Buckling of short cold‑formed lipped channels in compression

This paper presents an experimental investigation of short cold-formed lipped channel columns compressed between pinned ends. The short columns are subjected to pure axial compressive loading. Twelve column specimens are tested and the columns are categorised into three groups, depending on the length and thickness. The buckling modes of failure that occurred include local buckling and distortional buckling. A comparison of the experimental results with the loads predicted by the South African standard for the design of cold-formed steelwork (SANS 10162-2) shows that the code is not conservative enough to cater for these columns.