Cold-formed steel structures around the world

The objective of this paper is to provide a brief review of recent (over approximately the last five years) advances in the application, analysis and design of cold-formed steel structures. Attention here is focused on load-bearing cold-formed steel structures; as opposed to secondary systems, curtain walls, etc. Cold-formed steel applications continue to advance in three primary categories: framing, metal buildings, and racks. Examples largely derived from the author’s experiences in North America are used to illustrate the applications. The behaviour of cold-formed steel structures can be complicated due to the thin-walled nature of the sections; thus, analysis advances are required. Recent work in Generalized Beam Theory and the constrained Finite Strip Method demonstrate that, at least when it comes to thin-walled members, significant advances in structural analysis are still possible and desirable. Design of cold-formed steel structures continues to see significant improvements and refinements. Recent efforts related to the Direct Strength Method of design are highlighted, including novel extensions from the member to the system level. Finally, similar to many other areas of structural engineering, seismic engineering has motivated notable advances in applications, analysis, and design. For cold-formed steel structures these advances are reviewed to demonstrate current progress and future directions in this important area.