Improved Shear Strength of Webs Designed in Accordance with the LRFD Specification

The dependence of the LRFD design rules for shear resistance on the web elastic local buckling coefficient is demonstrated. A finite strip method of analysis, based on complex arithmetic and that incorporates shear, is then used to derive elastic local buckling coefficients that incorporate the restraint provided by the flanges of an I-section member. It is shown by an example how these enhanced buckling coefficients lead to greater calculated shear strengths, thereby producing economies in the use of steel.