Marek Piekarczyk

This paper summarises a study on the imperfection sensitivity of the shell of a steel cylindrical tank. The loadings – normal to the peripheral of the shell and along it were taken into consideration. A bifurcation analysis and then a non-linear analysis with geometric imperfections, which amounted to 2, 5, 10 mm, were conducted. Comparison of the results is given in the form of charts and tables, some conclusions are then drawn.

A review of contemporary achievements in the field of advantages taken from the glueing technique in metal structures is done in the paper. A dhesives being in use at present and accessible on the market are characterized taking into account their mechanical properties. Design rules of glued connections and basic methods for their calculations are given. The most significant examples of the applications of the joints in metal building industry are shown.

The paper presents an analysis of the guidelines of the European standards on procedures for the calculation of shell structures. The analysis is illustrated with examples concerning three types of structures of the type i.e.: a chimney, a silo and a tank.

In this paper a new approach to the consistent identification of the deformation pattern vital for the precise determination of the plastic limit load of a cylindrical shell from MNA when using modified Southwell (MS) and Tangent Stiffness (TS) plots is presented. It is proposed that the formalised assessment of the plastic collapse load can be done by the application of the relation between the load factor increment ΔrR and the arc length s – for an identification of achievement of the complete plastic collapse mechanism from MNA, and then the MS or TS plot for the displacement pattern that corresponds to the identified plastic mechanism.

The paper presents an example of the determination of moment resistance for a liner tray restrained by sheeting according to the rules given in standard PN-EN 1993-1-3 [12].

A comparative study of the load-bearing capacity of selected steel plate girders with slender webs under fire action is presented in this paper. Typical plate girders and girders with corrugated webs are considered. Stiffeners are only placed at the ends of cantilever beams so the shear buckling is a possibility. Fire resistance of the analysed members was estimated using two separate FEM software packages. Moreover, the computational approach applied for each case was different, thus validation of the software was possible. Failure modes, critical temperatures and deformations for steel plate girders subject to fire temperatures are also presented.