

effective area of the element may be obtained by adding effective areas of the

sub-elements to the full areas of stiffeners.

When (w/t) is larger than 60, the effectiveness of the intermediately

stiffened elements is somewhat reduced due to shear lag effects. (Refer to

BS5950, Part 5, clauses 4.7.2 and 4.7.3) If an element has a number of stiffeners

spaced closely (b/t ? 30), and then generally all the stiffeners and sub elements

can be considered to be effective. To avoid introducing complexities at this stage,

shear lag effects are not discussed here.

5.3.6 Effective section properties

In the analysis of member behaviour, the effective section properties are

determined by using the effective widths of individual elements. As an example,

let us consider the compression member ABCDEF shown in Fig.5.9. The

effective portions of the member are shown darkened (i.e. 1-B, B-2, 3-C, C-4, 5-

D, D-6, 7-E, and E-8). The parts A-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7 and 8-F are regarded as being

ineffective in resisting compression. As a general rule, the portions located close

to the supported edges are effective (see Fig.5.5c) . Note that in the case of

compression members, all elements are subject to reductions in width.

Fig. 5.9 Effective widths of compression elements

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

In the case of flexural members, in most cases, only the compression

elements are considered to have effective widths. Some typical effective sections

of beams are illustrated in Fig.5.10.

Fig. 5.10 Effective flexural sections

As in the previous example, fully effective sections in compression

elements are darkened in Fig.5.10. The portions 1-2 and 3-4 in Fig. 5.10(a) and

the portion 1-2 in Fig. 5.10 (b) are regarded as ineffective in resisting

compression. Elements in tension are, of course, not subject to any reduction of

width, as the full width will resist tension

5.3.7 Proportioning of stiffeners

The performance of unstiffened elements could be substantially improved

by introducing stiffeners (such as a lip). Similarly very wide elements can be

divided into two or more narrower sub elements by introducing intermediate

stiffeners formed during the rolling process; the sum of the "effective widths" of

individual sub elements will enhance the efficiency of the section.

According to BS 5950, Part 5 an unstiffened element (when provided with

a lip) can be regarded as a stiffened element, when the lip or the edge stiffener

has a moment of inertia about an axis through the plate middle surface equal to

or greater than

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

b3 t
I min = (5.6)
375

Where t and b are the thickness and breadth of the full width of the

element to be stiffened.

For elements having a full width b less than or equal to 60 t, a simple lip of

one fifth of the element width (i.e. b/5) can be used safely. For lips with b > 60 t, it

would be appropriate to design a lip to ensure that the lip itself does not develop

instability.

A maximum b/t ratio of 90 is regarded as the upper limit for load bearing

edge stiffeners.

The Indian standard IS: 801-1975 prescribes a minimum moment of inertia

(w t )
2
for the lip given by I min = 1.83 t 4 − 281200 but not less than 9.2 t4 .
Fy

Where Imin = minimum allowable moment of inertia of stiffener about its

own centroidal axis parallel to the stiffened element in cm4

w / t = flat width - thickness ratio of the stiffened element.

Fy = Yield stress in kgf/cm2

For a simple lip bent at right angles to the stiffened element, the required

(w t )
2
overall depth dmin is given by d min = 2.8t 6 − 281200 but not less than
Fy

4.8 t

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

Note that both the above equations given by the Indian standard are

dependent on the units employed.

5.3.7.1 Intermediate stiffeners.

Intermediate stiffeners are used to split a wide element into a series of

narrower and therefore more effective elements. The minimum moment of inertia

about an axis through the element middle surface required for this purpose

(according to BS 5950, Part 5) is given in equation (5.5) above.

The effective widths of each sub element may be determined according to

equation 5.2 (a) and eqn..5.2(b) by replacing the sub element width in place of

the element width b.

When w / t < 60, then the total effective area of the element is obtained as

the sum of the effective areas of each sub element to the full areas of stiffeners.

When the sub elements having a larger w / t values are employed (w/ t >

60), the performance of intermittently stiffened elements will be less efficient. To

model this reduced performance , the sub element effective width must be

reduced to ber given by,

ber beff ⎛w ⎞
= − 0.1⎜ − 60 ⎟ (5.7)
t t ⎝ t ⎠

The effective stiffener areas are also reduced when w / t > 90 by

employing the equation:

ber
A eff = Ast . (5.8)
w

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

Where Ast = the full stiffener area and

Aeff = effective stiffener area.

For w / t values between 60 and 90, the effective stiffener area varies between

Ast and Aeff as given below:

⎡ b 1 ⎛ b ⎞ w⎤
A eff = Ast ⎢3 − 2 er − ⎜1 − er ⎟ ⎥ (5.9)
⎣ w 30 ⎝ w ⎠ t⎦

It must be noted that when small increases in the areas of intermediate

stiffeners are provided, it is possible to obtain large increases in effectiveness

and therefore it is advantageous to use a few intermediate stiffeners, so long as

the complete element width does not exceed 500 t.

When stiffeners are closely spaced, i.e. w < 30 t, the stiffeners and sub

elements may be considered to be fully effective. However there is a tendency

for the complete element (along with the stiffeners) to buckle locally. In these

circumstances, the complete element is replaced for purposes of analysis by an

element of width b and having fictitious thickness ts given by

1
⎛ 12 Is ⎞ 3
ts = ⎜ ⎟ (5.10)
⎝ b ⎠

Where Is = Moment of inertia of the complete element including

stiffeneres, about its own neutral axis.

IS: 801- 1975 also suggests some simple rules for the design of

intermediate stiffeners.

When the flanges of a flexural member is unusually wide, the width of

flange projecting beyond the web is limited to

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Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

126500td 100 cf
wf = x 4 (5.10a)
f uv d

Where t = flange thickness

d = depth of beam

cf = the amount of curling

fav = average stress in kgf/cm2 as specified in IS: 801 – 1975.

The amount of curling should be decided by the designer but will not generally

exceed 5 % of the depth of the section.

Equivalent thickness of intermediate stiffener is given by

12 Is
ts = 3 (5.10b)
ws

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