Ultimate Load of Cellular Beams Subjected to Web Posts Buckling

Abstract

Steel cellular beams are widely used in multi‑story buildings for long spans and service integration, reducing overall height. However, their openings may cause local instability, notably web‑post buckling. This paper presents a simplified analytical approach to predict the ultimate load causing the web‑post buckling under longitudinal shear in simply‑supported symmetric steel cellular beams with transverse stiffeners. The method incorporates a reduction factor that accounts for the number of openings, configuring the influence of the web posts assumed to be affected by buckling. The results were validated through experimental data from the literature and verified using numerical simulations with Cast3M software.

Keywords

• Steel cellular beams
• web-posts buckling
• ultimate load
• simplified analytical approach
• numerical simulations

Supporting Institution

I wish to confirm that there has been no financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.

Ethical Statement

I wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication

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