Experimental study on the flexural behaviour ofstainlesssteel beams

Abstract

In order to quantify the influence of the material non-linearity effects on the flexural behaviour of stainless steel beams, an experimental programme has been conducted. The experimental tests have been performed on six simply supported beams and six continuous beams. The beams have been instrumented with transducers, strain gauges and load cells to determine their structural response. Some conclusions may be derived from the experimental results. A numerical model based on the finite element method is used to analyse the flexural behaviour of the beams during the tests. A comparative analysis between the experimental results of deflections and those results derived from the numerical model is done. On the other hand, deflections obtained using rules specified in Eurocode 3, Part 1-4 are also compared with both experimental and numerical results. Several conclusions are pointed out to calculate deflections in stainless steel beams conside-ring the material non-linearity effects and the effectiveness of the cross-section.