Testing, simulation and design of cold-formed stainless steel CHS columns

Stainless steel tubular members are employed in a range of load-bearing applications due to their strength, durability and aesthetic appeal. From the limited existing test data on stainless steel circular hollow sections (CHS) columns it has been observed that the current Eurocode 3 provisions can be unconservative in their capacity predictions. A comprehensive experimental programme has therefore been undertaken to provide benchmark data to validate numerical models and underpin the development of revised buckling curves; in total 17 austenitic, 9 duplex and 11 ferritic stainless steel CHS column buckling tests and 10 stub column tests have been carried out. Five different cross-section sizes (covering class 1 to class 4 sections) and a wide range of member slendernesses have been examined. The experiments were initially replicated using finite element (FE) simulations; the validated FE models were then used to generate 450 additional column buckling data points. On the basis of the experimental and numerical results, new design recommendations have been made for cold-formed stainless steel CHS columns and statistically validated according to EN 1990 [1].