ABSTRACT
Test specimens of LCBs, 250 × 75 × 1.9 LCB and 160 × 65 × 1.9 LCB, were considered in the shear tests. Three opening sizes of 60, 100 and 125 mm were selected based on the standard sizes. Plate and stud stiffeners were used with varying thicknesses and sizes and screw fastening arrangements in nine tests. Eight tests were also carried out without stiffening the web openings, giving a total of 17 tests. Details of experimental studies are reported in Keerthan and Mahendran (2012). Figure 1 shows the stiffener arrangements used in experiments. Tests results show that plate stiffeners of appropriate thickness screw-fastened using Arrangement 2 were able to restore the full shear capacity of LCBs. Tests showed that the plate stiffeners established as per AISI (2004) recommendations are not adequate to restore the shear strengths of LCB with large web openings.
