A Eurocode-compliant design approach for cold-formed steel sections

A Eurocode-compliant design approach was developed for the design of thin-walled cold-formed steel sections which combines the AISI S100-16-Direct Strength Method (DSM) with the design provisions of EN 1993-1-3. The new design approach transfers the cross-sectional resistance determined acc. to DSM based on numerical elastic buckling analyses on the gross cross-section into the global member verification acc. to EN 1993-1-3. Additional factors were introduced to optimize the new approach, e.g., to account for the effects of the nonlinear stress distribution in cross-sections subject to local and/or distortional buckling. Within the framework of the German research project FOSTA P1328/IGF 19964, an extensive series of tests on differently shaped, perforated, and unperforated cold-formed sections in compression and bending were conducted which serve to analyze the buckling phenomena and the load-bearing capacity and to validate the new design approach. In addition, a numerical model was developed, calibrated to the tests, and used for further parametric analyses on the load-bearing capacity of cold-formed sections.