Hey,
I have a task to design composite bridge made of two steel plate girders and I wonder which option should I choose to create new cross section - solid section or thin-walled section? What is the difference between this two options?
Hello,
the difference between solid and thin-walled cross sections is in the determination of shear stresses.
Thin-walled cross sections consist of line elements in which the shear stress across the thickness is constant. Therefore thin-walled cross section should be used if the section has thin elements, e.g. steel cross sections.
Solid cross sections consist of polygons. Here the shear stresses are determined inside the cross section either with the Finite Element Method or with the Boundary Element Method.
Further information can be found in the manual of the program AQUA:
- chapter 2.8 Shear Stresses in Solid Sections
- chapter 2.9 Shear Stresses in Thin-walled Sections
Wirh kind regards
Sabine Fahrendholz
Senior Product Manager