| Steel Design in Canada is based on CAN/CSA-S16.1-94 “Limit States Design of Steel Structures”. The provisions in this Standard governing shear design of stiffened plate girders, have to be combined with a number of other equations that influence the choice of web thickness, girder depth, and the spacing of intermediate stiffeners.; This study reviews the influence of each of the equations that govern the shear design of stiffened plate girders in order to determine the relevance of each equation. It has been found that, of the twenty-six equations that could restrict the design, only five are likely to have any influence on a typical design.; The mapping reveals that most equations have virtually no effect. This reveals avenues for possible simplification of the standard. A design approach is suggested which can be expected to lead to a choice of economical proportions with a minimum of computational effort. |
