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Thin-Walled Structures: Luís Laím, João Paulo C. Rodrigues, Luis Simões Da Silva
Thin-Walled Structures: Luís Laím, João Paulo C. Rodrigues, Luis Simões Da Silva
Thin-Walled Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tws
art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t
Article history: A research study on the structural behaviour of cold formed steel beams with C-, I-, R- and 2R-shaped
Received 23 August 2012 cross-sections at ambient temperature is presented, based on the results of a large programme of
Received in revised form experimental tests and numerical simulations. Firstly, several four-point bending tests were carried out
12 June 2013
in order to assess mainly the failure loads and failure modes of the beams. Secondly, a suitable finite
Accepted 12 June 2013
Available online 6 July 2013
element model was developed to compare with the experimental results, and finally, a parametric study
was undertaken in order to investigate the influence of the thickness, height and length of the beams on
Keywords: its structural behaviour.
Cold-formed & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Steel
Beams
Flexural resistance
Buckling
0263-8231/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2013.06.008
2 L. Laím et al. / Thin-Walled Structures 72 (2013) 1–13
Nomenclature Myy′– S.M. measured bending moment about the yy′ axis
Mxx′– T.C.M. calculated bending moment about the xx′ axis
Cb buckling factor Myy′– T.C.M. calculated bending moment about the yy′ axis
d S1 vertical displacement of the specimen at mid-span P applied load on the beams
(section S1) P max maximum load-carrying capacity of the beam
E Young’s modulus PW maximum load-carrying capacity of the beam includ-
fy yield strength of steel ing its self-weight
G shear modulus t nominal thickness of the beam cross-section
h height of the beam SW self-weight of the beam
Iy moment of inertia about the minor axis Weff effective section modulus of the beam
Iw warping section constant Wel elastic section modulus of the beam
J torsion section constant Wy section modulus of the beam
L length of the beam α imperfection factor
ky effective length factor β S1 lateral rotation of the beam at mid-span (section S1)
kw warping effective length factor χ LT reduction factor for lateral-torsional buckling
M bending moment ε S1 measured strain in the beam at mid-span (section S1)
Mb,RD design value of the resistant buckling moment γ M1 partial factor for resistance of members to instability
Mcr critical elastic moment for lateral-torsional buckling λLT non-dimensional slenderness for lateral-torsional
MRd resistant moment of the gross or effective cross- buckling
section θ rotation of the beam supports
Mxx′– S.M. measured bending moment about the xx′ axis
stress distribution over the new effective cross-section may be stands for the test number, i¼1–3), in order to obtain a better
different from the effective cross-section previously calculated. On correlation of the results.
the other hand, a linear elastic stability analysis is the main idea
behind the DSM. First, all elastic instability modes for the gross
cross-section are determined (local, distortional and global buck- 2.1. Test specimens
ling mode). Subsequently, based on reduction factors for the
corresponding buckling curves, the predictable strength of The specimens consisted of beams made of one or more cold-
the CFS members is calculated. Here, the designers have to get formed steel profiles, namely, C (lipped channel) and U (channel)
computational tools for the calculation of the elastic buckling profiles (Fig. 1). All these profiles had the same nominal thickness
loads of the members, which can be determined either by FEM (2.5 mm), nominal flange width (43 mm) and inside bend radius
software such as ABAQUS or, in a speedier way, using CUFSM. The (2 mm). The edge stiffeners of the C profiles were 15 mm long
essential difference between these two methods is the replace- and the nominal web depth was 250 mm for the C profiles and
ment of plate stability with member stability. 255 mm for the U profiles. As it can also be seen in Fig. 1, the
Most of the studies in the literature only take into account the compound lipped I beams consisted of two C connected in the
structural behaviour of CFS members with just one profile and the web, whereas the compound R beams consisted of one C profile
majority of them are of numerical nature [17–19]. The present and one U profile connected in the flanges. The compound 2R
paper reports on a series of flexural tests at ambient temperature beams were made of two R beams connected together by the
focused on cold-formed steel beams consisting of compound cross- C profiles’ web.
