Global buckling investigation on laterally-unrestrained Q460GJ steel beams under three-point bending

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on the global buckling behaviour of doubly-symmetric Q460GJ steel beams under three-point bending. A total of eight simply-supported beams with different slendernesses and height-to-width ratios were tested in the experimental programme. To achieve the required loading and boundary conditions, a special loading system was designed for the beams so that the vertical load applied at the mid-span through a hydraulic jack could move with the beams in the lateral direction, and a set of steel rollers was placed in the supports. All eight beams failed in lateral-torsional buckling. Finite element models were also developed for the beams, in which initial geometric imperfections and residual stresses were considered. The model was validated against experimental results, and a reasonably good agreement was obtained. A series of parametric study was carried out to gain a deep understanding of the effects of slenderness and height-to-width ratio on buckling factor. Comparisons were made between numerical data and calculated values in accordance with different national codes.