O objetivo desta pesquisa é apresentar procedimentos de verificação da estabilidade lateral de vigas de concreto em situações transitórias e com eles realizar análises paramétricas. As fases transitórias estudadas são içamento, transporte e pré-serviço com e sem contraventamento nos apoios. As formulações apresentadas contém cálculo de carga crítica de instabilidade lateral, momento crítico e fator de segurança. São apresentados exemplos numéricos e a partir deles realizadas análises paramétricas com intuito de determinar limites de segurança. Os parâmetros variados foram fck, imperfeições geométricas, vão, largura da mesa comprimida e espessura da alma fazendo uma comparação entre vigas I e retangular. Com os resultados, foram obtidas esbeltezes geométricas limite para fases transitórias, relações entre carga crítica e carga devido ao peso próprio e uma relação entre momento crítico elástico e momento último de flexão para a fase transitória anterior à execução do tabuleiro com contraventamento nos apoios, especificamente. Na comparação entre vigas I e retangular, constatou-se que os dois tipos de seção apresentam limites de segurança distintos. As análises mostraram que os limites de esbeltez geométrica recomendados, como lh/bf², geram elementos, de seção transversal I, muito esbeltos. Este parâmetro apresentou uma variação significativa na tentativa de determinar limites nas análises paramétricas. Portanto, pode ser conservador adotar como limite a menor esbeltez obtida nas análises. Conclui-se que a verificação da segurança por esbeltezes geométricas nem sempre é adequada, pois não são considerados parâmetros como imperfeições geométricas e fck que mostraram serem importantes nas análises paramétricas. A esbeltez representada pela razão entre momento último e momento crítico de instabilidade elástico é mais abrangente e a busca por um valor limite deste parâmetro apresentou resultados com pouca variação para as vigas I. Com relação ao limite clássico de segurança que recomenda uma carga crítica maior que quatro vezes a carga de peso próprio, os resultados mostraram que esta recomendação é conservadora. As análises paramétricas mostraram que para vigas I esta razão igual a dois e meio atende a segurança destes elementos. / The objective of this research is to present a contribution to the verification of lateral stability of concrete beams in transient situations through parametric analyzes. The transient phases studied are lifting, transportation and prior to execution of the deck with braced and unbraced supports. Formulations presented contain calculation of buckling load, buckling moment and factor of safety. Numerical examples are presented and parametric analyzes are performed from these aiming to determine safety limits. The varied parameters were fck, geometric imperfections, span, compression flange width and web width by making a comparison between I-beams and rectangular beams. With the results, slenderness limits were obtained for transient phases, relationships between critical load and load due to self-weight and a relationship between elastic critical moment and ultimate moment to the transient situation before the execution of the deck with braced supports, specifically. In the comparison between I-beams and rectangular beams, it was found that the two types of section present different safety limits. Analyzes showed that the geometric slenderness limits recommended, as lh/bf², generate slender elements of I cross section. This parameter showed a significant variation in an attempt to determine limits on parametric analyzes. Therefore adopt the lower slenderness limit obtained in analyzes may be conservative. It is concluded that the safety verification by geometric slenderness is not always adequate, because they do not consider parameters such as geometric imperfections and fck that showed to be important in the parametric analyzes. The slenderness ratio represented by the ultimate moment and elastic critical moment of instability is more comprehensive and the search for a limiting value of this parameter presented results with little variation for the I-beams. With respect to the classical limit of safety which recommends that the critical load is greater than four times the self-weight load, the results showed that this recommendation is conservative. Parametric analyzes showed that for I-beams this ratio equal to two and a half addresses the safety of these elements.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é apresentar procedimentos de verificação da estabilidade lateral de vigas de concreto em situações transitórias e com eles realizar análises paramétricas. As fases transitórias estudadas são içamento, transporte e pré-serviço com e sem contraventamento nos apoios. As formulações apresentadas contém cálculo de carga crítica de instabilidade lateral, momento crítico e fator de segurança. São apresentados exemplos numéricos e a partir deles realizadas análises paramétricas com intuito de determinar limites de segurança. Os parâmetros variados foram fck, imperfeições geométricas, vão, largura da mesa comprimida e espessura da alma fazendo uma comparação entre vigas I e retangular. Com os resultados, foram obtidas esbeltezes geométricas limite para fases transitórias, relações entre carga crítica e carga devido ao peso próprio e uma relação entre momento crítico elástico e momento último de flexão para a fase transitória anterior à execução do tabuleiro com contraventamento nos apoios, especificamente. Na comparação entre vigas I e retangular, constatou-se que os dois tipos de seção apresentam limites de segurança distintos. As análises mostraram que os limites de esbeltez geométrica recomendados, como lh/bf², geram elementos, de seção transversal I, muito esbeltos. Este parâmetro apresentou uma variação significativa na tentativa de determinar limites nas análises paramétricas. Portanto, pode ser conservador adotar como limite a menor esbeltez obtida nas análises. Conclui-se que a verificação da segurança por esbeltezes geométricas nem sempre é adequada, pois não são considerados parâmetros como imperfeições geométricas e fck que mostraram serem importantes nas análises paramétricas. A esbeltez representada pela razão entre momento último e momento crítico de instabilidade elástico é mais abrangente e a busca por um valor limite deste parâmetro apresentou resultados com pouca variação para as vigas I. Com relação ao limite clássico de segurança que recomenda uma carga crítica maior que quatro vezes a carga de peso próprio, os resultados mostraram que esta recomendação é conservadora. As análises paramétricas mostraram que para vigas I esta razão igual a dois e meio atende a segurança destes elementos. / The objective of this research is to present a contribution to the verification of lateral stability of