Full scale test and analytical evaluation on flexural behavior of tapered H-section beams with slender web

In December 2005, one(A) of the two pre-engineered warehouse buildings in the port of K City of Korea was completely destroyed and the other(B) was seriously damaged to be demolished. Over-loaded snow and unexpected blast of wind were the causes of the accident and destructive behavior was brittle fracture caused by web local buckling and lateral torsional buckling at the flange below rafter. However, the architectural design technology of today based on material non-linear method does not consider the tolerances to solve the problem of such brittle fracture. So, geometric non-linear evaluation which includes initial deformation, width-thickness ratio, web stiffener and unbraced length is required. This study evaluates the structural safety of 4 models in terms of width-thickness ratio and unbraced length using ANSYS 9.0 with parameters such as width-thickness ratio of web, existence/non-existence of stiffener and unbraced length. The purpose of this study is to analyze destructive mechanism of the above-mentioned two warehouse buildings and to provide ways to promote the safety of pre-engineered buildings.