ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF COMPOSITE BEAM WITH WEB OPENINGS SUBJECTED TO COMBINED NEGATIVE BENDING AND AXIAL COMPRESSION

Ultimate strength of composite beam subjected to combined interaction of negative bending and axial compression containing openings in the web of steel beam are reported with various opening parameters such as shapes, diameter in circle openings, width in square openings and distances between openings. A nonlinear three dimensional finite element model (FEM) was developed for composite beam subjected to combined negative bending and axial compression. The model was validated with available experimental data and it was predicted that the axial load, moment and failure mode at ultimate limit state were with an acceptable agreement between FEM and experiment. A study on the web opening parameters was then carried out with validated finite element model. Finally, it is shown that the ultimate load carrying capacity is reduced with openings in different quotients in the composite beam subjected to combined interaction of negative bending and axial compression