Introduction to Cellular Beams

Dr Stephen Hicks, Manager Structural Systems, HERA, stephen.hicks@hera.org.nz

Presentation overview
Manufacturing Applications Design Recent New

Process

Software Research

Developments

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Range of Applications

2%

2% 3% 10% 15%

Castellated Architectural Straight Rafters Curved Rafters Floors Tapers

68%
UK sales stand at just over 30,000 tonnes p.a. (Nov. 2007)
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Manufacturing process

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Fabrication of cellular beams

Steel beam or column section is cut to create regular openings

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Fabrication of cellular beams

Oxycutting N1
Oxycutting N2

HFINAL

HINITIAL

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Fabrication of cellular beams

Final length

Scrap

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Flexibility in depth

Ex 533 x 210 UB 82 723 mm deep cells - 450 dia @ 675 crs 822 mm deep cells - 600 dia @ 710 crs

Pre-cambering during the fabricating process

Cellular beams pre-cambered mid-production at NO COST

Creating Asymmetric Sections

The parent section is split to create two top tees

Another section is split to create two bottom tees

Asymmetric cellular beam is created by combining tees

Asymmetric Openings

The cutting profile creates an asymmetric opening position

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Production - Creating Tapers

By cutting the web along a diagonal and rotating the bottom tee through 1800 a tapered section is formed.

Production - Creating Tapers

By cutting the web along a diagonal a tapered section can be formed.

Curves

Curves formed mid-manufacturing process.

Range of Applications Floor beams

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Advantages of long-span construction

Long, column free spans Flexibility & more usable floor area Less foundations

Faster erection

Reduced fabrication costs

Short Span 9 Beams

Long Span 5 Beams

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Quicker Erection

Short Span

Long-span
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Depth savings through service integration

Raised Floor Raised Floor

Service Zone

Service Zone Suspended Ceiling Suspended Ceiling

Short Span Long-span

Service integration with circular ducting

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Incorporation of rectangular services

Cellular beam

Cellular beam with elongated opening

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Elongated openings

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Secondary Beams

9-1

5m

6-

9m

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Secondary beams

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Primary beams

9-1

5m

6-

9m

.6 m .4-3 2

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Primary beams

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Cell closures

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Le Colisee Phase II, Paris

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Le Colisee Phase II, Paris

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High span/depth ratio (=39)

Le Colisee Phase II- 18.5m span in 470mm

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Le Colisee 16.9m Span Floor Area

1.000

BS 6472 Base Curve

Response Factor
RMS Acceleration (m/s)
0.100

R = 4 (0.2%g) R = 8 (0.4%g)
1.6 Hz along grid-line H 1.6 Hz along grid-line H (with carpet) 2.5 Hz along grid-line H 2.5 Hz along grid-line H (with carpet) 2.5 Hz along grid-line 5

0.010

Two men at 1.6 Hz along grid-line H Two men at 2.5 Hz along grid-line H Two men at 2.5 Hz along grid-line 5 Running at 2.5 Hz along H Running at 2.5 Hz along H (with carpet)
1 10 100

0.001

Steel Construction

Frequency (Hz)

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Leeds Nuffield Hospital Cellular Beams

Operating Theatres
Clear span Response factor measured less than 1.0 ( 0.05%g) See SCI P354

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Cardington design guidance used to reduce fire protection costs

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Range of Applications Roof beams

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Straight Rafters

<20m

30m

>40m

Portal (Elastic) Simply Supported

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Straight Rafters

Bridgewater Car Auction 34.0m span, 92 kg/m castellated beam Rafters 800 x 210 x 82 kg/m Cellular
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Simply-supported Curves

Cyfartha Retail Park, Cardiff

Spans
- 23.0m .. 970 x 229 x 101 kg/m - 32.0m .. 1056 x 254 x 125 kg/m - 44.0m .. 1202 x 292 x 176 kg/m - 53.0m .. 1357 x 305 x 253 kg/m

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Portalised Curved Beams

Aldi Distribution Centre, Runcorn. Span 42m 610 x 229 x 101 UB (Plastic design) 700 x 210 x 82 cellular (Elastic design)

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Double Curves

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Double Curves

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Tapered Sections

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Over 40 stadia
Mostly Tapered:

Chelsea Carlisle United Hull Kingston Stadium Dunfermline AFC Newcastle Falcons

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Columns

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Design software

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Modes of Failure at Openings

Cracking

Concrete crushing Compression Web-post buckling

Yielding or buckling Web buckling

Web-post shear

Shear force Tension

Support

Yielding Web-post bending

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Vierendeel bending at rectangular opening

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Web-post buckling

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Cellbeam Version 6.0

SCI software

Checks for SCI updates as opened

Cold & Fire Design SCI QA audit trail down to code level Import Export with CSC RAM link underway

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Design optimization through automate facility

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Help Screens

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Curved Rafters - With Fixity

Add moment and axial to the ends

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Recent research

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Recent European research programme

Full-scale tests on non-composite and composite beams with regular or isolated web openings to make comparisons with existing software. Development of generalised design guidance for implementation within European steel and composite Standards, Eurocode 3 and 4 (EN 1993-1-1 and EN 1994-1-1). Full-scale fire tests on composite beam with regular web openings. Development of improved manufacturing techniques.

