Local–overall interactive buckling behaviour of welded stainless steel I-section columns

Abstract

The local–overall interactive buckling behaviour of welded stainless steel I-section columns was experimentally and numerically examined in this study. A total of ten test specimens were fabricated from hot-rolled stainless steel plates and axially loaded between two pin-ended supports. The specimens failed by local–overall interactive buckling about the minor axis. Prior to the member testing, material properties, residual stresses and initial local and global geometric imperfections were all accurately determined. Detailed finite element (FE) models, capable of simulating the interactive buckling behaviour and predicting the ultimate capacity of welded stainless steel I-section columns, were validated against the obtained test results. The validated FE models were subsequently used to carry out systematic parametric studies, exploring the influences of the key input parameters, including the welding residual stresses, initial geometric imperfections, material properties and slenderness ratios. The generated test and numerical results were then used to assess the accuracy of a series of existing design methods: Eurocode 3 Part 1.4 and the design proposal of Rasmussen and Rondal, both of which employ the effective width concept, and the two separate design proposals of Becque et al. in the EN 1993-1-4 and AS/NZS 4673 formats and the proposal of Huang and Young, all of which are based on the direct strength method (DSM). Based upon the assembled data points, two separate design curves are proposed herein for austenitic and duplex stainless steels, which have been demonstrated to offer very accurate strength predictions for welded stainless steel I-section columns undergoing interactive buckling.