Q1

The types of loads acting on structures for buildings and other structures can be broadly
classified as vertical loads, horizontal loads and longitudinal loads. The vertical loads consist
of dead load, live load and impact load.

The horizontal loads comprises of wind load and earthquake load. The longitudinal loads i.e.
tractive and braking forces are considered in special case of design of bridges, gantry girders
etc..

Types of Loads on Structures and Buildings

In a construction of building two major factors considered are safety and economy. If the
loads are adjudged and taken higher then economy is affected. If economy is considered and
loads are taken lesser then the safety is compromised.

So the estimation of various loads acting is to calculated precisely. Indian standard code
IS: 875–1987 and American Standard Code ASCE 7: Minimum Design Loads for
Buildings and Other Structures specifies various design loads for buildings and structures.

Types of loads acting on a structure are:

1. Dead loads
2. Live loads
3. Wind loads
4. Snow loads
5. Earthquake loads
6. Special loads
1. Dead Loads:
 Dead loads consist of self-weight of the structure (weight of walls, floors, roofs etc).
The weight of the foundation and footings and all other permanent loads acting on the
structure. These can be computed by finding the weights of cubical contents of the
different materials used for constructing the structure.

2. Live Loads:
Live loads consist of moving or variable loads like people, furniture, temporary stores etc.
It is also called super-imposed load.

3. Wind Loads:
The Wind acts horizontally on the surfaces of the walls, roofs and inclined roof of the
structure. That means it exerts uniform pressure on the structural components on which it
acts and tends to disturb the stability of the structure.
The value of wind loads varies depending on several factors such as geographical
location of the structure, height of the structure, duration of wind flow etc.
4. Snow Loads:
The amount of snow load depends on various factors such as shape and size of roof
structure, roofing materials, location of the structure, insulation of the structure, duration,
and frequency of snow.

5. Earthquake Loads (EL)

Earthquake forces constitute to both vertical and horizontal forces on the building. The
total vibration caused by earthquake may be resolved into three mutually perpendicular
directions, usually taken as vertical and two horizontal directions.
The movement in vertical direction do not cause forces in superstructure to any
significant extent. But the horizontal movement of the building at the time of earthquake
is to be considered while designing.
The response of the structure to the ground vibration is a function of the nature of foundation
soil, size and mode of construction and the duration and intensity of ground motion. IS
1893– 2014 gives the details of such calculations for structures standing on soils which will
not considerably settle or slide appreciably due to earthquake.

The seismic accelerations for the design may be arrived at from seismic coefficient, which is
defined as the ratio of acceleration due to earthquake and acceleration due to gravity. For
monolithic reinforced concrete structures located in the seismic zone 2, and 3 without more
than 5 stories high and importance factor less than 1, the seismic forces are not critical.

6. Other Loads and Effects acting on Structures

As per the clause 19.6 of IS 456 – 2000, in addition to above load discussed, account shall be
taken of the following forces and effects if they are liable to affect materially the safety and
serviceability of the structure:

(a) Foundation movement (See IS 1904)

(b) Elastic axial shortening

(c) Soil and fluid pressure (See IS 875, Part 5)

(d) Vibration

(e) Fatigue

(f) Impact (See IS 875, Part 5)

(g) Erection loads (See IS 875, Part 2) and

(h) Stress concentration effect due to point load and the like.
Q7

Plate Girder Used

Plate girders are widely used in steel bridges, gantry cranes and for other long span
applications. The ease of fabrication and design makes it a viable option for bridge
applications. They have higher strength-to-selfweight ratio when compared to conventional
RC girders thus reducing foundation cost.
Plate girders can be designed for wide range of load demands like special permit and heavy
haul vehicles. Another advantage of using plate girders is that it can be designed for higher
span to depth ratios in case of clearance issues at obligatory spans.

Q8
Beam Connection:-
A fin plate connection consists of a length of plate welded in the workshop to the supporting
member, to which the supported beam web is bolted on site, as shown in the figure below.
There is a small clearance between the end of the supported beam and the supporting
column. Fin plate connections
.
There are various types of steel beam connections used in structures. Steel beam connections
are categorized into two groups namely framed and seated connections.
In the framed steel beam connections, the beam is connected to the supporting steel element
through fittings whereas in case of seated connections, the beam is positioned on seat similar
to the case where beam is placed on masonry walls.

In this article, different types of steel beam connections are discussed.

Fig.1: Different Types of Steel Beam to Beam Connections

Fig.2: Steel Beam to Beam Connections

Types of Steel Beam Connections
Various types of beam connections are provided below:
o Bolted framed connections
o Bolted seated connections
o Welded framed connections
o Welded seat connections
o End plate connections
o Special connections
o Simple, rigid and semi-rigid connections
Bolted Framed Steel Beam Connections
In this type of connection, steel beams are linked to supporting elements whether it is steel
girders or columns with web connection angle as seen in Figure-3.

Fig.3: Bolted Framed Steel Beam Connection

Commonly, the connection is designed based on the loads at the end of the beam. It is
required to take strength, type and size of fasteners and strength of base materials into
consideration while the connection is designed.

The minimum length of connection angle should be at least half of the beam clear web
depth. This measure is specified to ensure sufficient stiffness and stability.

There are various standard sizes of bolted framed connections along with their capacity
provided by codes. The purpose of such standardized connection is to increase the speed of
the design.

