Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Cold-formed stainless steel RHS members undergoing combined bending

and web crippling: Testing, modelling and design
Hai-Ting Li a, b, *, Ben Young c
a
State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
b
Shanghai Key Laboratory for Digital Maintenance of Buildings and Infrastructure, Department of Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240,
China
c
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The behaviour and resistances of cold-formed stainless steel rectangular hollow section (RHS) members un­
Bearing dergoing combined bending and web crippling were studied based upon experimental and numerical in­
Bending vestigations. A test program consists of 4 pure bending tests, 7 pure web crippling tests and 23 web crippling-
Cold-formed stainless steel
bending interaction tests was conducted. The RHS specimens were cold-rolled from lean-duplex and ferritic
Ferritic stainless steel
Lean duplex stainless steel
stainless steel sheets. Numerical models were built and validated against the test results. Upon validation,
Rectangular hollow sections parametric studies comprised of 312 finite element analyses were undertaken. The obtained test and numerical
Web crippling results were compared with nominal resistances predicted from the American, Australian/New Zealand and
European design standards for stainless steel structures. Moreover, the provisions in the North American Spec­
ification for cold-formed steel members were also evaluated. The comparison results indicate that the codified
design provisions are generally safe to use for design of cold-formed stainless steel RHS members undergoing
combined bending and web crippling, among which the European provision yields overly-conservative pre­
dictions. The codified web crippling-bending interaction curves can be applied for designing the stainless steel
RHS members undergoing combined bending and web crippling, whilst improved predictions could be achieved
by employing recently proposed bending and web crippling design rules.

1. Introduction
Cold-formed stainless steel (CFSS) rectangular hollow sections (RHS)
are being increasingly attractive in various structural applications owing
to their superior durability, aesthetic appearance and favourable struc­
tural efficiency [1]. These sections are commonly used in construction
without stiffeners and therefore susceptible to localised web crippling
failure. Numerous investigations have been performed over the past two
decades on CFSS RHS undergoing web crippling [2–13], leading to
sound design recommendations including recently developed design
rules in the form of Direct Strength Method [8,9]. It is noteworthy that
the web crippling resistances of cold-formed steel members subjected to
transverse bearing force could be reduced remarkably in the presence of
large bending moment, and therefore it is crucial to check the members
in combined bending and web crippling during design processes [14].
American Specification SEI/ASCE 8 [15] and Australia/New Zealand
Standard AS/NZS 4673 [16] for CFSS structures provide design
provisions for members undergoing combined bending and web crip­
pling. However, these web crippling-bending interaction design rules
have been adopted from the provisions for carbon steel structures. This
is mainly due to the lack of research on CFSS sections in combined
bending and web crippling. Research activities on web crippling-
bending interaction of cold-formed carbon steel members (e.g., on
channel sections [17–20] and sheeting profiles [21–23]) were con­
ducted, while specific research work dealing with combined bending
and web crippling behaviour of CFSS structural members is still limited.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is only one paper focusing
on combined bending and web crippling of CFSS members. Zhou and
Young [24] investigated web crippling-bending interaction of RHS cold-
rolled from duplex and high strength austenitic stainless steel sheets. It
was revealed that the combined bending and web crippling rules in the
SEI/ASCE 8 and AS/NZS 4673 design specifications were generally
conservative for the tested specimens [24]. It is worth mentioning that
the web slenderness ratios of the specimens tested by Zhou and Young

* Corresponding author at: Department of Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
E-mail address: haiting.li@sjtu.edu.cn (H.-T. Li).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.113466
Received 19 June 2021; Received in revised form 20 October 2021; Accepted 21 October 2021
Available online 12 November 2021
0141-0296/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
H.-T. Li and B. Young
[24] were ranged from 21.9 to 48.5; the validity of the codified rules
beyond the test parameters remain unknown. In addition, recent years
show a clear trend of investigation on lean-duplex [25–28] and ferritic
[28–34] stainless steel grades. Therefore, the applicability of existing
combined bending and web crippling rules for cold-formed lean-duplex
stainless steel (LDSS) and ferritic stainless steel (FSS) RHS members
needs to be examined.
In this study, cold-formed LDSS and FSS RHS members undergoing
combined bending and web crippling are investigated. A total of 346
new data, including 34 experimental and 312 numerical results, were
obtained and reported in this paper. The studied specimens have been
carefully selected covering a wide range of key parameters to evaluate
the codified provisions in the American [15], Australian/New Zealand
[16] and European [35] design specifications for the CFSS structural
members. Moreover, the suitability of provisions in the North American
Specification [36] was assessed.
2. Experimental investigation
2.1. General
A series of tests was conducted to study the structural responses of
CFSS RHS members undergoing combined bending and web crippling.
In order to understand the behaviour subjected to such a combined ac­
tion, ultimate resistances of the members under pure bending as well as
under pure web crippling shall be acquired beforehand. To this end,
three types of experiments have been undertaken herein, namely, pure
bending tests (to gain the resistance under pure bending), web crippling
tests (to gain the resistance under pure web crippling) and combined
bending and web crippling tests.
The experimental investigation was conducted on one LDSS RHS
(viz., L60×40×2) and two FSS RHS (viz., F100×80×4 and
F120×80×3). The LDSS and FSS sections were labelled so that their
material types and cross-sectional dimensions can be easily recognised
by using the definitions of cross-section geometrical symbols illustrated
in Fig. 1. For examples, L60×40×2 and F100×80×4, as shown in
Table 1, indicate the RHS were LDSS and FSS grades and have nominal
overall heights (H), overall widths (B), tube thicknesses (t) of 60×40×2
mm and 100 × 80 × 4 mm, respectively. The investigated LDSS and FSS
RHS tubes were cold-rolled from stainless steel sheets of grades EN
1.4062 and EN 1.4003, respectively. The nominal yield strengths (0.2%
proof stresses) of the lean-duplex and ferritic stainless steel materials are
530 and 280 MPa, as specified in the EN 1993–1-4 [35], respectively.
Specimens of the three types of experiments were from the same batches
of tubes. Tensile coupon tests were undertaken to determine the material
properties of the RHS specimens. As the RHS were cold-rolled, apart
from flat coupon tests, corner coupon tests were also undertaken to
obtain the material properties of the cold-formed RHS at the corners.
Fig. 1. Definition of symbols for RHS.
2
Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466
The flat coupon specimens were prepared in accordance with the
dimensional requirements as per the ASTM E8 [37] using coupons of
12.5 mm nominal width and 50 mm gauge length. The corner coupons
were extracted from the corner location opposite to the welded face of
the RHS and the gauge length of the corner coupons was 25 mm with the
associated nominal width of 4 mm. The coupon tests were conducted
following the recommendations as per Huang and Young [38]. The
longitudinal strains in the flat and corner coupons were measured using
pre-calibrated MTS extensometers with gauge lengths of 50 mm and 25
mm, respectively. In addition, a TML strain gauge was affixed at the
centre of the gauge length on each face of the coupons. Displacement
control with a small loading rate of 0.05 mm/min was used during the
initial elastic range of the stress–strain curves; therefore, sufficient test
data using strain gauges can be obtained to get accurate elastic moduli of
the materials. In the plastic range of stress–strain curves, the applied
loading rate was selected as 0.8 mm/min. To avoid the influence of
loading rate from the stress–strain curves, coupon tests were paused for
100s near the 0.2% proof stress and ultimate strength, as recommended
by Huang and Young [38]. Fig. 2 shows the measured static stress–strain
curves obtained from the flat and corner coupon tests. Measured key
material properties, namely, the elastic moduli E, static 0.2% proof
stresses σ 0.2, static tensile strengths σ u, and elongations at fracture εf are
reported in Table 1. It is shown that the cold-forming process of the
stainless steel RHS lead to significant strength enhancements of the
materials at the corner regions compared to their flat portion counter­
parts. The measured 0.2% proof stresses from the corner coupon tests of
L60×40×2, F100×80×4 and F120×80×3 sections were 29.0%, 22.2%
and 32.8% larger than the corresponding results from the flat coupon
tests, respectively. On the other hand, the ductility of the materials,
which can be reflected by the measured elongations at fracture,
exhibited opposite results as expected.
2.2. Pure bending test series
2.2.1. Test specimens and setup
Four pure bending experiments were conducted in this study and the
geometries of the beam specimens can be found in Table 2. The RHS had
measured H from 40.0 to 119.8 mm, B values from 40.1 to 79.8 mm, t
values from 1.99 to 3.75 mm. The outer and inner corner radii R and r
values ranged from 4.1 to 8.6 and 2.3 to 4.8 mm, respectively. The cold-
formed LDSS RHS section L60×40×2 was tested under both major
(specimen PB-L60×40×2) and minor (specimen PB-L40×60×2) axes
bending, while the FSS RHS F100×80×4 and F120×80×3 were tested
under major axis bending only. The specimen labels of the pure bending
tests are shown in Table 2, where the pure bending test series are
identified by the abbreviation “PB”.
In this study, four-point bending experiments were undertaken to
obtain the moment resistances of the CFSS RHS subjected to pure
bending. The test setup is shown in Fig. 3(a). Simple-support boundary
condition was achieved through steel roller and half-round supports; 90
mm width steel plates were positioned between the specimens and their
supports to distribute the localised forces. Stiffening plates (also 90 mm
in width) were clamped to the webs at both interior loading and end
supporting regions of the specimens. Moreover, wooden blocks, the di­
mensions of which tightly fit the inner face dimensions of the tested RHS
specimens, were inserted at the two interior loading regions. Such
treatments ensured that any possible premature localised failure at the
loading and supporting locations were prevented. The moment spans
between two interior loading points of the pure bending specimens were
designed so that the unstiffened portions of the moment spans were no
less than the greater values of 3H and 3B. For all the four specimens, the
moment-to-shear span ratios were designed as 1:1. The moment and
shear spans of the PB-L60×40×2 and PB-L40×60×2 specimens equalled
to 300 mm, and were of 400 and 450 mm for the PB-F100×80×4 and
PB-F120×80×3, respectively.
The curvature (κ) of each pure bending specimen was measured by
H.-T. Li and B. Young Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

