Numerical analysis of castellated beams with oval openings

Abstract

The use of castellated beams has become more popular in the last two decades. The main idea for the use of these types of steel beams is to reduce their self-weight by providing openings in the web of wide flange (WF) or I sections. Numerous research on castellated beams has been conducted, the majority of the studies aimed to optimize the opening size and the shape configuration of the openings. A numerical analysis of castellated beams with oval openings was performed in this study. The sections under investigation had variations in the height-to-length ratios of the beam. The Do to D and b to Do ratios were kept at a constant. The D value was defined as the height of the beam, while Do is the height of the opening, and b is the width of the opening. The numerical analysis was performed by the finite element analysis using the STRAND7 software. The numerical model was further validated to the experimental data. The results showed that the developed finite element model resulted in a very good representation to the actual behavior of the sections.