section CFS profiles which are often used in roofs of industrial The total beam length was 3.6 m for all specimens, but the span
buildings. The study involved both experimental and numerical was only 3 m in such a way that the beams and their supports
investigations. The main objective of this research was to compare could be accommodated by the horizontal electric furnace avail-
the structural response of the different kinds of beams and also able in the laboratory. As already stated, the following studies will
to compare the results with the predictions from available design address the fire behaviour of this kind of beams.
rules. In addition, the profiles were screwed together as indicated in
To conclude, in the near future, this work will be followed by an Fig. 1 by means of Hilti S-MD03Z 6.3 19 carbon steel self-drilling
experimental and numerical study on the behaviour of such beams
under fire conditions with the purpose of developing simplified
calculation methods for fire design of cold-formed steel beams
since there is nothing related to the fire design of these elements
in EN1993, parts 1.2 [20] and 1.3 [7].
2. Experimental tests
screws in S235 steel, at sections 0.05 m and 1.15 m away from (no. 2 in Fig. 3), which was hung from a two-dimensional reaction
the ends of the beams so that the spacing of the screws along frame (no. 3 in Fig. 3) that consisted of two HEB300 columns and
the beam was about 1 m (Fig. 2). All the profiles were made of a HEB300 beam of class S355 steel. This hydraulic jack had
S280GD+Z structural steel. a maximum loading capacity of 295 kN and a maximum stroke
These profiles were manufactured by the company PERFISA length of 360 mm and was controlled by a servo hydraulic central
S.A., which is specialized in the fabrication of CFS profiles in unit W+B NSPA700/DIG2000. The tests were carried out in
Portugal, and the choice of the cross-sections and the distance displacement control controlled by a TML SDP-200D linear vari-
between the screws was based on the observation of CFS struc- able displacement transducer (LVDT) (no. 4 in Fig. 3). Additionally,
tures and design projects for this kind of buildings, representing beneath the hydraulic jack a Novatech F204 load cell of 250 kN
commonly used details in several countries. capacity was mounted in order to monitor the applied load during
the test (no. 5 in Fig. 3).
As it was intended to use the same test set-up for the fire
2.2. Test set-up resistance tests of CFS beams to undertake in the near future,
a HEA160 steel column (no. 6 in Fig. 3) and a HEB140 steel beam
Schematic and overall views of the experimental system used (no. 7 in Fig. 3) were used, both filled up with fire-protection
in the quasi-static bending tests at ambient temperature are mortar between the profile flanges to prevent their destruction by
shown in Figs. 2 and 3, respectively. As it can be seen in Fig. 2, the high temperatures developed during fire resistance tests.
the test specimens (no. 1 in Fig. 3) were loaded at two points 1.0 m Hence, the loading was transferred from the hydraulic jack to
(one-third of the beam span) from the supports of the beam in the specimen by the HEA160 column and applied at two points on
such a way that between the two loading points the beam was the specimen by means of the HEB140 beam. It is noticed that the
under pure bending state (four point bending test). The loading whole test specimen and HEB140 beam and consequently a piece
was applied by an ENERPAC hydraulic jack, model RR 3014 of the HEA160 column will be inside a horizontal electric furnace
available in the laboratory for the fire resistance tests. To sum up,
testing of the CFS beams at ambient and elevated temperatures
under the same loading conditions was sought so that both kinds
of tests can be comparable.
A spherical plain bearing and a spherical hinge (respectively
nos. 8 and 9 in Fig. 3) were also assembled in the loading system in
such a way that the load applied on the beams could easily follow
the local and global deformations of the beams during the tests,
especially, the lateral buckling. Although the spherical hinge had
little degrees of freedom due to the threaded rods which allowed
to make the connection between the HEA160 column and HEB140
beam, the spherical plain bearing could rotate 901 to both sides
about an axis passing through its own centre and it was perpen-
dicular to a plane formed by the longitudinal axes of the HEA160
column and the HEB140 beam. In addition, the spherical plain
bearing could still rotate about 101 to both sides around an axis
Fig. 2. Schematic view of the experimental set-up for bending tests. that passed through its own centre and it was perpendicular to a
plane composed of the reaction frame.
