Analysis and design of cold-formed steel channels subjected to combined bending and web crippling

The channel failures due to combined bending and web crippling may occur at the highly concentrated interior loading when there is no load stiffener in cold-formed thin-walled steel beams. This paper presents accurate finite element models to predict the behavior and ultimate strengths of cold-formed steel channels subjected to pure bending as well as combined bending and web crippling. Both geometric and material nonlinearities are considered in the finite element analysis. The nonlinear finite element models are verified against experimental results of cold-formed steel channels subjected to pure bending as well as combined bending and web crippling. The finite element analytical results show a good agreement with the experimental results in terms of the ultimate loads and moments, failure modes and web load-deformation curves thus validating the accuracy of the finite element models. The verified finite element models are then used for an extensive parametric study of different channel dimensions. The channel strengths predicted from the parametric study are compared with the design strengths calculated from the North American Specification for cold-formed steel structures. It is shown that the design rules in the North American Specification are generally conservative for channel sections with unstiffened flanges having the web slenderness ranged from 7.8 to 108.5 subjected to combined bending and web crippling. It is demonstrated that the nonlinear finite element analysis by using the verified finite element models against test results is an effective way to predict the ultimate strengths of cold-formed thin-walled steel members.     

G550高强冷弯薄壁槽钢受弯构件力学性能与设计方法

为了研究高强冷弯薄壁槽钢受弯构件的力学性能和设计方法,对3种板件加劲形式的G550高强冷弯薄壁型钢槽形截面受弯构件进行了试验研究和有限元参数分析。结果表明,板件加劲形式对高强冷弯薄壁槽钢受弯构件屈曲模式和受弯承载力有显著影响,翼缘V形加劲比腹板V形加劲能够更有效地提高构件抗弯承载力,构件抗弯承载力的变化规律与屈曲模式有关。根据有限元参数分析结果,在已有直接强度法基础上回归出适用于高强冷弯薄壁槽钢受弯构件的直接强度法修正公式。     

Structural behaviour and design of lightweight structural panels using perforated cold-formed thin-walled sections under compression

Cold-formed thin-walled steel sections are widely used as primary loadbearing members in lightweight panels that form walls in residential and other low rise structures. In cold regions, the webs of the steel sections are often perforated to reduce the cold bridging effect in order to increase thermal comfort and reduce energy waste. Perforating the web of a steel section will reduce its loadbearing capacity. This paper presents the results of an experimental and numerical study to investigate the compression behaviour of lightweight structural panels using perforated sections. The primary objective of the tests is to provide experimental data to validate the numerical simulations, which were carried out using the commercial finite element analysis software ABAQUS. The validated FE analysis was used to develop a simple design calculation method to convert a section with perforated web to a section with solid web. In the equivalent solid web, the thickness of the solid web would have the same elastic local buckling strength as the original perforated web with the gross thickness while the thickness of the unperforated flanges remains unchanged. By converting a thin-walled section with perforated web to a solid section with an effective web thickness, the conventional design methods for thin-walled structures can be applied.     

Behaviors of concrete-filled steel tubular members subjected to combined loading

The present study is an investigation on the behaviors of concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular members subjected to combined loading, such as compression and torsion, bending and torsion, compression, bending and torsion. ABAQUS software is used in this paper for the finite element analysis (FEA). A comparison of results calculated using this modeling shows generally good agreement with test results. The FEA modeling is then used to investigate the influence of important parameters that determine the ultimate strength of the composite members under combined loading, such as compression and torsion, bending and torsion, compression, bending and torsion. The parametric studies provide information for the development of formulae for calculating the ultimate strength of the composite members subjected to combined loading.     

Buckling analysis of thin-walled cold-formed steel structural members using complex finite strip method

In this paper, a generalised complex finite strip method is proposed for buckling analysis of thin-walled cold-formed steel structures. The main advantage of this method over the ordinary finite strip method is that it can handle the shear effects due to the use of complex functions. In addition, distortional buckling as well as all other buckling modes of cold-formed steel sections like local and global modes can be investigated by the suggested complex finite strip method. A combination of general loading including bending, compression, shear and transverse compression forces is considered in the analytical model. For validation purposes, the results are compared with those obtained by the Generalized Beam Theory analysis. In order to illustrate the capabilities of complex finite strip method in modelling the buckling behavior of cold-formed steel structures, a number of case studies with different applications are presented. The studies are on both stiffened and unstiffened cold-formed steel members.     

