Design of cold-formed steel curved panels

The evolution of the arch has been constant through the centuries leaving increasingly the massive construction to give way to a lightness that, nowadays, one would be considered improper of an element submitted to compression. Since a few decades ago, the transformation of a commercial profile steel deck into curved panels has made place for small arches whose spans range between two and five meters. This process shows transverse corrugations along the plate of which the effect on the behavior and strength have not been thoroughly investigated. Moreover, the main standards give neither a calculation method, nor an experimental test procedure from which to obtain their strength. This paper shows the first step of an investigation on curved panels subject to compression and bending. It presents a computational procedure that is based on non-linear analyses performed on reduced finite element models. Results of experimental test are also included.