In this paper, the behavior of the intertwined shear and patch loading mechanisms in transversally stiffened steel plate girders is described. The phenomenological insight depicted in this paper shows the influence of the web thickness and the flange yield strength as well as the influence of the transverse stiffeners on the stress distribution, the critical loads and on the equilibrium path of this particular type of loading. A previously validated numerical model is used systematically as a simulation tool. Stress-, strain-, force- and displacement fields are exploited for the sake of inferring and idealizing the most valuable features of the depicted mechanical model.
Patch loading; shear buckling; steel plate girders; plate buckling