Table 1
Material properties of lean duplex and ferritic stainless steel RHS.
Flat coupon Corner coupon
Section
(H×B×t) E σ0.2 σu εf E σ0.2 σu εf
(GPa) (MPa) (MPa) (%) (GPa) (MPa) (MPa) (%)

L60×40×2 205.1 604 745 30.1 200.8 779 927 12.2

F100×80×4 215.3 441 475 22.0 213.4 539 595 13.7
F120×80×3 209.7 400 452 23.8 200.7 531 570 11.7

Note: Measured thicknesses of flat and corner coupons were 1.98 and 2.09, 3.73 and 4.04, as well as 2.81 and 3.03 mm for L60×40×2, F100×80×4 and F120×80×3
sections, respectively.

observed for all the pure bending tests and inward indentations of the
top flange happened only after the ultimate loads at the post-peak
stages. The failure mode and moment–curvature curve of a typical
specimen can be found in Figs. 3 and 4, respectively. Out-of-plane
flexural behaviour was not observed for all the pure bending tests.

2.3. Pure web crippling test series

2.3.1. Test specimens and setup

Fig. 2. Stress–strain curves obtained from tensile flat and corner coupon tests.
three linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) positioned at the
midspan as well as two loading points beneath the specimen. The cur­
vature is determined by κ = 8(DM − DL )/(4(DM − DL )2 + L2m ) , in which
DM is the vertical deflection at midspan, DL is the average vertical
deflection at the two loading points and Lm is the distance between the
two loading points (i.e., length of moment span). The test setup
employed a hydraulic machine to impose forces to the RHS specimens
via displacement control method and the applied loading rate was 1
mm/min.
2.2.2. Test results
The ultimate bending moments MExp of the CFSS RHS were obtained
from the pure bending experiments. The MExp was acquired using a half
of the ultimate force multiplied by the shear span of the specimen. The
experimentally obtained ultimate moments MExp (with subscript “Exp”)
were compared with their theoretical elastic (My) and plastic (Mpl)
moment resistances in Table 2. The theoretical elastic/plastic moments
were computed from the multiplication of elastic/plastic section moduli
and the yield stresses from flat coupon experiments. The four tested pure
bending specimens have MExp/My values varying from 1.39 to 1.68, and
the MExp/Mpl values varying from 1.21 to 1.38. All these specimens
failed in the moment spans by yielding of the materials. The specimens
displayed flexural behaviour when the moment–curvature curves
reached the peak loads. To be more specific, local buckling was not
A series of experiments was undertaken to obtain the ultimate ca­
pacities of the RHS members undergoing pure web crippling. Four
standardised web crippling load cases have been provided in the current
SEI/ASCE 8 [15] and AS/NZS 4673 [16] specifications. In order to
investigate the behaviour of CFSS RHS subjected to combined action, the
web crippling experiments herein were performed in accordance with
the Interior-One-Flange (IOF) load case [15,16]. The IOF test specimens
were designed and tested align with the recommendations as provided
in the AISI S909 [39] standard. In this study, the lengths of the IOF
specimens were designed as LIOF=3H+3N, where H is the overall web
height and N is the bearing plate length.
The pure web crippling test series consists of seven CFSS RHS spec­
imens. Measured geometries of the specimens are reported in Table 3.
The labels of the pure web crippling specimens, as tabulated in Table 3,
were designed so that the test series, stainless steel grade, cross-section,
and bearing plate length can be recognised. For example, label “IOF-
F100×80×4N50” indicates the specimen is a pure web crippling spec­
imen under IOF loading condition of the ferritic stainless steel
F100×80×4 section and tested using a bearing length N=50 mm. Four
different sizes of steel bearing plates were machined to specific di­
mensions; the bearing lengths of the plates were 30, 50, 60 and 90 mm,
as shown in Table 3, and the thicknesses of all the bearing plates were
kept constant as 50 mm. The bearing plates were designed to act across
full flange widths of the RHS excluding the rounded corners. The test
setup of the pure web crippling tests can be found in Fig. 5(a). The
bearing plate was put at the mid-span to apply the concentrated force to
the specimen via a steel half round, and the top flange of the specimen
was not fastened to the bearing plate during testing. Another two steel
plates, with identical dimensions as the bearing plate at the mid-span,
were supported by two steel rollers at the specimen ends; therefore,
symmetric boundary conditions without longitudinal restrain to the
specimen have been achieved. To prevent possible end failure, two pairs
of stiffening plates were clamped at the specimen ends. Vertical and
lateral web deformations of the CFSS RHS were carefully measured by

Table 2
Lean duplex and ferritic stainless steel RHS test specimens under pure bending.
Specimen H B t R r L MExp MExp MExp MExp
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kNm) My Mpl MFEA

PB-L60×40×2 60.1 40.1 1.99 4.1 2.3 990 6.2 1.68 1.38 1.07
PB-L40×60×2 40.0 60.1 1.99 4.1 2.3 991 4.1 1.39 1.21 1.08
PB-F100×80×4 99.9 79.8 3.75 8.6 4.8 1290 23.4 1.49 1.24 1.06
PB-F120×80×3 119.8 79.8 2.84 6.8 3.9 1440 21.3 1.47 1.22 1.04

Mean 1.06
COV 0.014

3
H.-T. Li and B. Young Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

Fig. 3. Experimental and numerical failure modes for specimen PB-F100×80×4 under four-point bending.

means of LVDTs with prior calibrations. The same testing machine for
the pure bending tests was used herein and the applied rate of loading
was 0.3 mm/min for the pure web crippling tests.

