Experimental study on local-overall interactive buckling behaviors of aluminum alloy columns under axial compression

Systematic studies on local-overall interactive buckling behaviors of aluminum alloy members under axial compression haven't been carried out at home and abroad. In this study, 12 specimens of 6061-T6 and 6063-T5 aluminum alloy columns with I-shaped cross sections were tested under axial compression to study their local-overall interactive buckling behaviors, including the failure modes, deformation behavior and ultimate bearing capacity. To validate the reliability of design standards in different countries, calculation results according to these design standards were compared with test results. Additionally, the finite element software ANSYS was employed to simulate the tests. Results show that the finite element models can accurately predict the bearing capacity of aluminum alloy members under axial compression. The accuracies of these design methods for weak hardening alloy are better than those for strong hardening alloy. American and Australian/New Zealand standards may give more accurate results for weak hardening alloy, but the calculation results are conservative for strong hardening alloy. In Chinese and European standards, the local buckling and overall buckling are considered separately and then superposed, which results in very conservative results. Therefore, it is recommended that the parameters in Chinese standards should be adjusted or revised to provide more accurate designs. © 2016, Editorial Office of China Civil Engineering Journal. All right reserved.