Experimental Research And FEM Simulation Of Ultimate Axial Compression Of Cold-formed Medium Wall Hollow Steel Columns

The cold-formed medium wall hollow rectangle, square section column have the great inertia and highly axial loading-bearing capacity. The cold-formed medium wall steel column will be extensively applied in steel structures. But few research and few tests on axial compression of cold-formed medium wall steel have been done, and there is no special code at all. The code GB50017-2003 for design of steel structures and the code GB50018-2002 for cold-formed thin-walled steel structures is not just suitable for the cold-formed medium wall steel., So it is necessary to do more deeply research and test on the cold-formed medium wall hollow rectangle, square section column which thickness is over 6mm now.First this paper introduces the development of cold-formed section steel and studies at current situation in build industry. It introduces the stable theory about the member which is under the axial compression. It introduces relevant calculation on the cold-formed medium wall column in the Chinese technical code GB50017-2003 for design of steel structures, the Chinese technical code GB50018-2002 for cold-formed thin-walled steel structures, Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members in USA, Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members in Europe.The specimens are two types of the cold-formed medium wall hollow rectangle, square section columns which are produced by Han Kou roll-forming steel factory. The cold-formed medium wall hollow rectangle, square section columns' flats and corner have been done on the material test. The cold-formed medium wall column s' initial geometry defect has been measured .The 12 cold-formed medium wall column specimens with two section types are tested under the axial compression load , the failure modes and the ultimate carrying capacity are found out which provides a reliable experimental basis for study and code.In this paper the software ABAQUS is used to build up the finite element analysis model of the cold-formed medium wall hollow rectangle, square section columns, the software ABAQUS result is proven to be effective. The result among the Chinese code GB50017-2003 for design of steel structures, the code GB50018-2002 for cold-formed thin-walled steel structures, test, finite element method have been compared, The conclusion and the idea have been presented.