A new design method for stainless steel columns subjected to flexural buckling

• The strength curves of stainless steel columns failing in flexural buckling are calculated using finite element method.
• The finite element results are compared with current design codes. Eurocode and American code do not work well.
• All the calculated curves are regenerated by using two base strength curves and a slenderness conversion formula.

The objective of this paper is to develop a design method for stainless steel columns subjected to flexural buckling. In this method, the strength curve for every type of stainless steel in common use is generated by using the base strength curves and a slenderness conversion formula. A validated finite element model is employed to generate the strength curves for different types of stainless steels. According to the strain hardening exponent n in the Ramberg-Osgood material model, cluster analysis is conducted to separate these strength curves into two groups. In each group, one type of material parameter is selected as the base material and the corresponding strength curve is expressed in the form of a modified Perry formula that serves as the base strength curve. A slenderness conversion formula is derived for any two stainless steel columns with the same section type and boundary conditions, but with different types of stainless steel. Based on the base strength curves and the slenderness conversion formula, the strength curve for every type of stainless steel in common use can be generated. The predictions of the proposed method show a good agreement with the results of the finite element analysis.