Hysteretic behaviors of cold-formed steel beam-columns with hollow rectangular section: Experimental and numerical simulations

•The cyclic behavior of thin-walled steel columns with hollow rectangular section was evaluated.•Experimental and numerical investigation are discussed.•Several parameters of columns are analyzed.

This paper presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation on the cyclic response of cold-formed steel columns with hollow rectangular sections. The present study examined the columns׳ post-buckling strength and rigidity degradation, deformation and failure modes, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity. The cold-formed steel members exhibited stable hysteretic performance up to the point of local buckling with considerable degradation in strength and ductility. The energy dissipation mechanisms from the in-plane plastic behavior and out-of-plane elastic buckling deformation were identified. The influence of the height-to-width ratio and axial-compression ratio on energy-dissipation and failure mode was also investigated.