2.3.2. Test results

Fig. 4. Experimental and numerical moment–curvature curves for specimen
PB-F100×80×4 under four-point bending.
All the IOF specimens failed by web crippling at the desired location
(mid-span) where interior bearing forces were applied. It is noteworthy
that under the IOF load case, specimens would be inevitably subjected to
a bending moment. No visible overall flexural deformation was observed
for all the seven web crippling experiments at ultimate loads, as ach­
ieved by the successful specimen length design, which enable a short
span to minimise the bending effect and, in the meantime, make sure the
specimens would be categorized as IOF (but not a two-flange load case).
The same IOF specimen length of LIOF=3H+3N were previously used by
the authors [9,40] to determine the pure web crippling resistances of
cold-formed stainless steel and carbon steel members under the IOF load
case. The obtained IOF web crippling capacities per web PExp are tabu­
lated in Table 3. The failure mode and load-deformation relationships of
a typical specimen can be found in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively. The ob­
tained PExp tabulated in Table 3 were used together with the MExp, as
tabulated in Table 2, to decide the specimen lengths of the web

4
H.-T. Li and B. Young Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

Table 3
Lean duplex and ferritic stainless steel RHS test specimens under pure web crippling.
Specimen H B t R r N L PExp PExp
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kN) PFEA

IOF-L60×40×2N50 60.1 40.1 1.99 4.1 2.3 50 330 32.4 1.04

IOF-L60×40×2N30 60.1 40.2 2.02 4.1 2.3 30 270 28.1 1.06
IOF-L40×60×2N60 40.1 60.2 2.01 4.1 2.3 60 300 34.0 1.07
IOF-F100×80×4N90 100.1 79.9 3.76 8.6 4.8 90 570 72.1 0.96
IOF-F100×80×4N50 100.1 79.9 3.77 8.6 4.8 50 451 63.1 1.01
IOF-F120×80×3N90 119.9 79.8 2.83 6.8 3.9 90 630 48.2 1.07
IOF-F120×80×3N50 119.9 80.0 2.82 6.8 3.9 50 511 38.9 1.05

Mean 1.05
COV 0.043

Fig. 6. Experimental and numerical load-web deformation curves for specimen

IOF-F100×80×4N90 under Interior-One-Flange loading.

crippling-bending interaction tests, which will be described in the

following sub-section of this paper.

2.4. Combined bending and web crippling test series

Fig. 5. Experimental and numerical failure modes for specimen IOF-
F100×80×4N90 under Interior-One-Flange loading.
2.4.1. Test specimens
The combined bending and web crippling test series consist of totally
28 CFSS RHS specimens. The detailed measured geometries of the
combined action test series specimens are listed in Table 4, where the H
values ranged from 40.0 to 119.9 mm, B values ranged from 40.1 to 79.9
mm, t values ranged from 1.99 to 3.77 mm, R values varied between 4.1

5
H.-T. Li and B. Young Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

Table 4
Lean duplex and ferritic stainless steel RHS test specimens under combined bending and web crippling.
Specimen H B t R r L PC,Exp MC,Exp PC,Exp MC,Exp
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kN) (kNm) PC,FEA MC,FEA

C-L60×40×2N50-k0.9 60.2 40.2 1.99 4.1 2.3 436 29.4 5.1 1.07 1.07
C-L60×40×2N50-k1.3 60.2 40.3 2.00 4.1 2.3 589 22.2 5.5 1.05 1.05
C-L60×40×2N50-k2.0 60.1 40.2 2.01 4.1 2.3 858 15.3 5.9 1.05 1.05
C-L60×40×2N50-k2.0-R 60.1 40.2 2.00 4.1 2.3 858 15.3 5.9 1.06 1.06
C-L60×40×2N30-k0.7 60.1 40.1 1.99 4.1 2.3 400 25.4 3.9 1.07 1.07
C-L60×40×2N30-k1.1 60.1 40.2 2.00 4.1 2.3 577 19.7 4.8 1.05 1.05
C-L60×40×2N30-k1.8 60.2 40.2 1.99 4.1 2.3 887 13.5 5.4 1.04 1.04
C-L40×60×2N60-k1.1 40.1 60.1 2.00 4.1 2.3 357 30.9 4.1 1.08 1.08
C-L40×60×2N60-k1.5 40.0 60.3 2.00 4.1 2.3 454 23.0 4.2 1.06 1.06
C-L40×60×2N60-k2.3 40.1 60.2 2.01 4.1 2.3 648 15.1 4.2 1.06 1.06
C-F100×80×4N90-k0.8 100.1 79.9 3.76 8.6 4.8 611 69.2 18.0 0.98 0.98
C-F100×80×4N90-k1.2 100.0 79.9 3.75 8.6 4.8 870 53.8 21.0 0.99 0.99
C-F100×80×4N90-k2.0 99.9 79.8 3.75 8.6 4.8 1391 34.6 22.5 1.01 1.01
C-F100×80×4N50-k0.6 100.0 79.8 3.75 8.6 4.8 536 59.7 13.3 0.99 0.99
C-F100×80×4N50-k1.0 100.0 79.9 3.77 8.6 4.8 834 46.4 17.3 0.97 0.97
C-F100×80×4N50-k1.0-R 100.1 79.9 3.75 8.6 4.8 834 46.3 17.2 0.98 0.98
C-F100×80×4N50-k1.8 100.0 79.9 3.75 8.6 4.8 1428 30.6 20.4 0.99 0.99
C-F120×80×3N90-k0.7 119.7 79.9 2.83 6.8 3.9 708 45.2 14.0 1.06 1.06
C-F120×80×3N90-k1.1 119.9 79.8 2.85 6.8 3.9 1062 35.2 17.1 1.04 1.04
C-F120×80×3N90-k2.0 119.8 79.8 2.84 6.8 3.9 1856 22.3 19.7 1.07 1.07
C-F120×80×3N50-k0.5 119.8 79.8 2.84 6.8 3.9 638 37.3 10.2 1.04 1.04
C-F120×80×3N50-k0.9 119.8 79.8 2.84 6.8 3.9 1075 28.8 14.2 1.02 1.02
C-F120×80×3N50-k1.6 119.7 79.8 2.85 6.8 3.9 1843 19.8 17.4 1.03 1.03

Mean 1.03 1.03

COV 0.033 0.033

and 8.6 mm and r varied between 2.3 and 4.8 mm. The values of web
slenderness ratio h/t, inside bend radius-to-thickness ratio r/t and
bearing length-to-thickness ratio N/t of the specimens varied between
15.9 and 37.5, 1.0 to 1.4, and 13.3 to 31.8, respectively.
The specimen lengths of the combined action test series Lc, as illus­
trated in Fig. 7, were carefully designed to investigate the interaction
relationships between localised interior bearing force and the bending
moment. The Lc equalled to 90 mm plus the span of the specimen be­
tween the roller supports, designated as Lc,span, as the load-transferring
plates at two ends had a length of 90 mm each. The “k value approach”,
which had been initially used by Zhao and Hancock [41] and later
employed by Zhou and Young [24] and Li and Young [42], has been
adopted in this study to design the Lc,span for the purpose of assuring the
combined action specimens can achieve a wide range of bending
moment-localised bearing force interactions. The Lc,span are calculated
as Lc,span=2kMExp/PExp, in which k is the interaction factor, MExp is the
ultimate moment capacity of RHS obtained from pure bending tests, and
PExp is the IOF web crippling capacity per web. The combined action
specimens can be grouped into seven groups based upon their corre­
sponding pure web crippling specimens; three different k values were
chosen for each group of specimens. The selected k values had a wide
range from 0.5 to 2.3; specimens with smaller k values would result in
smaller ratio of moment-to-bearing force interaction and vice versa.
The specimen labels of combined action specimens, as shown in
Table 4, were designed so that the test series, stainless steel grade, cross-
section, bearing length and interaction factor could be recognised. For
instance, the label “C-L60×40×2N50-k2.0” in Table 4 indicates the
specimen is a combined bending and web crippling specimen (as iden­
tified by “C”) of the lean-duplex stainless steel L60×40×2 section, tested
under a bearing length of N=50 mm and has a k factor of 2.0. Two
repeated tests were conducted in the experimental program and the
repeated specimens can be identified by “-R” in Table 4.
2.4.2. Test setup
The combined bending and web crippling specimens were tested
using the same test setup as the IOF load case, as shown in Fig. 8(a).
Overall, it may look like a three-point bending test setup (e.g., reported
in Chen and Young [43] to study the flexural behaviour of tubular
members), but it should be noted that the specimens in the combined
action tests were not stiffened at mid-span, and therefore allowing web
crippling to take place at the midspan where interior bearing force was
applied. The applied load and boundary conditions in the combined
action test setup were symmetrical, same as the pure web crippling ex­
periments. A steel bearing plate was put at the midspan to apply the
concentrated force to the specimen via a steel half round. Two steel load-
transferring plates (90 mm in length each), supported by two identical
steel rollers, were assigned at the specimen ends. Similar to the pure web
crippling test setup, two pair of stiffening plates were clamped at the
ends of the specimen. Both vertical and lateral deformations of the webs
of CFSS RHS specimens were measured, which is same as the

Fig. 7. Specimen length design for combined bending and web crippling tests.

