A Study of Steel Web Tapered Tee Section Cantilevers

This paper discusses the behaviour of steel web tapered tee cantilevers subject to a point load at the free end. A tapered beam varies its section properties along the beam and therefore the highest stress may not occur at the support, unlike untapered beams. Five cases distinguished by the degree of taper were analysed theoretically and using finite element analysis. The bending stress pattern along the beam was identified and the deflections of the beams were examined. Six cantilevers were tested experimentally and the results are compared with the theoretical and finite element analyses. It was shown that as the degree of taper increases, the position of the maximum compressive stress moves towards the cantilever tip and the magnitude of the maximum stress increases. It has been found that the position of the maximum compressive stress depends solely on the degree of taper. A simple equation is proposed to determine this position, along with an alternative graphical solution.