DESIGN OF THIN-WALLED PLAIN CHANNEL SECTION COLUMNS AGAINST FLEXURAL BUCKLING

The paper presents a comparison of design strengths of thin-walled pla in channel section columns, which have slender flanges and may under g o local buckling, with tests tend analytical ultimate loads. The desig n strengths are obtained using the British, American and Australian sp ecifications for cold-formed steel structures, The comparison is shown for fixed-ended and pin-ended columns. A simple design procedure is p resented for plain channel section columns. By introducing a 'pin-ende d stub column strength', it is possible to calculate accurately the st rength of concentrically loaded pin-ended columns without resorting to a beam-column design approach. It is also possible to account for the different effects of local buckling on the strengths of pin-ended and fixed-ended columns.