Experimental Investigation and Direct Strength Design of High-Strength, Complex C-Sections in Pure Bending

Abstract

AbstractPlain C- or Z-sections are two of the most common cold-formed steel shapes in use throughout the world. Other shapes are high-strength SupaCee and SupaZed (Bluescope Steel Ltd., Melbourne, Australia) steel sections, which are widely used in Australia as purlins in roof and wall systems. They contain additional return lips and web stiffeners that enhance the bending capacity of the sections. Design methods for these sections are normally specified in the Australian/New Zealand Standard for cold-formed steel structures or the North American Specification for cold-formed steel structural members. In both standards, which include the newly developed direct strength method of design (DSM), the method presented is developed for beams and columns, including the reliability of the method. This paper presents two different test series on both plain C- and SupaCee sections in pure bending (constant moment). They were performed at the University of Sydney for the extension of the DSM to include channel secti...