Critical Force Analysis of Thin-Walled Symmetrical Open-Section Beams

Abstract

This paper analyzes critical forces and stability of steel thin-walled C-cross-section beams without lateral restraints. Mechanical properties of the rods material are determined by testing standard specimens in a laboratory. Based on the obtained data, the stability analysis of rods is carried out and critical forces are determined: analytically by using the theory of thin-walled rods, numerically by using the finite element method (FEM), and experimentally by testing the C-cross-section beams. The analysis of critical forces and stability shows that the calculation according to the theory of thin-walled rods does not take the effect of local buckling into account, and that the resulting critical global forces do not correspond to the actual behaviour of the rod. The FEM analysis and experimental test show that the simplifications, which have been introduced into the theory of thin-walled rods with open cross-sections, significantly affect final results of the level of the critical force.