S600E high-strength stainless steel welded section columns: Bearing capacity test and design method: Fid-Bau Portal

S600E high-strength stainless steel welded section columns: Bearing capacity test and design method

Zheng, Baofeng / Zhang, Sibo / Yang, Sen / Shu, Ganping / Dong, Shutong

Abstract S600E high-strength stainless steel has a yield strength greater than 600 MPa and a cost lower than that of commonly used austenitic stainless steel; thus, it has broad applications in construction. In this study, the behaviour of S600E high-strength stainless steel columns was investigated. To that end, tests on six welded Box-section specimens and 12 I-section specimens were performed. The material properties, capacities, and failure modes of the specimens were evaluated. Thereafter, the capacities of the specimens were compared with the values predicted using the current European, American, and Chinese design codes. The results indicated that the values predicted by the American code were generally unsafe, while the predictions of the European and Chinese design codes were conservative, particularly for I-section columns buckling about the minor axis. Subsequently, finite element models were built and verified using the test results. Based on the finite element analysis results, the design formulae for capacities of S600E high-strength stainless steel columns subjected to the global and local buckling were modified and combined to formulate a complete design method for the columns. Finally, the values predicted by the proposed design method were compared with the test data, which verified the accuracy of the proposed design method.

Highlights • Eighteen S600E high-strength stainless steel columns were tested. • Design formulae for pure local or global buckling failure modes were modified. • Design procedure for S600E high-strength stainless steel column was built.