Castellated Beams

A castellated beam is
created by slicing an I-beam longitudinally along its web in a specific
pattern. The goal here is to separate and rejoin the beam with a deeper web.
Castellated beams offer increased depth compared to the original section, while
maintaining nearly the same weight. The key advantage of these members is their
ability to increase depth without adding weight, making them highly efficient
for enhancing load-bearing capacity. They provide greater moment-carrying
capacity without additional steel. Also, they are useful in situations with
height limitations. However, these benefits also come with additional failure
mechanisms and necessitating checks.

Since ProtaStructure
2025 onwards, you can now model, analyze and design castellated beams. In the attached document,
you will explore how to insert a castellated beam, how to design a non-composite
castellated beam and the detailing process.