6
H.-T. Li and B. Young
Fig. 8. Experimental and numerical failure modes for specimen C-F100×80×4N90-k2.0 undergoing combined bending and web crippling.
measurements in the pure web crippling test series. In addition, midspan
deflections of the combined bending and web crippling specimens were
also captured during testing. The same testing machine as used in the
previous two test series (i.e., pure bending tests and pure web crippling
tests) was employed for the combined bending and web crippling test
series. The applied loading rate is same as the one employed for pure
web crippling tests.
2.4.3. Test results
Out-of-plane deformation has not been found throughout the 23 web
crippling-bending interaction tests, and all the specimens failed in-plane
at their midspan due to a combination of web crippling and bending. A
typical failure mode can be found in Fig. 8(a). The ultimate capacities
per web obtained from the combined action experiments, designated as
7
Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466
PC,Exp, are fully reported in Table 4. The PC,Exp values were equalled to
half of the ultimate applied forces from the actuator recorded in the
tests. The PC,Exp were utilised to compute the experimental ultimate
moments MC,Exp at the midspan where the specimens failed. The MC,Exp
values, tabulated in Table 4, were equalled to PC,Exp multiplied by half of
the span Lc,span. Two repeated tests were carried out for the web
crippling-bending interaction tests, one on a LDSS section specimen (i.e,
C-L60×40×2N50-k2.0-R) and the other on a FSS section specimen (i.e,
C-F100×80×4N50-k1.0-R). The repeated test results were almost
identical to the first test results (with a negligible difference of less than
0.6% in PC,Exp and MC,Exp for both the repeated tests), and therefore
demonstrates the test results are reliable.
H.-T. Li and B. Young
3. Finite element (FE) modelling
3.1. General
The test program described above was supplemented by a parallel FE
modelling program, in which the three series of experiments were
replicated numerically via the nonlinear FE analysis package ABAQUS
[44]. FE models were built and verified with the obtained test results.
After the validation, parametric studies were undertaken to obtain
further numerical data on CFSS RHS members undergoing combined
bending and web crippling.
3.2. FE models
Each pure bending, pure web crippling as well as combined action
specimen was modelled based upon its measured cross-sectional di­
mensions and member length as tabulated in Tables 2–4. The shell
element S4R in the ABAQUS was applied to model the RHS specimens.
The meshes of the models were carefully selected to ensure accurate FE
results and yet assured computational efficiency. The applied meshes for
the RHS flat portions varied between 4×4 and 10×10 mm based upon
the cross-section sizes, and finer meshes were applied at the rounded
corners to accurately model the corner zones of the members. For beam
specimens in the pure bending series, five elements were assigned at the
rounded corners, while for the specimens in the pure web crippling and
the combined action series, finer elements of twenty elements were used
to assure proper load transfer (via contact) from the bearing plate to the
RHS specimens. The finer discretization of the corners was achieved via
the Seed Edges function in ABAQUS prescribing the number of local
seeds to the 90-degree arcs at the corners of the RHS.
The material properties of the cold-formed LDSS and FSS RHS were
input to the models based upon the corresponding measured stress–strain
relationships acquired from the material tests. It is worth mentioning that
research work conducted by Cruise and Gardner [45] experimentally
evidenced that the material strength enhancements of CFSS RHS were not
restrained within their curved corners but extended to flat parts of the
tubes. Hence, the corner coupon characteristics were assigned to the RHS
corners with a 2t extension in the FE models, as suggested in [45,46]. The
obtained engineering stress–strain curves from the flat and corner
coupon tests were converted to true stress and logarithmic true plastic
strain curves before inputting into the FE models, as required by ABAQUS
[44]. It is noteworthy that residual stresses, which can be decomposed
into bending residual stresses and membrane residual stresses due to
cold-forming and welding, have been introduced into the cold-formed
seam-welded RHS test specimens during the production process. In the
FE models, bending residual stress effects were, to a significant extent,
inherently incorporated. This is because the material test coupons, which
had been extracted from the RHS, were returned to their original straight
state (as in the tubes before extraction) during gripping, and subse­
quently the bending residual stresses were reintroduced. Therefore, the
bending residual stress effects have been taken into account by the ma­
terial properties obtained from the coupon tests [26]. On the other hand,
the membrane residual stresses were not incorporated as the influence of
membrane residual stresses on the structural responses of cold-formed
stainless steel RHS beams was shown to be quite small [26].
The boundary conditions of FE models were replicated in accordance
with those used in the experiments. The RHS specimens had symmetry
in geometries, boundary conditions and experimental failure modes, and
therefore only half of the cross-sections were modelled. As for repli­
cating the pure bending experiments, the modelling technique success­
fully used by Huang and Young [26] was adopted herein. In the
experimental program, concentrated loads/reactions were transferred to
the RHS beams from roller and half-round supports. These supports were
modelled by means of reference points (RPs) that were coupled to the
contact surfaces between the load-transferring plates and the RHS
specimens. The half-round pin support has been simulated by restraining
8
Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466
the corresponding RP against all degrees of freedom (DOFs) except the
bending axis rotation, whilst the roller support has been achieved by
releasing an extra DOF for longitudinal movement along the member.
Regarding to the replication of pure web crippling and web
crippling-bending interaction experiments, the modelling technique for
the IOF load case reported by Li and Young [9] was employed herein. It
should be noted that the boundary and loading conditions of the IOF
web crippling tests and the combined action tests were identical. The
differences between these two series of testing lie in the lengths of
specimens (combined action tests had longer spans than IOF specimens).
For the IOF and combined action models, the transverse bearing forces
(and reaction forces) were transferred to the RHS specimens via bearing
plates. Contact pairs were employed in the numerical models to define
the surface interactions between the RHS specimens and the bearing
plates (BPs) via surface-to-surface discretization method in ABAQUS.
The master surfaces were defined in the rigid BPs and slave surfaces
were defined in the RHS specimens. The “hard” contact was selected in
the normal direction, whereas Coulomb friction model with a friction
coefficient of 0.4 was used to simulate the tangential behaviour. The
loads were applied to the CFSS RHS specimens via the static RIKS
method in the ABAQUS.
3.3. Validation of FE models
Validation of the FE models was performed via comparing the ob­
tained numerical results with those gained from the experiments. For the
CFSS RHS in pure bending, the test-to-FE moment capacity ratios MExp/
MFEA are compared in Table 2, where the mean value is 1.06 with a
corresponding coefficient of variation (COV) of 0.014. Regarding the
CFSS RHS in pure web crippling, the values of test-to-FE ratio PExp/PFEA
are tabulated in Table 3; the PExp/PFEA ratio has a mean value of 1.05
and the corresponding COV is 0.043. As for the CFSS RHS in combined
bending and web crippling, ultimate loads per web and ultimate mo­
ments obtained from the FE analyses were compared with their exper­
imental counterparts in Table 4, in which the test-to-FE ratio PC,Exp/PC,
FEA (and also the MC,Exp/MC,FEA) has a mean value of 1.03 and the COV is
0.033. In addition to the successful replications of the strengths, the
failure modes and moment-curvature/load-deformation relationships
got from the three series of experiments were also compared with their
numerical counterparts, as shown in Figs. 3–4, Figs. 5–6 and Figs. 8–9
for typical specimens of the pure bending, pure web crippling and web
crippling-bending interaction series, respectively. The numerical failure
modes with stress contours of the specimens shown in Fig. 3(b), 5(b) and
8(b) were obtained at the ultimate loads of the specimens. In general, the
developed FE models are deemed capable of replicating the performance
of the CFSS RHS specimens subjected to pure bending, pure web crip­
pling and combined bending and web crippling.
3.4. Parametric studies
Upon the FE models validated, parametric studies were performed to
generate further numerical data to study the interaction behaviour of the
CFSS RHS under combined bending and web crippling. Same as the
experimental program, two types of stainless steel grades, namely, the
lean-duplex stainless steel (LDSS) and ferritic stainless steel (FSS), were
investigated in the parametric studies; the measured material stress–strain
relationships obtained from tensile coupon tests of sections L60×40×2
and F120×80×3 were used for LDSS and FSS specimens, respectively. A
total of 24 RHS (12 FSS RHS plus 12 LDSS RHS) were selected and
investigated herein. The 24 RHS had an aspect ratio H/B varied from 0.5
to 3.0; 10 sections had H/B=1 (i.e., square hollow sections) and are
considered as special case of RHS in this study. It is worth mentioning that
all these RHS have been selected from practical cross-sectional sizes for
structural applications. The H and B values, as pre-defined in Fig. 1, both
ranged from 80 to 400 mm and the cross-section thicknesses t ranged from
2 to 10 mm. The values of web slenderness ratio h/t for the parametric
H.-T. Li and B. Young Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

