Innovative analysis and design of steel structures for lateral torsional buckling

作为一种建筑材料，结构钢具有几个优点：施工速度快、强度重量比高、连接简单、易于进行结构修改，以及能够连接相对较长的跨度。因此，结构钢在加拿大被广泛应用于各种应用，包括工业结构、炼油厂、发电厂、石化厂、管架、高层建筑、商业结构、体育场和竞技场。在此类应用中，大跨度无支承横向梁通常受其横向扭转屈曲破坏模式的支配。考虑到侧向扭转屈曲理论的复杂性，目前的设计标准只针对基本的设计情况提供了简单的解决方案。将这种简化的设计程序应用于现实的复杂问题，要么导致(A)过于保守的设计导致结构比所需的成本更高，要么(B)安全裕度不一致。在此背景下，建议的研究计划旨在提出钢构件横向扭转屈曲的分析和设计方法。

Structural steel offers several advantages as a construction material: speed of construction, high strength-to-weight ratio, connection simplicity, amenability to structural modifications, and ability to bridge relatively long spans. As such, structural steel is widely used in Canada in various applications including industrial structures, oil refineries, power plants, petrochemical plants, pipe racks, high rise buildings, commercial structures, stadiums and arenas. In such applications, long span laterally unsupported beams are known to be governed by their lateral torsional buckling mode of failure. Given the complexity of lateral torsional buckling theory, current design standards provide simple solutions only for basic design situations. The application of such simplified design procedures to realistic complex problems lead either to (a) overly conservative designs resulting in costlier structures than needed or (b) inconsistent margins of safety. Within this context, the proposed research program aims at advancing methods of analysis and design of steel members for lateral torsional buckling.