Experimental and numerical investigation on the non-uniform temperature distribution of steel beams with corrugated web under solar radiation

Thermal effects on steel structures due to the direct exposure of solar radiation is one of significant factors affecting the performance of structures. Nowadays, the corrugated web steel beam has been widely adopted in structural engineering on account of its good mechanical properties. However, there are rare investigations regarding the temperature distribution of corrugated web steel beams. In this paper, experimental studies have been conducted to obtain the non-uniform temperature distribution of the corrugated web steel beam under solar radiation. The numerical simulation of the steel beams with corrugated web has been developed and validated by the experimental data. Furthermore, the temperature fields of the flat-webbed steel beam have also been investigated numerically. The comparison of the steel beams in respect of flat web and corrugated web has been conducted. The experiment results verify the existing of a major non-uniform temperature distribution in the corrugated web steel beam. The numerical results regarding the temperature fields of steel beams with two different web types indicates that the temperature fields of the corrugated web steel beams are more complicated. It hopes that the present study can contribute to the temperature field of steel beams with corrugated web and provide an important reference for further investigations.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the non-uniform temperature distribution of corrugated web steel beams under solar radiation through experimental and numerical simulation studies. The results confirm the existence of a major non-uniform temperature distribution in the corrugated web steel beams and show that the temperature fields of these beams are more complicated compared to flat-webbed steel beams.