Evaluation of the remaining lateral torsional buckling capacity in corroded steel members

Corrosion is one of the main causes of deterioration in steel structures. Loss of thickness in flanges and web of corroded steel beams leads to reduction in section properties which can reduce the lateral torsional buckling capacity of the member. In this paper, thickness loss data were compiled from four samples of corrosion damaged I-beams removed from a petro-chemical plant. Visual examination of the four corroded beams showed that they were corroded uniformly. To improve the accuracy of the results, a large number of measurements for surface roughness were taken for each beam, totally 770 values to obtain the average thickness of flanges and web of each beam. The data was used to develop a corrosion decay model in order to calculate the percentage remaining lateral torsional buckling capacity of long and short span beams which are laterally unrestrained. To estimate the percentage of remaining lateral torsional buckling capacity in the corroded damaged I-beams, the readily available minimum curves for different types of universal beams in conjunction with information on the thickness loss were used. The results can be used by practicing engineers for better estimation on the service life of deteriorated steel structures.