Forces at flange–web connections in T-beams

Abstract

The flanges of T- and I-beams are subjected, near their junctions with the web, to three in-plane forces: Nx, Ny, and Nxy, where x and y are horizontal axes parallel and normal to the beam axis. The finite element method is used to study the variation of these forces in T-beams under point or line load. It is concluded that forces Nx and Nxy can be determined for design purposes using conventional engineering beam theory. Force Ny, on the other hand, cannot be determined by available closed-form solutions. Based on a detailed parametric study, a simplified procedure is proposed for determining Ny. Key words: beams (supports), connections, finite element, flanges, loads (forces), T-beams, webs (supports).