Review of European design provisions for buckling of aluminium members with longitudinal welds - part 3

As part of the ongoing revision of the Eurocodes, design provisions in EN 1999-1-1 on the buckling of longitudinally welded aluminium compression members have been subjected to a critical review. The numerical investigations described in part 1 of the paper were conducted because a need for improvement was identified. In part 2 the main observations were presented qualitatively. Part 3, the final part of the paper, presents the statistical evaluation of the numerical investigations and the determination of the buckling curves. Two different approaches are conceivable for these buckling curves: conventional buckling curves with explicitly specified imperfection factor and plateau length parameters, and a modified Ayrton-Perry approach with interpolated parameters. Both approaches are compared with the results of the numerical investigations and with test results.