Castellated Beams - New Developments

"Castellated beam" is a name commonly used for a type of expanded beam. It is made by expanding a standard rolled shape in a manner which creates a regular pattern of holes in the web. The name is derived from this pattern of web holes, because castellated means "built like a castle, having battlements, or regular holes in the walls, like a castle". Fig. 1 illustrates a castellated beam. It is made by separating a standard rolled shape into two halves by cutting the web in a regular alternating pattern as shown. The halves are rejoined by welding, after offsetting one portion so that the high points of the web pattern come into contact. Some design conditions make it advantageous to increase the depth even more. This is done by adding web plates between high points of the tee sections. These added plates are called "increment plates".