The tested beams were statically determinate over a roller and
pinned support (respectively nos. 10 and 11 in Fig. 3) as also
shown in Fig. 4. These supports were made of refractory stainless
steel, typically used for elevated temperature applications. These
supports prevented the vertical displacement, the lateral displace-
ment and the lateral rotation of the beams. In addition the roller
support allowed the horizontal displacement of the beams in
contrast to the pinned support as it can clearly be seen in Fig. 4.
The instrumentation of the beams included LVDTs for displacement
measurements (nos. 12 and 13 in Fig. 3) and also TML FLA-6-11
strain gauges for strain measurements. Finally, the data acquisition
was done by a TML data logger, model TDS-530.
Fig. 4. Detail of the beam support system: (a) roller and (b) pinned supports.
Fig. 5. Detail of the beam instrumentation for the strain and displacement
measurements at mid-span.
Fig. 7. Load–displacement diagrams for the four-point bending tests for the C (a), lipped I (b), R (c) and 2R (d) beams.
Fig. 8. Evolution of the relative loads (P/Pmax) applied on the beams as a function of
the lateral rotation of the beam at mid-span.
Fig. 13. Load–strain curves obtained from the strain gauges which were placed in
the compressive (a) and tensile (b) flange of the beam B-2 R_2 at section S1.
(Fig. 14), the bending moments about both the xx’ axis and the yy′ to the appearance of this bending moment around the yy′ axis
axis could be calculated. (“weak” axis).
Similar moments were also calculated based on classical beam
theory (C.B.T.) for comparison (Fig. 15). Good agreement is noted
for both calculations (i.e. between M xx′ – S.M. and M xx′ – C.B.T. and 3. Numerical analysis
also between M yy′ – S.M. and M yy′ – C.B.T.). The C beam was
subject to biaxial bending around xx′ axis and bending around yy′ The finite element program ABAQUS is a computational tool
axis throughout the test while the other beams (I, R and 2R) for modelling structures with material and geometric nonlinear
were approximately under pure bending until their ultimate load- behaviour [Schafer and Moen 2010]. ABAQUS version 6.10-1 [8]
carrying capacity was reached. The reason was that the C beam was used extensively to simulate the behaviour and strength of
was the only one in which there was no coincidence between the cold-formed steel beams under flexural loading conditions at
shear and geometric centres of the cross-section. It is still noticed ambient temperature. Firstly the results of numerical simulations
that the signal change relative to strains (from compression to tension were compared with the experimental results; secondly, a para-
and vice-versa) recorded by some strain gauges (Figs. 10–13) was due metric analysis was performed with about fifty numerical simula-
tions, in order to investigate the influence of the thickness, the
height and the length on the flexural behaviour of the beams.
Finally, the numerical results were compared with the ones given
by the design methods for cold-formed steel members established
in EN1993-1-3 [7].
Fig. 15. Moment–displacement diagrams recorded during the four-point bending tests for the C (a), lipped I (b), R (c) and 2R (d) beams at ambient temperature.
8 L. Laím et al. / Thin-Walled Structures 72 (2013) 1–13
based on discrete Kirchhoff theory. However, the S4R element uses simulations results could be obtained by using finite element
a mixed finite element formulation as it can be seen in detail in the meshes of 5 5 mm, 10 10 mm or 20 20 mm. To save compu-
ABAQUS Theory Manual [8]. Moreover many researchers in this tational time, finite element meshes of 10 10 mm for C, lipped I
area often use this type of element in their numerical analyses and R beams and of 15 15 mm for 2R beams (Fig. 17) were
[2,11,21–24]. generated automatically by the ABAQUS program and used in all
The S4R element is doubly-curved, a four-node (4), quadrilateral simulations.
