Uniformly bent CFS lipped channel beams experiencing local-distortional interaction: Experimental investigation

Abstract

This paper describes a test campaign concerning the behaviour and strength of cold-formed steel (CFS) lipped channel (LC) beams experiencing local-distortional (L-D) interaction made of G450-G500 high-strength steel grades. This investigation involves the performance of 20 tests on simply supported beams arranged in a “back-to-back” configuration, subjected to four-point major-axis bending and laterally restrained at the loading points. All tested specimens failed in the expected L-D interactive modes and exhibited critical distortional-to-local buckling moment ratios ranging between 1.09 and 1.46 (i.e., prone to “true L-D interaction”). The experimental results obtained and reported consist of beam (i) moment-displacement equilibrium paths, (ii) photos evidencing the evolution of the beam deformed configurations along those equilibrium paths (including the failure modes) and (iii) failure moments - it is found that these results are in good agreement with recently performed numerical simulations. Finally, the experimental failure moments obtained are compared with their estimates provided by the (i) currently codified Direct Strength Method (DSM) strength curves associated with local and distortional failures, and (ii) other available DSM-based design approaches developed to handle L-D interactive failures. This comparison provides solid evidence that the CFS specifications must include a DSM-based design approach able to handle beam L-D interactive failures - the current L and D design curves clearly overestimate all the experimental failure moments.