concrete beams in transient situations through parametric analyzes. The transient phases studied are lifting, transportation and prior to execution of the deck with braced and unbraced supports. Formulations presented contain calculation of buckling load, buckling moment and factor of safety. Numerical examples are presented and parametric analyzes are performed from these aiming to determine safety limits. The varied parameters were fck, geometric imperfections, span, compression flange width and web width by making a comparison between I-beams and rectangular beams. With the results, slenderness limits were obtained for transient phases, relationships between critical load and load due to self-weight and a relationship between elastic critical moment and ultimate moment to the transient situation before the execution of the deck with braced supports, specifically. In the comparison between I-beams and rectangular beams, it was found that the two types of section present different safety limits. Analyzes showed that the geometric slenderness limits recommended, as lh/bf², generate slender elements of I cross section. This parameter showed a significant variation in an attempt to determine limits on parametric analyzes. Therefore adopt the lower slenderness limit obtained in analyzes may be conservative. It is concluded that the safety verification by geometric slenderness is not always adequate, because they do not consider parameters such as geometric imperfections and fck that showed to be important in the parametric analyzes. The slenderness ratio represented by the ultimate moment and elastic critical moment of instability is more comprehensive and the search for a limiting value of this parameter presented results with little variation for the I-beams. With respect to the classical limit of safety which recommends that the critical load is greater than four times the self-weight load, the results showed that this recommendation is conservative. Parametric analyzes showed that for I-beams this ratio equal to two and a half addresses the safety of these elements.

The aim of this thesis is to assess the suitability of cold-formed rectangular hollow sections (RHS) for plastic design. The project involved an extensive range of tests on cold-formed Grade C350 and Grade C450 (DuraGal) RHS beams, joints and frames. A large number of finite element analyses was also carried out on models of RHS beams. The conclusion is that cold- formed RHS can be used in plastic design, but stricter element slenderness (b/t) limits and consideration of the connections, are required. Further research, particularly into the effect of axial compression on element slenderness limits, is required before changes to current design rules can be finalised. Bending tests were performed on cold-formed RHS to examine the web and flange slenderness required to maintain the plastic moment for a large enough rotation suitable for plastic design. The major conclusions of the beam tests were: (i) Some sections which are classified as Compact or Class 1 by current steel design specifications do not maintain plastic rotations considered sufficient for plastic design. (ii) The current design philosophy, in which flange and web slenderness limits are independent, is inappropriate. An interaction formula is required, and simple formulations are proposed for RHS. Connection tests were performed on various types of knee joints in RHS, suitable for the column - rafter connection in a portal frame. The connection types investigated were welded stiffened and unstiffened rigid knee connections, bolted plate knee joints, and welded and bolted internal sleeve knee joints, for use in RHS portal frames. The ability of the connections to act as plastic hinges in a portal frame was investigated. The most important finding of the joint tests was the unexpected fracture of the cold-formed welded connections under opening moment before significant plastic rotations occurred. The use of an internal sleeve moved the plastic hinge in the connection away from the connection centre- line thus eliminating the need for the weld between the RHS, or the RHS and the stiffening plate, to carry the majority of the load. The internal sleeve connections were capable of sustaining the plastic moment for large rotations considered suitable for plastic design. Tests on pinned-base portal frames were also performed. There were three separate tests, with two different ratios of vertical to horizontal point loads, simulating gravity and horizontal wind loads. Two grades of steel were used for comparison. The aims of the tests were to examine if a plastic collapse mechanism could form in a cold-formed RHS frame, and to investigate if plastic design was suitable for such frames. In each frame, two regions of highly concentrated curvature were observed before the onset of local buckling, which indicated the formation of plastic hinges and a plastic collapse mechanism. An advanced plastic zone structural analysis which accounted for second order effects, material non-linearity and member imperfections slightly overestimated the strength of the frames. The analysis slightly underestimated the deflections, and hence the magnitude of the second order effects. A second order plastic zone analysis, which did not account for the effects of structural imperfections, provided the best estimates of the strengths of the frames, but also underestimated the deflections. While cold-formed RHS did not satisfy the material ductility requirements specified for plastic design in some current steel design standards, plastic hinges and plastic collapse mechanisms formed. This suggests that the restriction on plastic design for cold-formed RHS based on insufficient material ductility is unnecessary, provided that the connections are suitable for plastic hinge formation, if required. A large number of finite element analyses were performed to simulate the bending tests summarised above, and to examine various parameters not studied in the experimental investigation. To simulate the experimental rotation capacity of the RHS beams, a sinusoidally varying longitudinal local imperfection was prescribed. The finite element analysis determined similar trends as observed experimentally, namely that the rotation capacity depended on both the web slenderness and flange slenderness, and that for a given section aspect ratio, the relationship between web slenderness and rotation capacity was non-linear. The main finding of the finite element study was that the size of the imperfections had an unexpectedly large influence on the rotation capacity. Larger imperfections were required in the more slender sections to simulate the experimental results. There should be further investigation into the effect of varying material properties on rotation capacity.

