Girders with Trapezoidally Corrugated Webs -- Under Patch Loading

This paper deals with the buckling and postbuckling behaviour of plate girders with corrugated web under a concentrated load on the top flange. A couple of design models and experiments from earlier studies are briefly reviewed. Further, six additional experimental tests have been performed on a girder with thin corrugated web. A FE-model of this girder is then developed and the behaviour of the girder is validated through comparisons with the girder used in the tests. The ultimate load and the postbuckling behaviour were determined by both laboratory tests and finite element simulations for three different positions of a narrow load strip across the flange, namely at: (1) an inclined fold, (2) the junction between two folds, (3) a longitudinal fold. Finally, a parametric study is performed using the FE-model where the influence of certain parameters on the ultimate load and buckling behaviour is investigated. The results from this parametric study are compared and evaluated together with two design models chosen to be the most suitable