Difference between camber and sweep in steel structures

Today we are talking about bent steel members. Bent may be a camber or sweep in steel detailing. A camber denotes a curve in the vertical plane and a sweep denotes a curve in the horizontal plane. About steel structures (beams, Channels, Tees, Rails, Angles, and Tubing) camber applies to the curve about the strong axis, and sweep applies to the curve about the weaker axis of the member.

Cambered beams may offer superior support in a bridge by reducing any sag or downward deflection from the weight of an asphalt road. One might put a sweep in a beam to improve the aesthetics of the project. A sweep can enhance the appearance of a particular structure greatly, without compromising its function.

What is cambering?

Cambering is a process of creating an intentional slight curvature of the beam. Camber in a beam can be designed to compensate for either:

• A certain percentage of the dead load deflection
• The full dead load deflection
• The full dead load deflection as well as a percentage of the live load deflection

Camber is usually designed to compensate for deflections caused by pre-composite dead loads.

What is Sweep? And the difference between camber and sweep?

Fig: Difference between camber and sweep

A sweep means a bend in the steel beam along the horizontal axis. It can form an arc, circle or take on a serpentine profile. Sweep curves offer an easy way to change the direction of a bridge, if needed, or create unusual architectural features in a building, among other applications.

A camber denotes a curve in the vertical plane (hard way bending) and a sweep denotes a curve in the horizontal plane (easy way bending). About steel structures (beams, Channels, Tees, Rails, Angles, and Tubing) camber applies to the curve about the strong axis, and sweep applies to the curve about the weaker axis of the member.

The difference between camber and sweep versus bending and rolling is that camber and sweep have a rather small mid-ordinate rise, say 1/4 to 2 inches over 40ft, while bending and rolling have large and small radii, say 2ft radius to 300ft radius.

A common way to put a camber or sweep in steel is to cold roll that product in a pyramid-style three-roll section bender. The rollers push the stress in the steel product past the yield point which will then produce a permanent strain.