EFFECT OF WEB OPENING ON THE AXIAL LOAD CAPACITY OF STEEL COLUMNS WITH COLD FORMED THIN WALLED SECTION (CFS)

Abstract

In this paper, an experimental study has been presented to investigate the effects of web opening on the behavior and failure of steel columns with cold formed thin walled sections (CFS) subjected to axial compressive load. Twenty small scale steel columns with cold formed box and channel sections and a total length of 500 mm have been considered in the experimental tests. Ten of the tested steel columns specimens have a box section with dimensions of (100×100×2) mm (height × width× thickness), and the other ten columns specimens have a channel sections with dimensions of (100×50×2) mm (height × width× thickness). To investigate the effect of the number and the shape of web opening on the axial compressive strength of steel columns, each ten columns with same cross section shape was divided into three groups of three columns in addition to the reference column which has no web openings. All groups of columns have same opening area which is located at the web of the section, but each group has a different opening shape (square, rectangular, and circular shapes), and each steel column within each group has different numbers of opening distributed along column length (one, two, and three openings). Each steel column specimens was subjected to an increasing static load up to column failure which indicated by the reloading of the test machine. The study has shown that for most of the tested columns, increasing the numbers of web openings results in decreasing the column axial strength compared to the reference steel column. The maximum percentage of the reduction in the columns axial compressive strength caused by the presence of web opening was found to be about 30% and 45% of the reference columns strength for columns with box and channel shape sections, respectively. It has also been found that the reduction in the axial compressive strength of the column specimens caused by the presence of web openings is lower for the circular shape openings compared to that for rectangular and/or square shape web openings.