Experimental and Analytical Study of Flexural Buckling of Cold-Formed Steel Quadruple-Limb Built-Up Box Columns
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 1
Abstract
To better understand the mechanical behavior of cold-formed steel (CFS) quadruple-limb built-up box-section (QBB) columns associated with flexural buckling, 12 axial compression tests with different slenderness ratios and screw spacing were conducted. The test results showed that, for a slender specimen ( and 3,300 mm), when the screw spacing was reduced from 600 to 300 mm, the load-bearing capacity increased by about 6%–10%. When the screw spacing was reduced from 600 to 150 mm, the load-bearing capacity increased by about 14.6%–17.5%. Arranging end fastener groups can enhance the strength of the column, but it may be cumbersome and uneconomical. A finite-element model (FEM) was developed and calibrated against the test results. A series of parametric analyses was carried out to investigate the effects of the screw spacing and shear stiffness on the elastic buckling load and ultimate load-bearing capacity. Finally, a practical design method was proposed to evaluate the column’s elastic buckling load and load-bearing capacity associated with flexural buckling. Compared with the simulation and test results, the proposed design method was accurate at predicting the load-bearing capacity of the specimens, with a relative difference of less than 6%.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support from the Natural Science Foundation of China (51878096), and from Chongqing University to the second author with the status of visiting professor. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 1 • January 2022
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 12, 2021
Accepted: Jul 26, 2021
Published online: Oct 19, 2021
Published in print: Jan 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Mar 19, 2022
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Cited by
- Mandana Abbasi, Kim J.R. Rasmussen, Mani Khezri, Benjamin W. Schafer, Experimental investigation of the sectional buckling of built-up cold-formed steel columns, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 10.1016/j.jcsr.2023.107803, 203, (107803), (2023).