Design of high strength steel columns at elevated temperatures

The main objective of this paper is to study the behaviour and design of high strength steel columns at elevated temperatures using finite element analysis. In this study, equations predicting the yield strength and elastic modulus of high strength steel and mild steel at elevated temperatures are proposed. In addition, stress-strain curve model for high strength steel and mild steel materials at elevated temperatures is also proposed. The numerical analysis was performed on high strength steel columns over a range of column lengths for various temperatures. The nonlinear finite element model was verified against experimental results of columns at normal room and elevated temperatures. The effects of initial local and overall geometrical imperfections have been taken into consideration in the analysis. The material properties and stress-strain curves at elevated temperatures used in the finite element model were obtained from the proposed equations based on the material tests. Two series of box and I-section columns were studied using the finite element analysis to investigate the strength and behaviour of high strength steel columns at elevated temperatures. Both fixed-ended stub columns and pin-ended slender columns were considered. The column strengths predicted from the finite element analysis were compared with the design strengths predicted using the American, European and Australian specifications for hot-rolled steel columns at elevated temperatures by substituting the reduced material properties. In addition, the direct strength method, which was developed for the design of cold-formed steel columns at normal room temperature, was also used in this study to predict the high strength steel column strengths at elevated temperatures. The suitability of these design rules for high strength steel columns at elevated temperatures is assessed. Generally, it is shown that the American and European specifications as well as the direct strength method conservatively predicted the column strengths of high strength steel at elevated temperatures. The European Code predictions are slightly more conservative than the American Specification and the direct strength method predictions.     

冷弯薄壁复杂卷边槽钢受弯构件稳定性能分析

采用有限元软件ANSYS对3种加劲形式冷弯薄壁复杂卷边槽钢受弯构件的稳定性能进行了非线性分析,结果表明:加劲形式是影响构件屈曲模式和抗弯承载力的重要因素,构件在非纯弯状态下的抗弯承载力均大于纯弯状态下的抗弯承载力。     

承受异号弯矩的混凝土梁抗剪性能分析

研究了承受异号弯矩混凝土梁的剪切破坏形态和特点以及与简支梁相比在抗剪承载力上的区别,并以某三跨连续刚构桥为例,通过建立边跨弯矩变号段有限元模型,对该段抗剪性能进行分析,得到相应结构安全系数、应力分布规律和截面破坏形态。     

Behaviour and strength of hollow flange channel sections under torsion and bending

Hollow flange channel section is a cold-formed high-strength and thin-walled steel section with a unique shape including two rectangular hollow flanges and a slender web. Due to its mono-symmetric characteristics, it will also be subjected to torsion when subjected to transverse loads in practical applications. Past research on steel beams subject to torsion has concentrated on open sections while very few steel design standards give suitable design rules for torsion design. Since the hollow flange channel section is different from conventional open sections, its torsional behaviour remains unknown to researchers. Therefore the elastic behaviour of hollow flange channel sections subject to uniform and non-uniform torsion, and combined torsion and bending was investigated using the solutions of appropriate differential equilibrium equations. The section torsion shear flow, warping normal stress distribution, and section constants including torsion constant and warping constant were obtained. The results were compared with those from finite element analyses that verified the accuracy of analytical solutions. Parametric studies were undertaken for simply supported beams subject to a uniformly distributed torque and a uniformly distributed transverse load applied away from the shear centre. This paper presents the details of this research into the elastic behaviour and strength of hollow flange channel sections subject to torsion and bending and the results.     

Load-carrying capacity of high-strength steel box-sections I: Stub columns

To study the load-carrying capacity of thin-walled box-section stub columns fabricated by high strength steel 18Mn2CrMoBA, uniaxial compression experiments of specimens with different geometrical dimensions were carried out. Compared with the predicted values by the AISI Code, the tested load-carrying capacities of the stub columns are much greater, which suggests that the existing effective width method should not be applicable for high strength steel stub columns. The finite element analysis based on ANSYS code was employed to simulate the deformation curves and predict the load-carrying capacities. The numerical values were generally in good agreement with the experimental values. Parameter analysis was performed to investigate the ultimate strength of the high strength steel stub column. The values obtained indicate that the width-thickness ratio of the flange and the section side ratio should be the main factors to decide the ultimate strength of the stub column. Taking the width-thickness ratio and the section side ratio as parameters, a formula to predict the loading capacity of the high strength steel stub column was put forward and proved to be effective by the tested and numerical values.     

