Local buckling behaviour of welded box sections made of high-strength steel - Comparing experiments with EC3 and general method

One aim within the RFCS-funded RUOSTE research project was to study the effects of high-strength steel properties on local buckling. The respective parameters were investigated on 34 stub column specimens. The specimens were made of S500MC, S700MC and S960MC, with a non-dimensional local slenderness varying between 0.64 and 1.55. Extensive imperfection measurements were undertaken and analysed. The specimens were then used in stub column tests to investigate the local buckling behaviour. The results were first compared with the resistance curve of the current Eurocode (EC), which was shown to be rather optimistic, especially towards the slender end of the range. Secondly, the results were compared with the general method, which uses an equivalent imperfection approach.