By welderbrent
Date 04-05-2015 16:29
Edited 04-06-2015 13:34
I wonder if you are commenting because we 'assumed' by 'I-beam', that the OP was asking about WF beams.
There are 'I-beams' separate from 'WF beams' but for the most part 'H beams' are WF beams. AISC breaks some things down for rails and describes the various differences but we probably did answer wrong for a true I beam.
Gotta get going to Church. Will see about adding tomorrow while my books are handy.
Brent
So, with AISC 14th ed in hand: (Sorry for not taking notice and commenting about the OP's use of 'I-beam' earlier, much of the earlier posts' information may have been totally out of the context of what the OP wanted)
Structural shapes come in many varieties: channel, angle, plate, HSS, etc.
Beams, as normally termed for description, come in 5 overall separate identified products. W-, M-, S-, HP-, and for sake of arguement, crane (train) rails. The first 4 fall into the 'H' shape classification by AISC. Even though 1 in particular is often referred to in slang terms as 'I' beam, a term which many not in the structural end of things also call almost all beams.
WF= Wide Flange, both inside and outside of the flange surface is basically parallel. Generally what is used for the bulk of structural work for columns and beams. For the most part, an 'H' shape and termed such by AISC.
M-shapes= are an 'H' shaped member not classified as W, S, or HP. May have a sloped inside flange face or other feature that does not fall into standard criteria.
S-shapes= (American standard beams) have a slope of about 16 2/3% on the inner flange surface; what many refer to as 'I' beam but also called an 'H' shape by AISC.
HP-shapes= (bearing piles) similar to W-shapes except their webs and flanges are of equal thickness and the depth and flange width are nominally equal for a given designation.
And of course, crane rails= rails for cranes and much like train rails. Have often been used to make anvils and such out of. Not in the 'H' shape category but added for detail to help some understand who may not normally deal with these items.
In all 4 cases of the 'H' shapes the radius area at the flange to web transition is referred to as the 'k'. For the most part, only the W shapes will have consideration of k, k1, k-area, and/or k-section for any welding and even then it is only of major consideration when used in Demand Critical/Seismic applications.
Hope I cleared up the waters and didn't just make things muddier.
He Is In Control, Have a Great Day, Brent
I hear people refer to WF shapes all the time as I beams, so I didn't think about it when the OP mentioned I beam, though as you said, it's still the k-area.
Thanks, that takes a "load" off my mind and puts it on my back. Now I just have to figure out of the choices you gave me what people have used in the past. fortunately most of the time the flange and web sizes were well defined in the drawings. Normally what I always worked with started with the flange at one thickness and gradually thickening toward the web. So I guess this is where I have always differentiated, if the flange was the same thickness to the web, I had always called them "H" beams.
Thanks for your explanation.