AD 310 - Staircases With Flat Stringers

Advisory Desk
AD 310
Staircases with flat stringers
The Advisory Desk is sometimes called by engineers who have been asked tread and the major axis stiffness of the stringers prevent it from deflecting
to justify the flat stringers in staircases, but cannot see how this can be more than the tension edge. Therefore the compression edge and the tension
done. This AD explains the phenomena involved and gives guidance on edge are in neutral equilibrium for the case of buckling on the overall length
calculations for stability of the stringers. A typical staircase is shown in of the stringers. Therefore the buckling mode of the stringer caused by
Figure 1. bending will be as shown in Figure 4. In this case the slenderness for lateral
torsional buckling λLT is best estimated by using B.2.7 with the length taken as
Tread the distance between fixings of the treads into the compression (top) edge of
the stringer, as shown in Figure 5.
Front of tread Stringer

A
Figure 4: Lateral torsional buckling
mode restricted by treads
connecting the tension edge to the
Back of tread
compression edge
Figure 1: Typical staircase
The main problem that is encountered is the calculation of the buckling

of the stringers due to bending. The slenderness λLT of the stringers can be
calculated using BS 59501 Annex B clause B.2.7. However, when the span of
the stringers is used, the slenderness is so great that the capacity is too low Figure 5: Distance between fixings
to support the loaded staircase. of the treads into the compression
The calculation described above is appropriate for calculating the edge of the stringer
slenderness of an unrestrained flat undergoing lateral torsional buckling in
the mode shown in Figure 2. The deflected form caused by the buckling is The further the tread fixings are from the top and bottom edges of the
shown for a cross-section of the stringer in Figure 3. This shows that the top stringer and the greater the flexibility of the treads and fixings, the more the
edge of the stringer, which is in compression, deflects laterally more than the slenderness λLT will approach the slenderness of the buckling mode shown
bottom edge, which is in tension. The use of the total length of the stringer to in Figure 2.
calculate the slenderness has ignored the effect of the treads. The forces and moments resisted by stringers are complex. They include
vertical bending, and some small lateral bending because walking delivers
some small lateral loads. There is also an axial load because the stringer is
on a slope. This axial load can be tensile, so not destabilising, provided the
structure above the flight of stairs can resist this load. If this is not possible,
then the resistance to the axial compression together with the bending
moments should be checked.
The stringers can then be checked for resistance to lateral torsional buckling
as follows:

1. Check the staircase has geometry and tread form which will cause
buckling as Figure 4
2. Take the stringer as Class 3
3. Calculate λLT using B.2.7 with the length shown in Figure 5, using the
effective length factor of 1.0, and bw for Class 3 (Zx/Sx = 2/3 for a flat)
Figure 2: Lateral torsional buckling Figure 3: Displacement of stringer
mode deflecting over the full length cross-section A-A due to lateral 4. Calculate Mb = pbZx as 4.3.6.4
torsional buckling
It is wise to attach the treads to the stringers close to the compression
In the staircase shown in Figure 1, the treads are fixed into the stringers edge and the tension edge for stability of the stringers. It is generally unwise
near the top edge at the front of the tread and near the bottom edge at the to be too clever in reducing the sizes of staircase components because the
back of the tread. If the tread is rigid in plane (for example a solid plate, not behaviour is complex and the lighter the structure the more susceptible it is
open mesh flooring) and the connection from the tread into the stringer is to vibrations.
reasonably stiff, the stiffness of the tread prevents the buckling mode shown
in Figure 2 from developing. This is because the tension edge of the stringer Contact: Charles King
does not want to deflect laterally, because the tension pulls it straight. The Tel: 01344 636525
compression edge wants to buckle laterally, but the in-plane stiffness of the Email: [email protected]
38 NSC April 2007

AD 310 - Staircases With Flat Stringers

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Advisory Desk

Front of tread Stringer

Figure 1: Typical staircase

The main problem that is encountered is the calculation of the buckling

38 NSC April 2007

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