Local-Global Interaction Buckling of Stainless Steel I-Beams. II: Numerical Study and Design

The paper presents a detailed finite-element model used to study the local-global interaction buckling of stainless steel I-section beams. The model was constructed with the commercial software package ABAQUS v.6.11 and was verified against the experimental data presented in a companion paper, yielding accurate predictions of interaction buckling behavior and ultimate capacity. Parametric studies were conducted by using the calibrated models to extend the experimental database. The accuracy of the Australia/New Zealand, American, and European standards for stainless steel structures was evaluated by using the available data. It was found that the codes were incapable of capturing the interaction buckling effect, thus affording overly optimistic strength predictions for beams of high section slenderness. Existing direct strength method formulas, as proposed for carbon steel beams and stainless steel columns, were also evaluated to assess their applicability to the stainless steel beams. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.