STRENGTH OF THIN-WALLED BOX GIRDERS CURVED IN PLAN

This paper presents a numerical method for predicting the influence of local buckling in component plates and distortional phenomenon on the ultimate strength of thin-walled, welded steel box girders curved in plan. A modified stress-strain curve allowing for local buckling of pl ate components is proposed. The effect of distortion is considered thr ough incorporating additional strain in the reference stage of the inc remental process in the nonlinear flexure analysis. Theoretical predic tions obtained using the proposed method are compared to experimental test results. Nonlinear behavior of the test girders is illustrated an d reasonable agreement between tests and theory is observed.