The Restraint Girder System- Local Web Buckling Behavior and Design Considerations

The Restraint Girder System (RGS) was previously presented as a new design option for composite girders. RGS is a composite steel and concrete girder, made continuous with rigid or semi-rigid connections. The RGS design provides beneficial cost, depth and deflection results, and is easy to construct. Various parts and components of the Restraint Girder System were previously studied by the writer, Van Dalen, Leon, Johnson, Kemp and others. Local web buckling was studied by Kemp. This paper presents an analysis for web buckling considerations when US steel shapes are designed with RGS, provides a definitive classification 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 sections with RGS are rated for local web buckling and provides recommended options for ductility.