Shear behaviour of single perforated lean duplex stainless steel (LDSS) rectangular hollow beams

In this work, the effect of single circular perforation in the shear behaviour of LDSS rectangular hollow beams has been presented using finite element analyses, in a systematic manner, considering a key cross sectional parameters viz., flange thickness, flange width, web thickness, shear span etc. Predominantly, the effects of single perforation size / diameter and location (along longitudinal, transverse, and diagonals) are determined with an attention on the shear load capacity (Vu/Vy), deformed shapes (or failure modes) etc. The effects of the perforation are presented parametrically in relation to web slenderness (hw/tw) and flange to web thickness ratio (tf/tw). The FE results are then compared with the newly amended stainless steel European design code (EN 1993-1-4, 2006/A1:2015) [8]. Additionally, based on the current FE understanding, new design expressions for shear buckling factor are proposed.