Structural Performance of Cold-Formed Steel Section in Composite Structures: A Review

Cold-formed steel (CFS) sections are lightweight materials where their high structural performance is very suitable for building construction. Conventionally, they are used as purlins and side rails in the building envelopes of the industrial buildings. Recent research development on cold-formed steel has shown that the usage is expanding in the present era of building constructions and infrastructural applications. However, the study on cold-formed steel as composite structures is yet to be explored in the literature. Therefore, this review paper has presented research works done which investigate the structural improvement of cold-formed steel as composite structures. The use of cold-formed steel with self-compacting concrete (CFS-SCC) which can be considered as a unique composite entity is also presented. The significance of using the CFS-SCC as composite is also highlighted. The results of various researchers indicated that the robustness of the product (cold-formed steel-concrete) was significantly improved for both the shear resistance and the flexural resistance. The investigation on the behaviour of CFS-SCC designed as composite is a key issue where the innovative construction method and significant advantages are highlighted in this paper. The review papers have proven that the use of cold-formed steel as composite has enhanced the application of the cold-formed steel as competitive material for construction.