and stress/displacement shell element (S) with reduced integration
(R), a large-strain formulation, hourglass control and a first-order 3.4. Boundary, loading and contact conditions
(linear) interpolation. Reduced integration elements converge non-
monotonically and due to this reduced number of integration points A three-dimensional numerical model was used to simulate all
hourglassing can occur in the S4R element, so an hourglass stabilisa- buckling modes observed in the experimental tests. The cross-
tion control feature is built into the element to suppress spurious sections of the different beams, the screws, the beam support
modes. The reduced integration reduces the amount of CPU time system and the beam loading system were reproduced with great
necessary for analysis of the model. Each node has three displacement accuracy in the numerical simulations. Such as observed in the real
and three rotational degrees of freedom. Lastly, each of the six test set-up, the beam supports and the loading were applied on
degrees of freedom uses an independent bilinear interpolation rigid plates attached to beams so as to distribute possible con-
function. centrated forces on them. Therefore, with regard to the loading on
The C3D8R element is defined as a three-dimensional (3D), the beams, concentrated forces with the direction-Y were applied
continuum (C), hexahedral and an eight-node brick element with at the centre of those plates, each at a distance of 1 m from the
reduced integration (R), hourglass control and first-order (linear) nearest beam support, i.e., the forces were applied at one-third of
interpolation. These finite elements have three degrees of freedom the beam span (Fig. 17a). To simulate the pinned support, all
per node, corresponding to translations in the three directions X, Y degrees of freedom of the nodes located on the bottom surface and
and Z (global coordinates). at the middle of the respective rigid plate were constrained,
whereas for the roller support only the translations in the direc-
3.2. Material modelling tions X and Y were constrained. Finally, the translations in the
direction X of all nodes located at each end of both supports were
Material non-linearity in the specimens was modelled with constrained in order to prevent their lateral deformation (Fig. 17a).
von Mises yield criterion and isotropic hardening. The stress–strain All simulated beams were modelled using the centre line dimen-
relationship of cold-formed steel profiles was described by a sions, as it can be seen in Fig. 17b.
gradual yielding behaviour followed by a considerable period of Furthermore, two assumptions were introduced in these ana-
strain hardening, whereas an elastic–perfectly plastic behaviour was lyses for modelling the contact behaviour between the profiles
assumed for the steel screws. Fig. 16 shows the stress–strain curves and also between them and the screws: (i) a tangential friction
used in the FEA for the CFS profiles based on tensile coupon test coefficient of 0.2 was assumed and, (ii) a hard contact between the
results and at the same time on other studies from the literature profile surfaces and a rough and hard contact was considered
[24]. A yield strength of 295 MPa, a tensile strength of 412 MPa and between the profiles and the screws.
a Young’s Modulus of 208 GPa were obtained from those tests. The
initial slope of the curve stress–strain was taken as the elastic 3.5. Analysis
modulus, E, of the material. The second, third and fourth slopes (E1,
E2 and E3) of the curve were defined by tangent modulus which Each finite element analysis was carried out in two steps.
were respectively 38, 10 and 0.5% of the elastic modulus. Therefore, Firstly, an eigenvalue elastic buckling analysis was performed to
the gradual yielding behaviour was idealised by using a bilinear establish the buckling modes (eigenmodes) which were observed
representation with tangent modulus E1 and E2 between 70 and in the tests and, consequently, to determine the geometric imper-
100% of the yield strength, fy, with an intermediate point at a stress fections to introduce in the model. After knowing their effects on
of 0.875 fy. All other components were modelled as elastic, i.e. the structural response of this kind of beams, the following maximum
elastic modulus was equal to 210 GPa and the Poisson’s ratio to 0.3. values were chosen for the local, distortional and global geometric
Residual stresses and cold-work due to forming (where the appar- imperfections: h/300, 0.40t and L/750, respectively. Then, a general
ent yield stress in the corners is increased) were ignored. geometrical and material nonlinear static analysis with imperfec-
tions (GMNIA) was undertaken with the purpose of simulating the
3.3. Finite element mesh structural behaviour of cold-formed steel beams under bending
Fig. 17. Numerical model used in the finite element analysis: (a) perspective
Fig. 16. Stress–strain relationship of the beam’s and screw’s steel. and (b) cross-sectional view.