4. Assessment of existing design provisions

4.1. General

In order to throughly investigate the behaviour of the CFSS RHS

members undergoing combined bending and web crippling, evaluations
of pure bending and pure web crippling endpoints of the interaction
curves are required. Therefore, in this section of the paper, existing
provisions for members in pure bending and pure web crippling were
firstly evaluated, and then followed by the evaluation of the codified
combined bending and web crippling provisions in the SEI/ASCE 8 [15],
AS/NZS 4673 [16] and EN 1993-1-4 [35] for the CFSS RHS members. It
should be pointed out that all the comparisons presented herein are
made based upon nominal (unfactored) design strengths.

4.2. Pure bending

Design provisions for stainless steel members subjected to pure

bending are available in the SEI/ASCE 8 [15], AS/NZS [16] and EN
1993-1-4 [35]. The ultimate moments Mu obtained from both the tests
and FE analyses were compared to nominal moment capacities calcu­
lated from the aforementioned three design specifications, as shown in
Table 5. In this study, the moment capacities predicted by the SEI/ASCE
8, AS/NZS 4673 and EN 1993-1-4 standards are designated as MASCE,
MAS/NZS, and MEC3 with the subscripts “ASCE”, “AS/NZS” and “EC3”,
respectively. The design provision codified in Clause 3.3.1.1 of the SEI/
ASCE 8 [15] based upon initiation of yielding was used to compute the
MASCE, and the provision in Clause 3.6.2 of the AS/NZS 4673 [16],
which had been tailored for RHS with special rules for compact sections,
was used to compute the MAS/NZS. Regarding to the MEC3 values, the
nominal moment resistances were computed by using Clause 6.2.5 as per
the EN 1993-1-1 [47] during which the cross-section classifications were
conducted by using the rules specified in Clause 5.2 of the EN 1993-1-4
[35]. It is noteworthy that the SEI/ASCE [15], AS/NZS [16] and EN
1993-1-4 [35] all employed classic Effective Width Method in obtaining
the MASCE, MAS/NZS, and MEC3. The Direct Strength Method (DSM) has
been adopted and codified in design specifications for cold-formed
(carbon) steel structures. In this study, the obtained Mu were also
compared against nominal moment resistances (MAISI and MH&Y) ob­
tained from the DSM in the AISI S100 [36] as well as recommended by
Huang and Young [26]. The design rule recommended by Huang and
Young [26] can be expressed in Eq. (1), where My is the yield moment of
the gross section, Mcrl is the critical elastic local buckling moment and λl
is the slenderness factor equals to (1.1My/Mcrl)0.5. In obtaining the MAISI
and MH&Y, the required critical elastic local buckling moments were
obtained using the numerical software CUFSM [48].
⎧
⎪ 1.1((0.776 − λl ) + 1 )My for λl ≤ 0.776
⎨
MH&Y = ( (
Mcrl
)0.4 )(
Mcrl
)0.4
⎪
⎩ 1 − 0.15 1.1My for λl > 0.776
1.1My 1.1My
(1)
The comparison results of the test and FE moment capacities (Mu) to
Fig. 9. Experimental and numerical load-deformation curves for specimens C- design predictions are tabulated in Table 5. The mean values of the Mu/
F100×80×4N90-k0.8, C-F100×80×4N90-k1.2 and C-F100×80×4N90-k2.0. MASCE, Mu/MAS/NZS Mu/MEC3 ratios ranged from 1.26 to 1.37, indicating
that the codified stainless steel design provisions are quite conservative
study specimens ranged from 12.7 to 96.0. The bearing length N was
selected as either full or half of the flange width of RHS. The N/t and N/h Table 5
ratios of the pure web crippling specimens as well as the combined Comparison of pure bending test and FE results with predicted flexural
bending and web crippling specimens ranged from 8.3 to 100.0 and 0.2 to strengths.
2.2, respectively. The interaction factor k values of the combined action No. of tests: 4 Mu Mu Mu Mu Mu
specimens ranged from 0.4 to 2.8. In total, 24 parametric specimens were No. of FE analyses: 24 MASCE MAS/NZS MEC3 MAISI MH&Y
modelled in pure bending, 48 specimens were modelled in pure web
Mean 1.37 1.26 1.29 1.34 1.08
crippling, and 240 results were generated for specimens undergoing COV 0.145 0.130 0.077 0.116 0.073
combined bending and web crippling. Max 1.72 1.72 1.56 1.68 1.24
Min 0.94 0.94 1.12 1.11 0.91

9
H.-T. Li and B. Young Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

for the CFSS RHS beam specimens. Among these stainless steel pro­
visions, the EN 1993-1-4 [35] give the most consistent flexural strength
predictions with a small COV of 0.077, as shown in Table 5. Overall, the
DSM as per AISI S100 [36] yielded more conservative and scatter pre­
dictions than the EN 1993-1-4 [35]. On the other hand, the modified
DSM recommended by Huang and Young [26] gives the most accurate
and consistent predictions among all the assessed design rules. The
values of Mu/MH&Y ratio varied between 0.91 and 1.24 with a mean of
1.08 and the corresponding COV of 0.073, indicating that the DSM
modified by Huang and Young [26] can be used to calculate the moment
capacities of the CFSS RHS subjected to pure bending.
The values of Pu/PL&Y ratio for the 27 LDSS specimens (3 tests and 24
FE analyses) ranged from 0.80 to 1.18, and the values of the ratio for the
28 FSS specimens (4 tests and 24 FE analyses) ranged from 0.91 to 1.21.
Overall, the mean value of Pu/PL&Y ratio is 1.07 with a relatively small
COV of 0.084 for the total of 55 data. As shown in Table 6, the modified
rule proposed by Li and Young [9] yields the best predictions among all
the assessed rules, and is deemed capable of predicting the web crippling
strengths for both cold-formed FSS and LDSS RHS under the IOF load
case.
4.4. Combined bending and web crippling

