Flexural buckling design of fabricated austenitic and duplex stainless steel columns

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical investigation on the flexural buckling design of fabricated austenitic and duplex stainless steel columns. Complementary experimental investigation was conducted and the numerical modelling methodology was validated against the complementary experimental database. The target parametric study was carried out to assess the influence of initial geometric imperfections, residual stress patterns, mechanical properties, local cross-section slenderness and global slenderness on the structural behaviour. A total of 968 FEA results were developed which included 301 welded box-section and 667 welded I-section columns. The resulting structural performance data were collated to assess the reliability of the current design provisions-EN 1993-1-4 and ASCE 8-02. Results indicate the conservatism on current practices. Improved design provisions were proposed based on the Direct Strength Method, ASCE 8-02 and Perry formulae.