L. Laím et al. / Thin-Walled Structures 72 (2013) 1–13 9
at ambient temperature. The nonlinear geometric parameter post-collapse response of the R and 2R beams were less accurate
(nNLGEOM ¼ON) was set to deal with the geometric nonlinear with regard to the C and lipped I beams, but the same happened in
analysis, namely, with the large displacement analysis. the experimental tests, in other words, the unloading stage of the
three R and 2R beams was not so identical in what concerns the C
and lipped I beams. The reason for the differences between
3.6. Comparison between numerical and experimental results the numerical and experimental results and between the experi-
mental results of identical test series (Fig. 18c and d) may result
3.6.1. Load-carrying capacity from differences in the residual stresses of the members, the
Fig. 18 shows a comparison of the load–vertical displacement straightness of the plates, the yield strength on the member cross-
curves of CFS beams obtained from the experimental tests and section due to cold-forming and the assembly process of these
finite element analysis (FEA) used for the calibration of the model. beams. The discontinuities in some curves corresponding to the
All curves from FEA fit closely with the experimental curves, failure of screws were not observed in the FEA due to the elastic–
especially with the ones that presented the lowest maximum plastic behaviour modelled for the mechanical properties of these
load. This good agreement and accuracy between the experi- screws.
mental and numerical results ensures a strong validity of the
developed finite element model and also ensures reliable results
obtained from the parametric study. From these graphs, it can be 3.6.2. Failure modes of the cold-formed steel beams
seen that the maximum numerical load of the C, lipped I, R and 2R Figs. 19a, 20a, 21a and 22a illustrate the numerical failure
beams was, respectively, 10.58, 39.86, 54.97 and 120.78 kN. So, the modes of the tested specimens under bending and they can be
mean values of the FEA-to-experimental loading capacity ratios for compared to the experimental failure modes as shown in Figs. 19b,
these beams were 0.90, 0.96, 0.91 and 0.91, respectively. However, 20b, 21b and 22b. The local, distortional and lateral-torsional
concerning the minimum value of the maximum load-carrying buckling modes that were responsible for collapse of the beams
capacity of beam obtained from the three experimental tests for are clearly identified. This confirms that the finite element model
each type of beam, those ratios were already 0.92 for the C beam predicted the behaviour of cold-formed steel beams with an
and 0.99 for the other beams. The developed numerical model acceptable precision. The figures also present the finite element
reproduced both the loading stage and the failure load of all types results in the form of von Mises or minimum principal stresses to
of beams with great accuracy so that the numerical results were help understand the behaviour of the beams.
always on the safe side. The differences were higher in the failure It was possible to observe that distortional buckling was the
load of the C beams than in the other beams because of the change main failure mode responsible for the collapse of the compound
of the action line of the force during the tests. The numerical beams. It was noticed that the 2R beams started to slightly rotate
Fig. 18. Comparison of the FEA and experimental load–displacement curves for the C (a), lipped I (b), R (c) and 2R (d) beams.
10 L. Laím et al. / Thin-Walled Structures 72 (2013) 1–13
Fig. 19. FEA (a) and experimental (b) failure modes for the C beam.
After validating the finite element model a parametric study
has been performed considering several combinations of thick-
ness, height and length of the beams so that the influence of these
Fig. 20. FEA (a) and experimental (b) failure modes for the lipped I beam. Fig. 22. FEA (a) and experimental (b) failure modes for the 2R beam.
Fig. 21. FEA (a) and experimental (b) failure modes for the R beam.
L. Laím et al. / Thin-Walled Structures 72 (2013) 1–13 11
in which EIy, EIw and GJ are the minor axis flexural rigidity,
warping rigidity and torsional rigidity, respectively. ky represents
the effective lateral buckling length factor and kw the factor
Fig. 23. Evolution of strength-to-weight ratio of beams as a function of their which accounts for the beam end warping. Regarding the lateral
thickness, height and length. deformed shape of the beams obtained from the FEA, the value of
ky ¼ 0.8 has been used and the value of kw ¼1.0 representing the
free end warping condition. On the other hand, Cb is a coefficient
parameters on the flexural structural response of beams could depending on the moment distribution along the length of the
be identified, as well as the evolution of strength-to-weight ratio beams [27,28]. In this specific study, Cb was equal to 1.0.
