| Abstract: | Experimental tests and theoretical analyses of longitudinal stiffness of closed cross‐sections steel columns. In structures made of thin‐walled elements it is of great importance to establish how the compressed elements change their stiffness while loading increases. Nonuniform change of longitudinal stiffness induces change of force and stress redistribution. More ductile elements take less loading and more stiff, tensed, ones are being overloaded. Columns with closed cross‐sections, box cross‐sections and hollow circular cross‐sections need to be distinguished from steel elements with longitudinal stiffness decreasing while loading increases. Shortening of column working in elastic‐plastic phase comes from material compression, cross‐section walls buckling and increased displacement of column as a whole. Imperfections that depend on fabrication process of cross‐section have a great influence on stiffness variation of an element. It can be designated, among other factors, from the equilibrium paths of tested elements. Those equilibrium paths, up to the limit point, were obtained by applying incremental method of numerical integration of equilibrium equations assuming initial displacements and residual stresses of column's walls and initial displacements of column's axes. Some numerical analyses were calculated using FEA software LUSAS. All theoretical analyses were verified by experimental tests carried out by the authors with full scale elements: box cross‐section columns – length 5280 mm, cold‐formed welded cross‐section columns – length 2000 mm. The research results and analyses by others were also used. |
