COLAPSO DE VIGAS DE SEÇÃO I AFUNILADAS EM ESTRUTURAS DE AÇO DE GRANDE VÃO: VALIDAÇÃO DO MODELO DE ELEMENTOS FINITOS

Resumo

Tapered steel beams and columns have been increasingly used as primary load carrying
members. The determination of their accurate ultimate capacity can only be achieved by means of
advanced numerical methods such as the finite element method. This paper presents a systematic study

on the influence of the finite element model parameters on the ultimate load of I-section tapered beam-
columns typically used in large-span steel frames. It aims the determination of optimal sub-step

number to be used during the arc-length scheme and the finite element mesh size for the performance
of an accurate, robust and efficient inelastic post-buckling parametric analysis. This is part of an
ongoing investigation aimed to use the parametric analysis results to develop analytical predictive
models of buckling and collapse loads of this type of members, using artificial neural networks. Once
validated the finite element model, using hexahedral 8-node finite elements, 5 sub-steps and finite
element edge sizes of 30 and 40 mm have been selected for use in the future parametric analysis.