(PW/SW) as a function of those parameters (Fig. 23). It is noticed Tables 1–4 summarise the results obtained from all numerical
that the first, the second, the third and last letter of the reference simulations carried out respectively for C, lipped I, R and 2R beams
C–h–t–L corresponds respectively to the type of simulated beam and the corresponding results given by the currently available
(for this case corresponds to the C beam), the height (h), the thick- design rules. It should be pointed out that most of the numerical
ness (t) and the length (L) of the beam. Therefore, five different results were higher than the corresponding design results. The
thicknesses (1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 mm), heights (200, 225, 250, opposite was only valid for the I-250-2.5-5000, 2R-250-2.5-4500
275 and 300 mm) and lengths (3000, 3500, 4000, 4500 and
5000 mm) for each kind of beam (C, lipped I, R and 2R) were
used in this study. Fig. 23 summarises all numerical results Table 1
showing that an increase of the number of profiles per compound Comparison of FEA results with EN1993-1.1 for C-section beams.
cross-section leads to an increase in the PW/SW ratio. However,
Beam reference λLT M Rd M cr M b;Rd M FEA
it is expected that this ratio stops increasing since the difference
(kN m) (kN m) (kN m) (kN m)
between the R and 2R beams was already small. The same
tendency was found for this ratio in what concerns the increase C-250-1.5-3000 1.34 6.41 3.59 2.09 2.61
of thickness and height of beams. Finally, the average PW/SW ratio C-250-2.0-3000 1.40 9.46 4.81 2.88 3.99
of the lipped I, R and 2R beams was 1.80, 2.59 and 2.91 times C-250-2.5-3000 1.61 15.87 6.09 3.93 5.40
C-250-3.0-3000 1.59 18.86 7.45 4.78 6.87
higher than the one of the C beams, respectively. It should be C-250-3.5-3000 1.75 27.14 8.90 5.96 8.39
pointed out that the PW/SW ratio had a strong reduction when the C-200-2.5-3000 1.54 11.47 4.84 3.05 4.41
span of the beams changed from 3000 to 4000 mm, especially for C-225-2.5-3000 1.58 13.60 5.46 3.49 4.92
the R and 2R beams. C-250-2.5-3000 1.61 15.87 6.09 3.93 5.40
C-275-2.5-3000 1.65 18.29 6.74 4.40 5.82
C-300-2.5-3000 1.44 15.32 7.41 4.50 6.19
3.8. Comparison with design methods C-250-2.5-3000 1.61 15.87 6.09 3.93 5.40
C-250-2.5-3500 1.85 15.87 4.66 3.19 4.09
According to EN1993-1.1 [6] the design buckling resistance C-250-2.5-4000 2.06 15.87 3.72 2.66 3.19
C-250-2.5-4500 2.27 15.87 3.08 2.27 2.55
moment of a member susceptible to lateral-torsional buckling is C-250-2.5-5000 2.47 15.87 2.61 1.97 2.10
given as follows:
M Rd fy
M b;Rd ¼ χ LT ¼ χ LT W y ð1Þ
γ M1 γ M1
in which χ LT is defined as follows: Table 2
Comparison of FEA results with EN1993-1.1 for lipped I-section beams.