4.3. Pure web crippling The ultimate capacities obtained from the combined bending and
web crippling specimens were employed to evaluate the applicability of
The ultimate web crippling loads per web Pu obtained from the the codified combined bending and web crippling design provisions to
experimental and numerical studies were compared to the nominal web CFSS RHS. Design provisions for members subjected to combined
crippling capacities per web predicted from the stainless steel design bending and web crippling are provided in Clause 3.3.5 of the SEI/ASCE
specifications. The nominal web crippling capacities per web PASCE, PAS/ 8 [15], Clause 3.3.7 of the AS/NZS 4673 [16], and Clause 6.1.11 of the
NZS, and PEC3 were calculated from the Clause 3.3.4 of SEI/ASCE 8 [15], EN 1993-1-3 [49]. The three codified nominal web crippling-bending
Clause 3.3.6 of AS/NZS 4673 [16] and Clause 6.1.7.3 of EN 1993-1-3 interaction equations are shown in Eqs. (3) to (5), where P represents
[49], respectively. It is noteworthy that the American and Australian/ the required web crippling capacity per web in the presence of bending
New Zealand provisions are the same, and thereby leads to identical moment, and the M represents the required flexural strength of the RHS.
PASCE and PAS/NZS predictions. The comparison results of the test and FE The PASCE, PAS/NZS and PEC3 are the nominal web crippling strengths per
web crippling capacities (Pu) to design predictions are reported in web determined as per Clause 3.3.4 of the SEI/ASCE 8 [15], Clause 3.3.6
Table 6. The values of Pu/PASCE (and also Pu/PAS/NZS) ratios varied from of the AS/NZS 4673 [16] and Clause 6.1.7.3 of the EN 1993-1-3 [49],
0.63 to 1.34 with a mean of 1.03 and a COV of 0.177; this demonstrates respectively, while the MASCE, MAS/NZS and MEC3 are the nominal flex­
that the predictions are rather scatter. On the other hand, the values of ural strengths determined as per Clause 3.3.1.1 of the SEI/ASCE 8 [15],
Pu/PEC3 ratio yields a mean of 1.55 with a minimum value of 1.17, Clause 3.6.2 of the AS/NZS 4673 [16] and Clause 6.2.5 of the EN 1993-
indicating that the Eurocode would be rather conservative for the RHS 1-1 [47], respectively.
specimens. ( ) ( )
P M
It is noteworthy that the web crippling rules for stainless steel 1.07 + ≤ 1.42 (3)
PASCE MASCE
structural members codified in SEI/ASCE [15] and AS/NZS [16] were
adopted from early version of the AISI S100 specification for cold- ( ) ( )
P M
formed carbon steel members. In this study, the obtained Pu were 1.07 + ≤ 1.42 (4)
PAS/NZS MAS/NZS
compared with nominal web crippling capacities per web predicted
from the current AISI S100 [36] to evaluate its applicability to the ( ) ( )
P M
studied CFSS RHS. The web crippling coefficients in Table G5-2 of the + ≤ 1.25 (5)
PEC3 MEC3
AISI S100 [36] were employed for this assessment, and the same
approach has been employed by the authors for the assessment of cold- It can be observed from Eqs. (3) and (4) that the interaction equa­
formed RHS in the past [9,40,50]. The values of Pu/PAISI ratio varied tions specified in the SEI/ASCE 8 and AS/NZS 4673 are identical; this
from 0.66 to 1.04 with a mean of 0.85; this demonstrates that the web web crippling-bending interaction provision has been provided in the
crippling coefficients in the AISI S100 would lead to overly optimistic early editions (1980, 1986 and 1996 editions) of the AISI specification
predictions and shall not be applied to the CFSS RHS. The authors have for the design of cold-formed (carbon) steel structural members to pre­
previously modified the web crippling provisions as per the AISI S100 dict the combined bending and web crippling behaviour. In fact, the
for CFSS RHS by providing a new set of coefficients [9]; the modification interaction relationships shown in Eqs. (3) and (4) are originated from
was based on FSS data and is assessed herein for both FSS and LDSS Hetrarul and Yu [51]. The provision had been developed based upon
under the IOF load case. The web crippling capacity per web calculated calibrations of experimental results of cold-formed carbon steel channel
from the IOF design rules in Li and Young [9] is designated as PL&Y, and and hat sections tested for combined bending and web crippling. The
expressed in Eq. (2) where r/t is the inside bend radius to thickness ratio, channel and hat section specimens had web thicknesses varied between
N/t is the bearing length to thickness ratio, h/t is the depth of web flat 1.17 mm (0.046 in.) and 1.65 (0.065 in.), h/t ratio ranged from 44 to
portion to thickness ratio, and C, Cr, CN and Ch are web crippling co­ 200, r/t ratio ranged from 1 to 3, and N/t ratio ranged from 12 to 65, as
efficients that equal to 2, 0.28, 1.62 and 0.003, respectively. reported in Hetrarul and Yu [51].
( √̅̅)( √̅̅̅̅)( √̅̅̅) To assess the web crippling-bending interaction provision as per the
PL&Y = Ct2 σ0.2 1 − Cr
r
1 + CN
N
1 − Ch
h
(2) SEI/ASCE 8 [15] and AS/NZS 4673 [16], the experimentally and
t t t numerically obtained P and M results were non-dimensionalised with
respect to the pure web crippling (PASCE and PAS/NSZ) and pure bending
(MASCE and MAS/NZS) resistances, respectively. The obtained P/PASCE and
Table 6 M/MASCE as well as P/PAS/NZS and M/MAS/NZS results are compared with
Comparison of pure web crippling test and FE results with predicted web crip­ the codified interaction curve in Fig. 10. It is illustrated that overall, the
pling strengths. nominal strengths predicted from the SEI/ASCE 8 and AS/NZS 4673 are
No. of tests: 7 Pu Pu Pu Pu Pu conservative for the CFSS RHS members subjected to combined bending
No. of FE analyses: 48 PASCE PAS/NZS PEC3 PAISI PL&Y and web crippling. Apart from Fig. 10, the SEI/ASCE 8 and AS/NZS 4673
Mean 1.03 1.03 1.55 0.85 1.07 rules are further statistically assessed via defining “CASCE” and “CAS/NZS”
COV 0.177 0.177 0.106 0.112 0.084 values, which are the terms on the left-hand side of Eqs. (3) and (4),
Max 1.34 1.34 1.80 1.04 1.21 respectively. Take “CASCE” as an example: the CASCE=1.07(P/PASCE)+
Min 0.63 0.63 1.17 0.66 0.80
(M/MASCE); and therefore, if a CASCE/1.42 ratio is larger than unity, it

10
H.-T. Li and B. Young Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

Fig. 10. Comparison of combined bending and web crippling test and FE results with ASCE [15] and AS/NZS [16] predictions.

indicates that the ASCE gives a conservative predication and visa versa.
The results of the CASCE/1.42 and CAS/NZS/1.42 are tabulated in Table 7.
The mean value of CAS/NZS/1.42 ratio is 6% more close to unity than
CASCE/1.42 ratio, while the maximum and minimum values of CASCE/
1.42 and CAS/NZS/1.42 ratios are identical. This is due to the fact that the
only difference between the American and Australian/New Zealand
predictions lies in the differences between the calculations of the flex­
ural strengths of compact RHS and the MAS/NZS predicted by the AS/NZS
4673 for compact RHS are less conservative than the MASCE.
The obtained P and M results were also non-dimensionalised with
respect to the PEC3 and MEC3, respectively, and plot against the EC3
interaction equation in Fig. 11 to evaluate the European web crippling-
bending interaction provision. As depicted in Fig. 11, a great conser­
vatism of the EC3 predictions has been found. The values of CEC3/1.25
ratio, where CEC3=P/PEC3+M/MEC3, ranged from 1.21 to 2.49 with a
mean of 1.69 and the COV is 0.139. The over-conservatism of the EC3
predictions is primarily attributed to the overly-conservative predictions
of the pure bending and pure web crippling endpoints of the interaction
curve, as revealed in Tables 5 and 6, where the Mu/MEC3 and Pu /PEC3
ratios exhibit the mean values of 1.29 and 1.55, respectively.
Apart from assessments of the codified provisions in the stainless
steel design specifications, the web crippling-bending interaction pro­
vision as per the current AISI S100 [36] is also evaluated herein. The
nominal interaction equation as per the AISI S100 can be expressed in
Eq. (6), where the PAISI and MAISI are the web crippling strength per web
and flexural strength of the section, respectively. It is worth to mention
that the Eq. (6) had been proposed in 2002 [52] based on the same data
used to calibrate Eq. (3) with a set of new data that reported by Young
and Hancock [53].
( ) ( )
P M
0.91 + ≤ 1.33 (6)
PAISI MAISI
The obtained test and FE strengths were non-dimensionalised with
respect to the PAISI and MAISI, and plot against the current AISI inter­
action equation in Fig. 12. In general, the AISI can provide conservative
predictions for the CFSS RHS members. It shows less scatter strength

