ENERGY DISSIPATING MODES AND DESIGN RECOMMENDATION OF H-SHAPED STEEL BAFFLES SUBJECTED TO BOULDER IMPACT

Flexible barriers are one of the most effective protective structures, which have been widely used for the mitigation of rockfalls. As the only compression members in a flexible barrier system, steel posts maintain the integrity of the interception structure to keep the function of the system. Due to the random trajectories of rockfalls, steel posts may be impacted by boulders directly. The impact scenario may result in the failure of the post and even the collapse of the system. In this paper, firstly, steel baffles were proposed to be an additional structural countermeasure to avoid the direct impact of posts. Secondly, numerical method was adopted to study the structural behaviour of steel baffles under direct boulder impact. Then, an available published experimental test of H-shaped steel beams under drop weight impact loading by others was back analyzed to calibrate the finite element model. Finally, numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the energy dissipating modes and energy dissipating efficiency of the H-shaped steel baffles. The simulation results show that there are three typical energy dissipating modes of H-shaped baffles subjected to boulder impact, namely flexural, local compression buckling and shear buckling. Local compression buckling is the most efficient energy dissipating mode. The thickness of the web of an H-shaped baffle is suggested to be 4 mm and 6 mm for the rated dissipating energy of 50 kJ and 100 kJ, respectively.

Structural parameters analysis for tapered steel section with perforation: effect of shear buckling behaviour

Purpose Due to economic development, tapered members are commonly applied in steel frames, namely, industrial halls, warehouses, exhibition centres, etc. In the design of cantilever steel beam structures in cities building design, tapering is introduced at the web profile to achieve utmost economy and suit the bending moment distributions. The cross-sectional shape of the beam is varied linearly to the moment gradient to achieve the target of higher efficiency with lower cost. Design/methodology/approach The shear deformation pattern and efficiency of the tapered steel section with perforation were investigated using finite element analysis. In addition, I-beam with web opening is studied numerically via LUSAS software for different parameters of tapering ratio, perforation shape and perforation size and perforation layout. Findings The highest contributing parameters for the highest shear buckling capacity and efficiency of the section were due to the small opening size and tapering ratio. Whilst the variation of perforation layout and spacing give a major effect on the shear strength and efficiency of the tapered steel section with perforation. Besides that, the highest efficiency model is found when the section is designed with 0.4 D diamond perforation in Layout 3 under a tapering ratio of 0.3. The critical shear buckling load and efficiency is reduced 14.39% and 13.91%, respectively, when perforations are added onto the tapered steel sections. Originality/value The tapered steel section with perforation has lower critical shear buckling load and efficiency compared to the tapered section without perforation but obtains a higher critical shear buckling load and efficiency compared to the uniform section without perforation.