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Test 1 Secondary beam with symmetric cross-section

7.03 m span length 1.80 m width ( L / 4 ) 4 point loads to simulate UDL

End of spans left unconcreted to check influence of local composite action

Test specimen 1 failure modes

Web-post buckling & development of Vierendeel bending failure observed

Test 2 Primary beam with symmetric cross-section

Test 2A Behaviour at elongated openings

Test 2B Load introduction through secondary beams

Load introduction through secondary beam

Test 2

Test 2 failure modes

Test

2A

- Vierendeel bending developing at elongated opening

Test

2B

- Excessive yielding in bottom Tee at mid-span

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Test 3 Secondary beam with asymmetric cross-section

7.03 m span length 1.80 m width ( ~ L / 4 ) 4 point loads

Hybrid beam with Af,b / Af,t = 4 IPE 300 as upper chord HEB 340 as bottom chord

Test 3 failure modes

Web-post buckling between openings 11 and 12

Test 4 - Influence of stiffening cells in non-composite beam

Test 4

Test 4: Vierendeel mechanism at opening 4

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Measured failure load vs. predictions from Cellbeam

Test No Load measured at failure (kN) Cellbeam Predicted resistance (kN) Experimental / prediction

1 2A 2B 3 4

806 500 780 656 749

540 436 440 276 400

1.49 1.15 1.77 2.38 1.87

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Full-scale fire tests on composite cellular beams

In total, 2 fire tests were undertaken at CTICM Test Station in Maizires-les-Metz :

Test P1: Loaded 7.2 m span composite beam protected with a cementitious spray
- Based on Test 3 specimen tested at University of Kaiserslautern.

Test P2: Unloaded 7.2 m span composite beam with protected with a cementitious spray
- Based on Test 1 specimen tested at University of Kaiserslautern.

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Full-scale fire tests on composite cellular beams

Specimen P1

Specimen P2

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Specimen P1 and P2 in furnace at CTICM Test Station Maizires-les-Metz

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Specimen P1 (loaded with jacks) and P2

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Specimen P1 after failure

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Specimen P1 after failure

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Improvement of the welding procedures Large scale tests

P
310 20

423.7-566.6

1020

1700 - 2000

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Improved manufacturing of cellular beams

The following 1.7 to 2 m span beam tests were undertaken by University of Kaiserslautern under the direction of Arcelor Profil Luxembourg Research:

1-ss tw = 8.6 mm, sw = 122mm 2-hs tw = 8.5/21 mm, sw = 95 mm 3 -ss tw = 13.5 mm, sw = 63 mm 4-ss tw = 8.6 mm, sw = 55mm

5-hs hs tw = 7.1/21 mm, sw = 55mm

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Improvement of the welding procedures Large scale tests

Specimen n

Upper Profile

Lower Profile

Span Length [mm]

Total Depth [mm]

Web post width [mm]

Opening Diameter [mm]

1-ss
2-hs 3-ss 4-ss 5-hs 6-ss 7-hs 8-hs

IPE 400
HEA 300 HEB 400 IPE 400 IPE 300 HEM 300 HEB 300 HEA 300

IPE 400
HEM 300 HEB 400 IPE 400 HEM 300 HEM 300 HEM 300 HEB 300

1897
1800 1940 1944 1644 1559 1866 1800

558
475 599 600 482 495 472 415

122
95 63 55 55 50 123 147

358
350 422 430 354 334 350 300

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Improvement of welding procedures Large scale tests

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Improvement of welding procedures Large scale tests

Macrography of weld failure (web thickness 11/21 mm)

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New Developments - Ultra Shallow Floor Beam

USFB
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USFB Made to any depth

PC Units

Or metal deck

Min 75 mm bearing

Min 50mm bearing For Metal Decking

For PC Units
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Integrated beams

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Integrated beams with deep decking

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USFB

Blackpool 1.5km of 7.5m long USB

250mm deep 74 kg/m with Comflor deck

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Integrated beams with precast hollow core units

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Conclusions

In the UK, cellular beams are the most popular form of long-span construction

Long, column free spans are provided which permit flexibility in the layout and more usable floor area Design software is freely available which permits calculations to be made rapidly
Extensive structural, fire and in situ tests have been undertaken over the last 10-years to develop and validate the design software.

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Licensed producers of Cellular Beams

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Where can I get further information?

Cellbeam (NZ) Ltd

Tel.: Fax:

+64 (09) 279 7783 +64 (09) 278 8595 cellbeam@grayson-eng.co.nz

E-mail:

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