The aim of this thesis is to assess the suitability of cold-formed rectangular hollow sections (RHS) for plastic design. The project involved an extensive range of tests on cold-formed Grade C350 and Grade C450 (DuraGal) RHS beams, joints and frames. A large number of finite element analyses was also carried out on models of RHS beams. The conclusion is that cold- formed RHS can be used in plastic design, but stricter element slenderness (b/t) limits and consideration of the connections, are required. Further research, particularly into the effect of axial compression on element slenderness limits, is required before changes to current design rules can be finalised. Bending tests were performed on cold-formed RHS to examine the web and flange slenderness required to maintain the plastic moment for a large enough rotation suitable for plastic design. The major conclusions of the beam tests were: (i) Some sections which are classified as Compact or Class 1 by current steel design specifications do not maintain plastic rotations considered sufficient for plastic design. (ii) The current design philosophy, in which flange and web slenderness limits are independent, is inappropriate. An interaction formula is required, and simple formulations are proposed for RHS. Connection tests were performed on various types of knee joints in RHS, suitable for the column - rafter connection in a portal frame. The connection types investigated were welded stiffened and unstiffened rigid knee connections, bolted plate knee joints, and welded and bolted internal sleeve knee joints, for use in RHS portal frames. The ability of the connections to act as plastic hinges in a portal frame was investigated. The most important finding of the joint tests was the unexpected fracture of the cold-formed welded connections under opening moment before significant plastic rotations occurred. The use of an internal sleeve moved the plastic hinge in the connection away from the connection centre- line thus eliminating the need for the weld between the RHS, or the RHS and the stiffening plate, to carry the majority of the load. The internal sleeve connections were capable of sustaining the plastic moment for large rotations considered suitable for plastic design. Tests on pinned-base portal frames were also performed. There were three separate tests, with two different ratios of vertical to horizontal point loads, simulating gravity and horizontal wind loads. Two grades of steel were used for comparison. The aims of the tests were to examine if a plastic collapse mechanism could form in a cold-formed RHS frame, and to investigate if plastic design was suitable for such frames. In each frame, two regions of highly concentrated curvature were observed before the onset of local buckling, which indicated the formation of plastic hinges and a plastic collapse mechanism. An advanced plastic zone structural analysis which accounted for second order effects, material non-linearity and member imperfections slightly overestimated the strength of the frames. The analysis slightly underestimated the deflections, and hence the magnitude of the second order effects. A second order plastic zone analysis, which did not account for the effects of structural imperfections, provided the best estimates of the strengths of the frames, but also underestimated the deflections. While cold-formed RHS did not satisfy the material ductility requirements specified for plastic design in some current steel design standards, plastic hinges and plastic collapse mechanisms formed. This suggests that the restriction on plastic design for cold-formed RHS based on insufficient material ductility is unnecessary, provided that the connections are suitable for plastic hinge formation, if required. A large number of finite element analyses were performed to simulate the bending tests summarised above, and to examine various parameters not studied in the experimental investigation. To simulate the experimental rotation capacity of the RHS beams, a sinusoidally varying longitudinal local imperfection was prescribed. The finite element analysis determined similar trends as observed experimentally, namely that the rotation capacity depended on both the web slenderness and flange slenderness, and that for a given section aspect ratio, the relationship between web slenderness and rotation capacity was non-linear. The main finding of the finite element study was that the size of the imperfections had an unexpectedly large influence on the rotation capacity. Larger imperfections were required in the more slender sections to simulate the experimental results. There should be further investigation into the effect of varying material properties on rotation capacity.