Table 7
Comparison of combined bending and web crippling test and FE results with predicted strengths.
No. of tests: 23 CASCE CAS/NZS CEC3 CAISI CAISI#
No. of FE analyses: 240 1.42 1.42 1.25 1.33 1.33

Mean 1.32 1.26 1.69 1.22 1.16

COV 0.156 0.174 0.139 0.122 0.093
Max 2.07 2.07 2.49 1.63 1.53
Min 0.91 0.91 1.21 0.92 0.96

Note: CASCE=1.07(P/PASCE)+(M/MASCE); CAS/NZS=1.07(P/PAS/NZS)+(M/MAS/NZS); CEC3=(P/PEC3)+(M/MEC3); CAISI=0.91(P/PNAS)+(M/MNAS); CAISI#=0.91(P/PL&Y)+

(M/MH&Y).

11
H.-T. Li and B. Young Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466

Fig. 11. Comparison of combined bending and web crippling test and FE results with EC3 [49] predictions.

Fig. 12. Comparison of combined bending and web crippling test and FE results with AISI [36] predictions.

Fig. 13. Comparison of combined bending and web crippling test and FE results with predictions non-dimensionalised by Pu and Mu.

predictions than the provisions codified in the stainless steel design
specifications. This is also evidenced in Table 7 as the CAISI/1.33 ratio,
where CAISI=0.91(P/PAISI)+(M/MAISI), shows a mean value of 1.22 with
a COV of 0.122, which is smaller than the COVs of the CASCE/1.42, CAS/
NZS/1.42, and CEC3/1.25 ratios. However, it should be noted that only a
small portion of data in Fig. 12 are above 0.9 for P/PAISI ratio; this is
attributed to the predictions for the pure web crippling endpoint of the
interaction curve as per the AISI are generally unconservative, as evi­
denced in Table 6.
Additionally, the P and M obtained from the combined action spec­
imens are also non-dimensionalised against the Pu and Mu values from
the corresponding pure web crippling and pure bending specimens; such
a practice is to evaluate the suitability of the codified web crippling-
bending interaction coefficients for CFSS RHS. The P/Pu and M/Mu are
plotted in Fig. 13 with the codified interaction curves of the ASCE (also
AS/NZS), EC3 and AISI. As shown in Fig. 13, the interaction curves in
the codes of practice are generally conservative for the investigated RHS
specimens, though may slightly overestimate the capacities of those
with large moment-to-bearing load ratio. Overall, it may be concluded
that codified interaction equations can be applied to the CFSS RHS
members undergoing combined bending and web crippling.
Furthermore, as shown in Tables 5 and 6, the MH&Y and PL&Y are