It is recommended to use minimum connection sufficient to withstand the applied load to

make the design as economical as possible.

Bolted Seated Steel Beam Connection

There are two major types of bolted seated connections including unstiffened bolted seat
connections and stiffened bolted seat connection as illustrated in Figure-4 and Figure-5.
 Fig.4: Unstiffened Bolted Seat Connection

Fig.5: Stiffened Bolted Seat Connection

If the reactions at the end of the beam is large, then it is recommended to consider stiffened
seat connections because it has adequate capacity to resist large forces whereas the capacity
of unstiffened seat connection is restricted due to limited bending capacity of seat angle leg
that stick out horizontally.

The most outstanding advantage of seat connection is that the beam can be fabricated
economically and seat would provide immediate support during erection.

The function of the top angle used in seat connection is to prevent the beam to suffer from
accidental rotations.

It is worth mentioning that this type of connection does not need considerable shop detailing.
Bolted connections are desired from environmental point of view because the structure can
be dismantled and elements can be used in other projects. Added to that, bolted connections
can be erected with great ease.

Welded Framed Steel Beam Connection

Like other two types of beam connections, various sizes of welded framed connections with
their capacities are available and provided by codes.

The weld of the connection is subjected to direct shear stress and stress caused by loads on
the beam that affect weld pattern. So, these stresses are required to be considered.
Clearly, part of the welding is carried out in the field which is challenging since it is difficult
to achieve high quality weld due to movements of steel members caused by winds or other
factors.

Welded Seat Steel Beam Connections

It is similar to bolt seat connection but welding is used for fastening rather than bolts. The
loads on the beam affect the weld pattern eccentrically and generate stress. So, like welded
framed connections, such stresses need to be considered.

Types of welded seat connections include unstiffened seat and stiffened seat. The former is
used in the case of small applied loads whereas the latter is suitable for case of large loads.

It is advised to use bolts to connect beam bottom flange to the seat. These bolts can be
removed or left at their position after the welding process is ended. Welded connection is not
desired from environmental point of view and worker. This is because such connection is
neither can be dismantled nor erected easily.

End Plate Steel Beam Connection

This type of connection is made possible through the use of welding art. The end plate is
connected to the beam web through weld because its capacity and size is governed by shear
capacity of the beam web adjoining the weld.

The load applied on the connection at the end of the member does not have eccentricities.
There are different types of end plate connections including flexible, semi-rigid, and rigid
end plate connections.

It should be known that, fabrications and cuttings should be conducted with utmost care to
avoid errors. For example, cutting the beams to length must be as accurate as possible.

Finally, end plate connections are not suitable for tall steel structures.

Special Steel Beam Connections

This type of connections is used for the case where the arrangements of the structural
element are in such a way that standard connections cannot be used.

For example, intersection angels might be different by a certain degree and when beam
centers offset from column centers.

Examples of special connections include bent-plate framed, single web plate, one sided
framed, balanced web plate and Z type connection.

The ability of connections to transfer moments to the columns is based on the degree of
fixity of the connections. The higher the degree of fixity of the beam connection, the greater
the ability to transfer moments to the columns.
If the connection is designed to transfer moments, then it should be able to withstand shear
forces from the beam and transfer moments to the columns.

Q9

Definition:

Plastic analysis is defined as the analysis in which the criterion for the design of structures is
the ultimate load. We can define it as the analysis inelastic material is studied beyond the
elastic limit (which can be observed in stress strain diagram). Plastic analysis derives from a
simple mode failure in which plastic hinges form. Actually the ultimate load is found from
the strength of steel in plastic range. This method of analysis is quite rapid and has rational
approach for analysis of structure. It controls the economy regarding to weight of steel since
the sections required by this method are smaller than those required by the method of elastic
analysis. Plastic analysis has its application in the analysis and design of indeterminate
structures.

Plastic Collapse Mechanism

In a continuous beam, the maximum moment point will occur at the support and at a point of
zero shear between the supports. Regarding the strength concepts of plastic analysis, the
behavior of an inner span in a continuous beamwill be the same as that of a fixed ended
beam. Considering the graphical convenience, choose the fixed end beam as shown below.
For the idealized moment curvature relationship, plastic hinges form at each support when

the applied load value is wph , which is obtained from . When the applied load is
increased from wpx to the plastic collapse load, wu the member behavior is elastic between
the supports,and the member-end moments remain constant at their maximum value of

The first plastic hinge is createdat supports and then redistribution of moment occurs,until a
plastic hinge occurs inzero-shear point between the supports.The applied load value
is wu Each beam segment between plastic hinges can move without anyincrease in load.

A system of such beam segments is called a plastic collapse mechanism,which is an unstable

structure. This will be unstable,until thestrain hardeningoccurs at one or more of theplastic
hinge locations.

In the figure, deflected shape under the plastic collapse mechanism is shown as straight
beam segments between the plastic hinges. When the plastic collapse mechanism forms,
eachbeam segment is bent due to Mpx but the further behavior of the plastic collapse
mechanism does not involve any additional bending of any beam segment.

The plastic collapse mechanism behavior is identical. This fact is very useful in performing a
plastic analysis by a method that involves the motion of the plastic collapse mechanism due
to an imposed virtual displacement.
Q