Title: Finite element modelling of a cold curved steel plate girder

Authors: Jihad Rishmany; Issam Tawk; Antoine Gergess

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Balamand, P.O. Box 100, Lebanon ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Balamand, P.O. Box 100, Lebanon ' Department of Civil Engineering, University of Balamand, P.O. Box 100, Lebanon

Abstract: Cold bending is a cost-effective solution that is sometimes used for curving structural steel girders. Current usage for bridge structures is limited to projects that fall outside the jurisdiction of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) because of the lack of technical knowledge surrounding this technique. This paper presents results from a three-dimensional finite element model to assess the structural behaviour exhibited by steel girders during bending for a proprietary cold curving system. A non-linear FE model is validated against measured data obtained from a previously tested girder. The FE model is extended to explore the performance of all structural components of the girder during bending such as deformations in flanges and web, residual stresses and plastic strains. Findings from this paper provide a framework for accurately predicting the cold bent geometry and how to incorporate residual stresses and plastic strains in the design of curved girders.

Keywords: cold bending; steel girder; curving; finite element; non-linear; lateral offsets; residual stresses; web; flange; plastic strains.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2018.090747

International Journal of Structural Engineering, 2018 Vol.9 No.1, pp.1 - 25

Received: 20 Dec 2016
Accepted: 02 Aug 2017
Published online: 27 Mar 2018 *

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