Numerical simulation of composite steel-concrete alveolar beams: web-post buckling, Vierendeel and flexural mechanisms

Abstract Composite alveolar beams consist in the union of two structural systems largely employed in civil construction sector: the steel-concrete composite beams and the alveolar steel beams. Thus, its use allows their advantages to be enhanced, enabling to design even larger spans and to achieve more economical and sustainable solutions. Considering that Brazilian and international standards do not directly specify criteria for the analysis and design of these beams, in this paper it is presented the development and validation of an updated finite element model, using ANSYS software, capable of simulating different failure modes that may occur, such as web-post buckling, Vierendeel mechanism and flexural mechanism. The obtained results presented a good correlation with experimental results from previous works. After the model validation, the effect of the openings on the composite beam was investigated and discussed, and it was concluded that the web-post buckling may limit the structural gains on load capacity, so it is important to adopt opening patterns that enhance the resistance of the beam to this mode of failure.