THE RESTRAINT GIRDER SYSTEM - LOCAL WEB BUCKLING BEHAVIOR AND DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

The Restraint Girder System (RGS) was previously presented as a new de sign option for composite girders.(14) RGS is a composite steel and co ncrete girder, made continuous with rigid Or semi-rigid connections. T he RGS design provides beneficial cost, depth and deflection results, and is easy to construct. Various parts and components of the Restrain t Girder System were previously studied by the writer, Van Dalen, Leon , Johnson, Kemp and others. Local web buckling was studied by Kemp. Th is paper presents an analysis for web buckling considerations when US steel shapes are designed with RGS, provides a definitive classificati on for all US shapes and provides recommendations to be included in a future RGS addition to the Code. This paper presents the mathematical analysis for web buckling considerations, indicates how U.S. steel sec tions with RGS are rated for local web buckling and provides recommend ed options for ductility.