Failure analysis of thin-walled composite channel section columns

The paper presents the numerical and experimental results of investigations into nonlinear stability and limit states of axially-compressed thin-walled composite columns with channel section. The primary aim of the research was to examine the process of composite failure using the finite element method. The phenomenon of composite failure was described by the Tsai–Wu failure criterion using the commercial software suite ABAQUS®. The numerical results were then compared with the results of experiments wherein physical models of channel section structures were subjected to a full range of load conditions until their failure. This approach provided instant validation of designed FEM numerical models for describing limit states of the tested structures.