Numerical investigation into the effectiveness of steel i-beam strengthening techniques in steel-framed buildings

Abstract While structural strengthening is not the consequence of a structure's condition of failure, it does take place as a result of a need to increase the structural stiffness and load capacity when a change in the structure's usage occurs. As a result, various techniques must be presented to enhance the structural elements by considering economic and time requirement factors and load-bearing capacity. In this study, the issue is demonstrated using a steel I-beam that was strengthened using six different techniques to postpone the beam's lateral torsional buckling to achieve its full plastic flexural capacity. Finite element (FE) analyses were carried out with the use of Abaqus software to predict the response of both unstrengthened and strengthened steel I-beams in a four-point bending test for a total of 56 specimens with different parameters studied. In order to understand which strengthening techniques are most appropriate for a new or existing steel building, an analysis of the costs was conducted for each strengthening technique to reach a conclusion regarding which strengthening techniques would be ideal for use.