Parametric studies on buckling of thin walled channel beams

•Buckling analysis of cold-formed thin walled beams subjected to pure bending.•Parametric studies on beams with three different cross sections.•Validation of the present results with the literature.•The beam with extended open flanges is observed to take the highest buckling loads.

The lateral buckling analysis of cold-formed thin walled beams subjected to pure bending moments has been performed. The critical buckling loads are estimated based an optimization criteria. The estimated critical buckling stresses are compared with the published results, they show excellent agreement. The effect of the beam length, radius and thickness of the flanges and the length of the extended open flanges, on the critical buckling stresses have been studied for several combinations of the geometric parameters of the beam. Among the three beams, the critical buckling moments for the beam with the extended open flanges are found to be the maximum. However, considering the material and manufacturing costs, beams with rounded cross section are efficient in resisting the buckling loads.