Influence of trapezoidal and sinusoidal corrugation on the flexural capacity of optimally designed thin-walled beams

Major engineering requirements and technological developments in the steel construction industry are discussed to support a new innovative system, namely corrugated web beams, for future structural projections. These new-generation steel beams, fabricated as welded plate girders with corrugated webs, are designed to combine large spans with very low weight. In the present study, the flexural capacity of optimally designed trapezoidal and sinusoidal corrugated web beams was aimed at. For this purpose, the new metaheuristic methods, specifically hunting search and firefly algorithms, were used for the minimum weight design of both beams according to the rules of Eurocode EN 1193 15 and DASt-Ri 015. In addition, the strengthening effects of the corrugation geometry at the web posts on the load capacity of fabricated steel beams were tested in a reaction frame. The experimental tests displayed that the lateral capacity of trapezoidal web beams is more durable under flexural loads compared to sinusoidal web beams. These thin-walled beams were also simulated using a 3-D finite element model with plane strain to validate test results and describe the effectiveness of the ABAQUS software.