THE DESIGN OF PERFORATED COLD-FORMED STEEL SECTIONS SUBJECT TO AXIAL LOAD AND BENDING

The uprights in a typical pallet rack are typically singly-symmetrical cold-formed sections subject to axial load together with bending abou t both axes. They usually contain arrays of holes in order to enable b eams to be clipped into position at heights that are not pre-determine d prior to manufacture. Their slenderness is such that their behaviour may be influenced by the three generic forms of buckling, namely loca l, distortional and global (lateral torsional). In practice, these mem bers have generally been designed on the basis of expensive test progr ammes. This paper addresses the problem of how they might be designed analytically. The basis of the investigation is a comprehensive set of test results on upright sections in compression which embraces both s tub column tests, in which the load position was varied along the axis of symmetry, and longer columns. The test results were analysed using both finite elements and a version of ''Generalized Beam Theory'' (GB T) which incorporated systematic imperfections. Consideration was also given to the design procedures proposed by the ''Federation Europeene de la Manutention'' (FEM) and recent research into the influence of p erforations on the performance of cold-formed steel sections. It is sh own that GBT can be modified to take account of perforations so that t he lower bound results give a sufficiently accurate column design curv e, which takes account of local , distortional and global buckling, th us making extensive testing unnecessary. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sciences Lt d. All rights reserved.