Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Thin-Walled Single and Starred Angle Sections Under Compression

This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations on the behaviour of thin-walled cold-formed steel single and starred angles with lips as stub and short columns, subjected to axial compression. A nonlinear finite element model was developed and verified against the ball- and bolted-end conditions. The specimens are modelled precisely for the numerical investigation using finite element analysis as done in the column tests carefully undercontrolled. Both geometric and material nonlinearities are included in the finite element model. The predicted column strengths by the numerical analysis are compared with the design column strengths calculated using the North American Standards for cold-formed steel structures. It is shown that the design column strengths calculated from the specification are generally conservative for cold-formed steel angle sections. Results from the FEA correlate well with experimental data, NAS-2007 and BS: 5950 (Part 5) predictions.