STUDY ON MAXIMUM STRENGTH OF COLD-FORMED STEEL COLUMNS

Abstract

Based on the approximate Jezek's method of beam-column theory, a computerized analysis was performed to determine the maximum strength of cold-formed steel columns. In this study, the effect of residual stress and initial imperfection on the column strength were taken directly into account in the analysis. In addition, the influence of residual stress on the local buckling strength of the cold-formed sections also was accounted for by using a new concept, called second reduction. The predicted column strengths were compared with the results of 104 column tests by previous researchers. From the results of the analysis, this study obtained a new column-strength curve for predicting the maximum strength of cold-formed steel columns. The predicted values showed good agreement with the test results.