Effect of corrosion on the buckling behaviour of cold-formed steel channel section columns under axial compression

This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation on the buckling behaviour of corroded cold-formed steel (CFS) channel section columns under axial compression. 7 stub columns and 7 medium long columns were accelerated corrosion by the outdoor periodic spray test. Prior to compression tests, the mass, residual thickness, surface morphology and initial geometric imperfection of the corroded CFS columns were measured. The failure modes, load-strain curves and load-axial displacement curves obtained from axial compression tests were discussed. Based on the corrosion morphology, the non-linear finite element (FE) model for the corroded CFS columns was then developed. Finally, the calculation method for corroded CFS channel section columns was proposed. The results indicated that with the increasing mass loss rate, the irregularity of residual thickness increased rapidly at first, and then increased slowly due to uniform corrosion. The failure mode of the corroded specimens may change from distortional buckling to local buckling as the mass loss rate increased. With the increase in mass loss rate, the buckling critical load, ultimate load, post-buckling strength and axial displacement corresponding to ultimate load decreased. The failure positions of distortional buckling and local buckling were mainly related to the corrosion degree of the flange and web, respectively. The FE results were compared against the experiment results showing a good match in terms of both the ultimate strength and failure modes.

Automated summary

This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation on the buckling behaviour of corroded cold-formed steel (CFS) channel section columns under axial compression. The study discusses the effects of corrosion on the failure modes, load-strain curves, and load-axial displacement curves of the columns. It also proposes a calculation method for corroded CFS channel section columns based on the corrosion morphology.