Design procedures for combined shear and patch loading of plate girders

A series of tests has been conducted on twelve short-span slender-plate girders to investigate their ultimate resistance to shear loading, patch loading and combined shear and patch loading. Theoretical predictions of ultimate shear and patch resistance, based on existing ultimate-limit-state theories, show reasonably close correlation with the test data presented herein. However, existing interaction formulae, based on tests on trapezoidal beams and plate girders with corrugated webs, appear either unduly conservative or unsafe, while design recommendations in codes of practice appear inconsistent and very conservative. An improved design procedure for slender plate girders subjected to combined shear and patch loading is presented, the results of which show satisfactory correlation with the available test data.