Q. Explain about Castellated beams?

Castellated beams refer to the type of beams which involve expanding a standard rolled steel section in such a way that a predetermined pattern is cut on section webs and the rolled section is cut into two halves. The two halves are joined together by welding and high points of web pattern are linked together to form a castellated beam. Castellated beams were normally used in Europe in 1950's because of the limited ranges of the available steel rolled section and cheap labour cost. In terms of structural performance, operation of splitting and expanding the rolled steel sections helps to increase the section modulus of the beams. Furthermore it is versatile for its high strength to weight ratio so that lighter section can be designed with subsequent cost saving in foundation.