G550高强冷弯薄壁Z形钢受弯构件承载力试验与直接强度法研究

为了研究高强冷弯薄壁型钢构件的受弯性能和完善直接强度法,对卷边形式为斜卷边、直卷边和复杂卷边的12个G550高强冷弯薄壁Z形钢受弯试件进行了静力试验。试验结果表明,卷边形式对试件屈曲模式和受弯承载力有显著影响,试件发生了局部与畸变相关屈曲或畸变屈曲,直卷边试件的承载力高于斜卷边试件的承载力,复杂Ⅱ型卷边试件的承载力高于复杂Ⅰ型卷边试件的承载力。根据试验结果并结合现有国外直接强度法公式,回归出G550高强冷弯薄壁Z形钢受弯构件发生局部与畸变相关屈曲变形时的承载力直接强度法修正公式,当此类构件发生畸变屈曲时,无需再修正现有直接强度法公式。建立有限元模型对试验进行了分析,分析结果与试验结果吻合良好。在此基础上,利用大量有限元分析结果验证了直接强度法修正公式比现有直接强度法公式对此类构件的承载力的预测更为安全可靠。     

Modeling distortional shear in thin-walled elastic beams

In this paper, the theoretical background and the numerical analyses of an advanced beam finite element that relaxes the hypothesis of the cross-section non-deformability are presented. The corresponding new modes, called distortional modes, are added to the modes describing the behavior of a classical thin-walled beam: tension/compression, bending and torsion. For instance, a load acting in a cross-sectional plane of a beam is considered to induce not only bending and torsion but also distortion. The distortion produces non-uniform shear and axial stresses together with a non-uniform warping of the cross-section. These resulting effects, significant for very thin-walled open profiles (and thin-walled closed profiles with high distortional loadings), are shown in this paper to be important when compared to bending and torsion stresses even in simple loading cases.     

冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁受剪性能分析

为研究冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁的受剪性能,在已有试验基础上,采用ABAQUS有限元分析软件建立非线性数值模型,对比试验与有限元结果的受剪承载力、试件破坏特征、荷载 跨中挠度曲线等;进而探讨了C形梁剪跨比、腹板高厚比、腹板厚度以及钢材强度等因素对冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁受剪性能的影响。结果表明:剪跨比是影响冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁破坏特征的主要因素,当剪跨比在0.5~1.1之间时,C形梁处于纯剪切受力状态,此时破坏模式为剪切屈服;当剪跨比在1.1~2之间时,C形梁处于弯剪受力状态,此时破坏模式为弯剪破坏;随剪跨比的增加,冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁的受剪承载力及刚度均减小;当腹板高厚比在50~150之间时,冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁的受剪承载力及刚度随腹板高厚比增加而增大,跨中挠度减小;随着腹板厚度的增加,冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁受剪承载力及刚度明显提高;增加钢材强度可显著提高冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁受剪承载力,但对冷弯薄壁型钢C形梁的刚度影响较小。     

Local buckling of steel plates in concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular beam-columns

The availability of high strength steels and concrete leads to the use of thin steel plates in concrete-filled steel tubular beam-columns. However, the use of thin steel plates in composite beam-columns gives a rise to local buckling that would appreciably reduce the strength and ductility performance of the members. This paper studies the critical local and post-local buckling behavior of steel plates in concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular beam-columns by using the finite element analysis method. Geometric and material nonlinear analyses are performed to investigate the critical local and post-local buckling strengths of steel plates under compression and in-plane bending. Initial geometric imperfections and residual stresses presented in steel plates, material yielding and strain hardening are taken into account in the nonlinear analysis. Based on the results obtained from the nonlinear finite element analyses, a set of design formulas are proposed for determining the critical local buckling and ultimate strengths of steel plates in concrete-filled steel tubular beam-columns. In addition, effective width formulas are developed for the ultimate strength design of clamped steel plates under non-uniform compression. The accuracy of the proposed design formulas is established by comparisons with available solutions. The proposed design formulas can be used directly in the design of composite beam-columns and adopted in the advanced analysis of concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubular beam-columns to account for local buckling effects.     

The finite element analysis of the ultimate behavior of thin-walled carbon steel bolted connections

Finite element analysis (FEA) procedures were recommended for predicting the structural behaviors of single shear bolted connections in thin-walled stainless steel and carbon steel based on a previous numerical study with Kuwamura’s test results. The ultimate behaviors such as ultimate strength, fracture mode and curling occurrence predicted by FEA were in good agreement with those of test results. Especially, the effect of curling on the mechanical behavior of a stainless steel bolted connection has been focused. In this paper, an additional experiment for estimating in detail the block shear fracture mechanism and curling influence on thin-walled carbon steel bolted connections has been conducted. Finite element analysis was performed for test specimens. Bolted connections with a short end distance showed the typical block shear fracture. In contrast, connections with a relatively long end distance led to the ultimate state accompanied by out-of-plane deformation; curling. The ultimate strength reduction gets larger with the increase of end distance and the reduction ratio ranged from 4% to 17%. Moreover, this paper describes the comparison of strain distribution between specimens with curling and specimens without curling.     

