An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Stiffeners on Shear-resistant Plate-girder Webs

The results of 60 different tests on 2 aluminum alloy 17S-T plate girders are presented to show the influence of size and spacing of stiffeners upon the buckling characteristics of shear-resistant webs within the elastic range. It is demonstrated that stiffeners increase the stability of a web by retarding the formation subdivided panels. An empirical method of proportioning stiffeners is proposed which recognizes both of these stiffener functions, and comparisons are made with design procedures based upon theoretical considerations of the buckling problem. Also, some experimental data are provided to show the effect of stiffener size and spacing upon ultimate web strengths.