Stability and failure mechanism tests of a plate girder with a Y-shaped web.

The aim of the research project was to confirm the assumption that the introduction of the Y-shaped web geometry would improve the economic efficiency of using a plate girder with this Y-shaped innovative web geometry in plate girder beams.
During the pilot studies, experimental tests were carried out on 9 research specimen of plate girder beams with a Y-shaped web, based on which the critical load values and destruction mechanisms of the analyzed beams were determined. The obtained results were compared with the results obtained for a plate girder beam of constant thickness and standard web geometry.
In the second stage of the research, the results of the conducted experimental tests were used to verify the correctness of the three-dimensional numerical model using the finite element method (FEM).