Symmetric I- or T-section - sits

This is a section frequently adopted for the modelling of I- or T-shaped steel profiles.

Materials and Dimensions

Only one material (steel) needs to be defined.

The required dimensions are as follows:

  • Bottom flange width. The default value is 0.1 m
  • Bottom flange thickness. The default value is 0.01 m
  • Top flange width. The default value is 0.2 m
  • Top flange thickness. The default value is 0.015 m
  • Web height. The default value is 0.3 m
  • Web thickness. The default value is 0.015 m

Notes

  1. A T-section can be obtained by assigning identical values to bottom flange width and web thickness.
  2. You may use an I-section to model the retrofitting of a RC rectangular member with longitudinally-oriented steel or FRP layers applied on the two opposite sides of the section. To do this, first create a material model featuring the properties of the retrofitting material and then use an I-section element with web height that equals that of the original element's section, a web thickness that is approximately zero, flange width/thickness dimensions corresponding to the width/thickness of the retrofitting layer, and connect this new retrofitting element to the same nodes to which the existing element is connected to. Evidently, for those cases where the fibres are placed only on one side (e.g. retrofitting of beams) a T-shaped section can be used.