Numerical Simulations of High Strength Steel Lipped-Channel Columns (No. R843)

Abstract

An experimental research project was conducted to evaluate the compression stability of high strength steel sections. Three buckling modes ‘Local, Euler and Distortional buckling’ and the interaction between them were investigated. To further study the structural behaviour of the columns thoroughly, finite element analyses were performed using the commercial finite element package ABAQUS. This report presents a finite element analysis of the post-buckling behaviour of thin-walled compression members of high strength steel. A series of numerical simulations has been carried out to simulate compression tests performed on lipped-channel section columns fabricated from cold-reduced high strength steel plates with nominal yield stress of 550 MPa (AS 1397). The report compares the numerical simulations with the test results. For the lipped-channel section columns, the stress distribution over the whole cross-section will be shown and the explanation of the failure modes will be given. The report shows the comparison of loads obtained numerically and experimentally with those predicted on the basis of AS/NZS4600 and the North American Specification. The accurate results of the numerical simulation shows that the finite element analysis can be used to predict the ultimate loads of thinwalled members including the post-buckling behaviour of thin-walled sections.