Load-Carrying Capacity Estimation Methods for Cold-Formed Steel Lipped Channel Member Using Effective Width Method

Distortional buckling may occur for Cold-formed thin-walled steel lipped channel member except local buckling and overall buckling. The buckling of flange and lip are the important factor for the occurrence the distortional buckling. The different design codes have different design method for calculating plate buckling coefficient of flange and lip using the effective width method. So the effective width method in different codes are introduced and the load-carrying capacities of 100 lipped channel section compressive members collected from reference are computed using ‘Cold-formed steel structures (AS/NZS 4600:2005)’, ‘Supplementary rules for cold-formed members and sheeting(EN1993-1-3:2006)’, ‘North American specification for the design of cold-formed steel Structural Members(AISI-S100:2007)’, ‘Specification for the design of cold-formed steel structural members (AISI:1996)’ and ‘Technical code of cold-formed thin-walled steel structures’(GB50018-2002). The calculated results show that ‘Technical code of cold-formed thin-walled steel structures (GB50018-2002)’ and ‘Supplementary rules for cold-formed members and sheeting (EN1993-1-3:2006)’ are conservative and ‘Cold-formed steel structures (AS/NZS 4600:2005)’, ‘North American specification for the design of cold-formed steel Structural Members (AISI-S100:2007)’ and ‘Specification for the design of cold-formed steel structural members (AISI:1996)’ are unsafe. The elastic buckling stress of different lipped channel sections are predicted by finite strip program (CUFSM) and get the suggested calculation formula of plate buckling coefficient of flange according to regression Analysis. The calculated results using suggested plate buckling coefficient of flange are agree to test results.