Hu, YeMohareb, MagdiDoudak, Ghasan2022-02-142022-02-152017Hu Y, Mohareb M, Doudak G (2017) Lateral Torsional Buckling of Wooden Beams with Midspan Lateral Bracing Offset from Section Mid-height, Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 143(11) - 04017134https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001359http://hdl.handle.net/10393/43289https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-27506An energy-based solution is developed for the lateral torsional buckling analysis of wooden beams with a mid-span lateral brace subjected to uniformly distributed loads or mid-span point load. The predicted critical moments and mode shapes are shown to agree with results based on three- dimensional finite element analysis. The study indicates that such beams are prone to two buckling patterns: a symmetric mode and an anti-symmetric mode. Whether the symmetric or the anti-symmetric mode governs the critical moment capacity is shown to depend on the bracing height. A technique is then developed to determine the threshold bracing height required to maximize the critical moment. A parametric study is then conducted to investigate the effect of lateral bracing and load height effects on the critical moments. Simple design equations are developed to predict critical moments for a practical range of cases. The limitations of the simplified procedure are discussed. For cases outside the scope of the simplified procedure, designers are recommended to adopt the more detailed energy-based solution. Design examples are provided to illustrate the merits and applicability of the proposed procedure in practical situations.enLateral torsional bucklinglateral bracingload heightbracing heightsimplified design equationsArticle