Recent Review and Comparative Assessment of Local Instability in Thin-Walled Corrugated Steel Web Girders

Abstract

Corrugated steel web (CSW) sections are utilized worldwide in civil and mechanical engineering because of their advantages over flat sections, including enhanced lateral stability, a higher strength-to-weight ratio, improved energy absorption, and a reduced need for vertical stiffeners. The stability of such thin-walled structures becomes critical due to the small thickness of components and complex geometry. While lateral torsional buckling (LTB) can be avoided through lateral restraints, individual components of a girder, i.e. web and flanges, may undergo failure due to local instability. This paper focuses on summarizing the approaches for evaluating the local stability behavior of the flange and web sections. The review presents a holistic overview of the existing analytical, numerical and experimental studies on the web and flange instability of CSW girders. A numerical evaluation of local shear and flexural stability is presented using existing approaches. The influence of different geometrical parameters is summarized and important observations are highlighted for future research in this area.