Experimental investigation on the square and rectangular hollow section stainless steel portal frames

Abstract

Cold-rolled hollow sections are the most commonly used stainless steel sections in the construction industry, because the production of this type of profile is the most cost-effective in smaller volumes. However, very little experimental research has been carried out so far on whole structures made of these sections. Therefore, experiments on stainless steel frames were carried out. In total, 5 portal frames made of austenitic stainless steel SHS/RHS were tested. These tests are described in detail, including the layout of auxiliary elements and measuring devices. The aim of the experiments was to capture the effects of material nonlinearity on the global behaviour of the stainless steel frames. The load–displacement diagrams are presented in tables, enabling their use for the validation of numerical models. Tensile coupon tests were carried out and parameters for common material models were determined. Numerical models of the studied frames were developed and validated using the experiments performed. These numerical simulations have been shown to be able to capture the general load–displacement response in a global, in-plane mode. Linear buckling analysis was carried out. Resulting elastic critical load factors indicated a high susceptibility of the frames to second order effects. In addition, modified elastic critical load factors were determined, showing the large influence of material nonlinearity on second order effects.