12
H.-T. Li and B. Young
Fig. 14. Comparison of combined bending and web crippling test and FE results with predictions non-dimensionalised by PL&Y and MH&Y.
more accurate than the codified provisions for pure bending and pure
web crippling predictions. Therefore, the P and M were also non-
dimensionalised against the PL&Y and MH&Y, respectively. The P/PL&Y
and M/MH&Y results are compared with the codified interaction curves
in Fig. 14. It is illustrated that more accurate predictions are achieved by
using the web crippling resistances predicted by Li and Young [9] and
moment resistances predicted by Huang and Young [26] as the pure web
crippling and pure bending endpoints of the interaction curves,
respectively. A CAISI# equals to 0.91(P/PL&Y)+(M/MH&Y) is used herein
to statistically assess the AISI [36] interaction curve by employing PL&Y
and MH&Y as the endpoints of the interaction curve. The results of the
CAISI#/1.33 are tabulated in Table 7. The values of CAISI#/1.33 ratio
ranged from 0.96 to 1.53 with a mean of 1.16, which is 6% closer to
unity compared with the current AISI provision; the predictions are also
less scatter than the current AISI predictions as revealed in Table 7.
Hence, improved design rule for CFSS RHS members undergoing com­
bined bending and web crippling can be sought by adopting the PL&Y and
MH&Y as the endpoints of the web crippling-bending interaction curves.
It is noteworthy that the improved design rule suggested herein provides
a convenient yet conservative design alternative within the format of
current codified provisions for members undergoing combined bending
and web crippling. Future research is encouraged to investigate the web
crippling-bending interaction behaviour of cold-formed stainless steel
members with other cross-sectional profiles.
5. Conclusions
This paper reports experimental and numerical investigations of
cold-formed stainless steel (CFSS) RHS structural members undergoing
combined bending and web crippling. Totally, 34 lean-duplex and
ferritic stainless steel specimens were tested. The combined bending and
web crippling experiments were conducted using the Interior-One-
Flange web crippling load case as per the SEI/ASCE 8 [15] and AS/
NZS 4673 [16] for CFSS structures. The CFSS RHS specimens were
carefully designed so that various moment-to-localised bearing load
ratios can be achieved. Following the test program, extensive parametric
studies were undertaken based on the validated FE models. The obtained
results were compared with the predictions as per the codified design
provisions as well as the relevant design rules available in the literature.
It is shown that the combined bending and web crippling resistances
calculated from the SEI/ASCE 8 [15], AS/NZS 4673 [16] and AISI S100
[36] are generally conservative for the CFSS RHS members, and the
predictions as per the EN 1993-1-4 [35] are overly-conservative. It is
illustrated that the codified interaction curves are generally capable to
predict the CFSS RHS members undergoing combined bending and web
crippling, whilst improved design predictions could be achieved via
adopting the PL&Y and MH&Y as the pure web crippling and pure bending
endpoints of the interaction curves, respectively.
13
Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Hai-Ting Li: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Data
curation, Writing – original draft, Visualization. Ben Young: Concep­
tualization, Supervision, Methodology, Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to STALA Tube Finland for providing the test
specimens. This research work was supported by a grant from the Na­
tional Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 52008243) and
by Shanghai Sailing Program (Project No. 20YF1419600).
References
[1] Zhao O, Rossi B, Gardner L, Young B. Behaviour of structural stainless steel cross-
sections under combined loading – Part I: experimental study. Eng Struct 2016;89:
236–46.
[2] Zhou F, Young B. Cold-formed stainless steel sections subjected to web crippling.
J Struct Eng 2006;132(1):134–44.
[3] Gardner L, Talja A, Baddoo NR. Structural design of high-strength austenitic
stainless steel. Thin-Walled Structures 2006;44(5):517–28.
[4] Zhou F, Young B. Cold-formed high-strength stainless steel tubular sections
subjected to web crippling. J Struct Eng 2007;133(3):368–77.
[5] Zhou F, Young B. Experimental and numerical investigations of cold-formed
stainless steel tubular sections subjected to concentrated bearing load. J Constr
Steel Res 2007;63(11):1452–66.
[6] Talja A, Hradil P. Structural applications of ferritic stainless steels (SAFSS) work
package 2: Model calibration tests. Research Report VTT-R-06130-12, VTT
Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland; 2012.
[7] Bock M, Arrayago I, Real E, Mirambell E. Study of web crippling in ferritic stainless
steel cold formed sections. Thin-Walled Struct 2013;69:29–44.
[8] Li H-T, Young B. Cold-formed ferritic stainless steel tubular structural members
subjected to concentrated bearing loads. Eng Struct 2017; 145: 392–405.
[9] Li H-T, Young B. Web crippling of cold-formed ferritic stainless steel square and
rectangular hollow sections. Eng Struct 2018;176:968–80.
[10] Cai Y, Young B. Web crippling of lean duplex stainless steel tubular sections under
concentrated end bearing loads. Thin-Walled Struct 2019;134:29–39.
[11] Cai Y, Young B. Cold-formed lean duplex stainless steel tubular members under
concentrated interior bearing loads. J Struct Eng 2019;145(7):04019056.
[12] Cai Y, Young B. Web crippling design of lean duplex stainless steel tubular
members under interior loading conditions. Eng Struct 2021;238:112192.
[13] Cai Y, Young B. Design of lean duplex stainless steel tubular sections subjected to
concentrated end-bearing loads. J Struct Eng 2021;147(4):04021009.
[14] Yu W-W, LaBoube R.A. Cold-formed steel design. New Jersey, USA: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc; 2010.
[15] American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Specification for the design of cold-
formed stainless steel structural members. SEI/ASCE 8, Reston, USA: American
Society of Civil Engineers; 2002.
H.-T. Li and B. Young
[16] Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS). Cold-formed stainless steel
structures. AS/NZS 4673. Sydney, Australia: Standards Australia; 2001.
[17] Young B, Hancock G. Tests of channels to combined bending and web crippling.
J Struct Eng 2002;128:300–8.
[18] Ren W, Fang S, Young B. Analysis and design of cold-formed steel channels
subjected to combined bending and web crippling. Thin-Walled Struct 2006;44:
314–20.
[19] Soliman MS, Abu-Sena ABB, Darwish EEH, Saleh MSR. Resistance of cold-formed
steel sections to combined bending and web crippling. Ain Shams Eng J 2013;4:
435–53.
[20] Janarthanan B, Mahendran M. Numerical study of cold-formed steel channel
sections under combined web crippling and bending action. Thin-Walled Struct
2020;152:106766.
[21] Hofmeyer H, Kerstens JGM, Snijder HH, Bakker MCM. Combined web crippling
and bending moment failure of first-generation trapezoidal steel sheeting. J Constr
Steel Res 2002;58:1509–29.
[22] Akhand AM, Wan Badaruzzaman WH, Wright HD. Combined flexure and web
crippling strength of a low-ductility high strength steel decking: Experiment and a
finite element model. Thin-Walled Struct 2004;42:1067–82.
[23] Zakhimi H, Hofmeyer H, Snijder HH, Mahendran M. Explicit and interaction direct
strength methods for combined web crippling and bending moment failure of first-
generation trapezoidal steel sheeting. Thin-Walled Struct 2020;157:106927.
[24] Zhou F, Young B. Experimental investigation of cold-formed high-strength stainless
steel tubular members subjected to combined bending and web crippling. J Struct
Eng 2007;133(7):1027–34.
[25] Theofanous M, Gardner L. Testing and numerical modelling of lean duplex stainless
steel hollow section columns. Eng Struct 2009;31(12):3047–58.
[26] Huang Y, Young B. Experimental and numerical investigation of cold-formed lean
duplex stainless steel flexural members. Thin-Walled Struct 2013;73:216–28.
[27] Anbarasu M, Ashraf M. Behaviour and design of cold-formed lean duplex stainless
steel lipped channel columns. Thin-Walled Struct 2016;104:106–15.
[28] Wang F, Young B, Gardner L. Compressive behaviour and design of CFDST cross-
sections with stainless steel outer tubes. J Constr Steel Res 2020;170:105942.
[29] Afshan S, Gardner L. Experimental study of cold-formed ferritic stainless steel
hollow sections. J Struct Eng 2013;139(5):717–28.
[30] Cashell K, Baddoo N. Ferritic stainless steels in structural applications. Thin-Walled
Struct 2014;83:169–81.
[31] Fang C, Zhou F, Luo C. Cold-formed stainless steel RHSs/SHSs under combined
compression and cyclic bending. J Constr Steel Res 2018;141:9–22.
[32] Arrayago I, Real E, Mirambell E. Statistical analysis of the material, geometrical
and imperfection characteristics of structural stainless steels and members.
J Constr Steel Res 2020;175:106378.
[33] Roy K, Lau HH, Ahmed AMM, Lim JBP. Nonlinear behavior of cold-formed
stainless steel built-up box sections under axial compression. Structures 2021;30:
390–408.
[34] Li H-T, Young B. Behaviour of concrete-filled ferritic stainless steel tubular joints:
Experimental investigation, numerical modelling and design. Eng Struct 2021;247:
113109.
14
Engineering Structures 250 (2022) 113466
[35] European Committee for Standardization (EC3). Eurocode 3: Design of steel
structures – Part 1-4: General rules – Supplementary rules for stainless steels. EN
1993-1-4:2006+A1:2015, Brussels, Belgium: European committee for
standardization; 2015.
[36] North American Specification (NAS). North American Specification for the design
of cold-formed steel structural members. AISI S100-16, Washington D.C., USA:
American Iron and Steel Institute; 2016.
[37] American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Standard test methods for
tension testing of metallic materials. E8/E8M-16a, West Conshohocken, PA., USA:
ASTM International; 2016.
[38] Huang Y, Young B. The art of coupon tests. J Constr Steel Res 2014;96:159–75.
[39] American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Test Standard for Determining
the Web Crippling Strength of Cold-Formed Steel Flexural Members. AISI S909-17,
Washington D.C., USA: American Iron and Steel Institute; 2017.
[40] Li H-T, Young B. Tests of cold-formed high strength steel tubular sections
undergoing web crippling. Eng Struct 2017;141:571–83.
[41] Zhao X-L, Hancock GJ. T-joints in rectangular hollow sections subject to combined
actions. J Struct Eng 1991;117(8):2258–77.
[42] Li H-T, Young B. Cold-formed high-strength steel tubular structural members under
combined bending and bearing. J Struct Eng 2019;145(8):04019081.
[43] Chen M-T, Young B. Structural behavior of cold-formed steel semi-oval hollow
section beams. Eng Struct 2019;185:400–11.
[44] ABAQUS. Abaqus/standard user’s manual volumes I–III and Abaqus CAE manual.
Version 6.12. Pawtucket, USA: Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc; 2012.
[45] Cruise RB, Gardner L. Strength enhancements induced during cold forming of
stainless steel sections. J Constr Steel Res 2008;64(11):1310–6.
[46] Gardner L, Nethercot DA. Numerical modeling of stainless steel structural
components – A consistent approach. J Struct Eng 2004; 130(10): 1586–1601.
[47] European Committee for Standardization (EC3). Eurocode 3: Design of steel
structures – Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings. EN 1993-1-1:2005+A1:
2014, Brussels, Belgium: European committee for standardization; 2014.
[48] Li Z, Schafer BW. Buckling analysis of cold-formed steel members with general
boundary conditions using CUFSM: conventional and constrained finite strip
methods. Proc., 20th Int. Specialty Conf. on Cold-Formed Steel Structures, St.
Louis, Missouri, USA; 2010.
[49] European Committee for Standardization (EC3). Eurocode 3: Design of steel
structures – Part 1-3: General rules – Supplementary rules for cold-formed
members and sheeting. EN 1993-1-3, Brussels, Belgium: European committee for
standardization; 2006.
[50] Li H-T, Young B. Design of cold-formed high strength steel tubular sections
undergoing web crippling. Thin-Walled Struct 2018;133:192–205.
[51] Hetrakul N, Yu WW. Structural behavior of beam webs subjected to web crippling
and a combination of web crippling and bending. Civil Engineering Study 78-4,
Final Report, University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, Missouri, USA; 1978.
[52] LaBoube RA, Schuster RM, Wallace J. Web crippling and bending interaction of
cold-formed steel members. Final Report, University of Waterloo, Waterloo,
Ontario, Canada; 2002.
[53] Young B, Hancock GJ. Tests of channels subjected to combined bending and web
crippling. J Struct Eng 2002;128(3):300–8.