Finite element modeling of bolted connections in thin-walled stainless steel plates under static shear

The recently performed experimental study indicates that the current Japanese steel design standards (AIJ) cannot be used to predict accurately the ultimate behavior of bolted connections loaded in static shear, which are fabricated from thin-walled (cold-formed) SUS304 austenite stainless steel plates and thus, modified formula for calculating the ultimate strength to account for the mechanical properties of stainless steel and thin-walled steel plates were proposed. In this study, based on the existing test data for calibration and parametric study, finite element (FE) model with three-dimensional solid elements using ABAQUS program is established to investigate the structural behavior of bolted shear connections with thin-walled stainless steel plate. Non-linear material and non-geometric analysis is carried out in order to predict the load–displacement curves of bolted connections. Curling, i.e., out of plane deformation of the ends of connection plates which occurred in test specimens was also observed in FE model without geometric imperfection, the effect of curling on the ultimate strength was examined quantitatively and the failure criteria which is suitable to predict failure modes of bolted connections was proposed. In addition, results of the FE analysis are compared with previous experimental results, failure modes and ultimate strengths predicted by recommended procedures of FE showed a good correlation with those of experimental results and numerical approach was found to provide estimates with reasonable accuracy.     

椭圆环形截面钢柱的设计

对椭圆环形截面钢柱进行数值模拟和设计。建立准确的有限元模型,模拟两端固接的椭圆环形钢柱。对拉伸试验得出的材料非线性及初始局部(整体)几何缺陷都进行了考虑,通过收敛性研究,以获得最佳的单元网格尺寸。采用此数值模型,对100根柱试件进行参数化研究。对材料屈服、局部屈曲、弯曲屈曲及局部屈曲与弯曲屈曲同时发生的破坏模型进行了分析。将柱的承载力试验值和数值分析结果与基于北美规范、澳大利亚规范、新西兰规范和欧洲规范的计算值进行对比。另外,还采用了不适用于椭圆环形截面钢杆的直接强度法进行分析。对这些设计方法均进行了可靠度分析。     

关于卷边薄壁H型钢轴压构件稳定性能的研究

采用直接强度法对卷边薄壁H型钢轴压构件的稳定性能进行研究,利用有限条软件CUFSM对其系列试件进行数值分析,根据数值分析的结果,得到不同参数下的影响规律曲线,对工程设计提出一些优化建议,并对局部屈曲下的卷边薄壁H型钢轴压构件的直接强度法公式进行修正。     

Axial strength of cold-formed thin-walled steel channels under non-uniform temperatures in fire

This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation into the axial strength of cold-formed thin-walled channel sections (columns) under non-uniform high temperatures in fire. The non-uniform temperature distributions are based on the results of a thermal analysis of thin-walled stud panels carried out by the authors. The general finite-element package ABAQUS is used to obtain strengths of columns with different lengths at different fire exposure times. To aid development of a hand calculation method of column strength in fire, the accuracy of using two ways of simplifying the non-uniform temperature distribution is investigated. The ambient temperature design method for cold-formed thin-walled columns in Eurocode 3 Part 1.3 (EN1993-1-3, Eurocode 3: design of steel structures, Part 1.3: general rules, supplementary rules for cold formed thin gauge members and sheeting, European Commission for Standardisation, Brussels, 2001) is modified to take into account the change in the strength and stiffness of steel at elevated temperatures and thermal-bowing effects. The results of this design method are compared to the ABAQUS simulation results.     

高强冷弯薄壁型钢骨架带交叉支撑墙体抗剪性能研究

对无竖向力水平单调加载和有竖向力低周反复加载两种加载方式下的2榀高强冷弯型钢骨架带交叉支撑墙体抗剪性能进行足尺试件试验研究。在单调加载墙体模型得到试验充分验证的基础上,对影响墙体抗剪性能的5个因素进行有限元参数分析。分析结果表明:立柱间距、交叉支撑截面对墙体抗剪承载力影响较小;随立柱截面尺寸的增大,墙体抗剪承载力增加;随竖向荷载值的增加,墙体抗剪承载力降低;单面设置交叉支撑墙体比双面设置交叉支撑墙体的承载力降低幅度较大。