if λLT ≤0:4 χ LT ¼ 1:0
2 ð2Þ Beam reference λLT M Rd M cr M b;Rd M FEA
if λLT 4 0:4 χ LT ¼ 1:0=½ϕLT þ ðϕ2LT −λLT Þ0:5 (kN m) (kN m) (kN m) (kN m)
4. Conclusions
Table 4
Comparison of FEA results with EN1993-1.1 for 2R-section beams. An experimental and numerical investigation into the beha-
viour of cold-formed steel C-, lipped I-, R- and 2R-section beams
Beam reference λLT M Rd M cr M b;Rd M FEA
under bending conditions at ambient temperature has been
(kN m) (kN m) (kN m) (kN m)
presented. A total of twelve four-point bending tests and
2R-250-1.5-3000 0.47 21.53 98.06 17.25 27.93 fifty-two numerical simulations performed with the finite element
2R-250-2.0-3000 0.50 33.17 134.65 25.94 44.12 program ABAQUS were made. Lastly, the suitability of design
2R-250-2.5-3000 0.58 57.89 173.10 41.96 60.15 methods established by EN1993-1.1 for the buckling moment
2R-250-3.0-3000 0.57 70.36 213.59 51.21 75.54
2R-250-3.5-3000 0.58 85.38 256.29 61.96 88.31
capacity was also investigated using the developed finite element
2R-200-2.5-3000 0.59 41.46 117.97 29.64 44.72 model.
2R-225-2.5-3000 0.59 49.38 144.18 35.56 51.77 As it was expected, cold-formed steel beams are very sensitive
2R-250-2.5-3000 0.58 57.89 173.10 41.96 60.15 to local, distortional and global buckling and also their interac-
2R-275-2.5-3000 0.57 66.98 204.73 48.85 66.97
tions. It was observed that the failure loads of the beams with
2R-300-2.5-3000 0.48 56.02 239.06 44.28 72.52
2R-250-2.5-3000 0.58 57.89 173.10 41.96 60.15 C- and lipped I-shaped cross-sections corresponded to the lateral-
2R-250-2.5-3500 0.67 57.89 128.08 38.29 46.11 torsional buckling modes, whereas the distortional buckling was
2R-250-2.5-4000 0.77 57.89 98.85 34.81 38.15 the responsible buckling mode for the failure loads of the R and 2R
2R-250-2.5-4500 0.86 57.89 78.80 31.58 31.45 beams. In order to improve the structural behaviour of these two
2R-250-2.5-5000 0.95 57.89 64.46 28.63 26.19
types of beams, the authors suggested, for instance, that the U
profiles of these beams are replaced by lipped U profiles like the C
profiles, but with the lips towards the exterior side of the profile.
In other words, the U profiles should be replaced by hat (omega)
profiles [29]. As well as that, the use of sigma profiles instead of C
profiles might improve the behaviour of cold-formed steel beams
against the lateral-torsional buckling. All beams should also
be reinforced with extra screws, maybe of a larger diameter or
improved steel class. Another important conclusion to be drawn
was that the use of two or more profiles in a beam can increase its
strength-to-weight ratio. From the tested beams, the 2R beams
showed the best ratio. However, it seems that this ratio tends to be
constant for beams comprised of more than four profiles.
The good agreement between the experimental and numerical
results and between the respective failure buckling modes proves
that the finite element analysis is a reliable tool to get quite accu-
Fig. 24. Comparison of FEA results with EN1993-1.1 formulation. rate results. The finite element results showed that the strength-
to-weight ratio of the simulated beams decreases a lot when their
span increases, especially, from 3.0 to 4.0 m. It is also shown
that EN1993-1.3 predictions may be conservative for beams
and 2R-250-2.5-5000 beams, which means that the design meth- comprised of two or more CFS profiles or even over-conservative
ods, as presented here, may be on the safe side for CFS beams in as it was observed in some studied cases. However, these design
the same conditions as the ones studied in this work and at least guidelines may give unsafe results for these beams with spans
for spans lower than 4500 mm. In spite of this, from Fig. 24, it longer than 4.5 m.
appears that different buckling curves could be adopted for each Hence it is recommended that further experimental and
kind of beam in such a way that more accurate predictions numerical research is needed to developed new design guide-
can be made. So, further experimental tests on cold-formed steel lines for lateral-torsional buckling of cold-formed steel beams
beams should be performed, especially on compound beams. It is comprised of more than one profile and connected by screws.
L. Laím et al. / Thin-Walled Structures 72 (2013) 1–13 13
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