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INTRODUCTION
In this paper material coupon tests and a series of stub column tests on high strength steel hollow
sections are reported. The steel grades considered vary between S460 and S960. Complementary
measurements of local geometric imperfection shapes and magnitudes of the specimens are also
reported. The stub column specimens were concentrically loaded and had non-dimensional local plate
slenderness values ranging from 0.18 to 1.2 (i.e. Class 1 to Class 4). The obtained ultimate loads are
compared with the current European codified provisions; the comparisons support the possibility of
extending the Eurocode rules to higher steel grades.
There is a lack of consensus regarding what steel grades can be termed high strength, as different
industries define what is high strength according to their needs. Nonetheless, high strength steels (HSS)
are becoming more widely available and are continuously expanding their scope of applications due to
their favourable strength to weight and strength to price ratios. Within the European construction industry,
steel grades up to S460 are considered normal strength grades and are covered by EN 1993-1-1 [1],
whilst for higher steel grades (up to S700) the additional provisions of EN 1993-1-12 [2] apply.
In order to improve current understanding of the behaviour of high strength steel structures, two major
European research projects (RUOSTE and HILONG) are currently underway, which will produce a
significant amount of experimental and numerical data. The two projects are complementary since
HILONG generally focuses on relative stocky closed sections whereas RUOSTE studies sections of
intermediate to high slenderness. It is envisaged that the experimental and numerical results generated
within these projects will allow the assessment of existing design provisions as well as the
development of novel, more efficient design rules in line with the observed structural response.
Experimental results on material characteristics and cross-sectional response in compression are
reported herein.
RHS 100506.3 498 699 26.3 1.40 505 700 26.4 1.39 1.01 1.00
RHS 100504.5 498 645 28.3 1.30 512 646 22.0 1.26 1.03 1.00
SHS 50505 759 790 21.7 1.04 782 813 19.2 1.04 1.03 1.03
SHS 1001005.6 782 798 19.2 1.02 774 792 20.2 1.02 0.99 0.99
S690
SHS 90905.6 774 790 20.1 1.02 754 784 18.3 1.04 0.97 0.99
(Q)
RHS 100506.3 799 820 19.0 1.03 768 806 22.0 1.05 0.96 0.98
RHS 10050x5.6 777 811 18.8 1.04 771 781 19.2 1.01 0.99 0.96
SHS 1301304 573 649 29.6 1.13 713 765 9.4 1.08 1.28 1.18
S500
SHS 2002004 568 650 26.3 1.14 626 738 10.9 1.18 1.70 1.56
(MC)
Cold-formed
SHS 2002005 567 648 23.5 1.14 776 925 12.2 1.09 1.22 1.14
SHS 1101104 S700 758 816 25.7 1.08 842 919 8.0 1.09 1.14 1.13
SHS 1501504 (MC) 799 874 13.5 1.09 861 928 7.6 1.08 1.10 1.06
SHS 1001004 S960 981 1096 9.4 1.12 990 1156 12.4 1.17 1.01 1.05
SHS 1201204 (Q) 1051 1207 9.8 1.15 1234 1412 11.4 1.14 1.17 1.17
1000
900
800
700
Stress (MPa)
600
500
400
300
200 Flat
100 Corner
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Strain
a) b) c)
Fig. 1. Sample flat and corner tensile stress strain curves: a) SHS 50504S460; b) SHS 50505S690; c) SHS
2002005S500
1.3 Initial local geometric imperfection measurements
Initial local geometric imperfection measurements were conducted and are reported herein to
augment current limited information on the imperfection magnitudes in HSS sections and facilitate
future FE analyses. For the imperfection measurements conducted at RWTH Aachen, a laser
transducer was used to measure local geometric imperfections in a dense mesh (i.e. measurements
were taken along 5 lines per measured face), thus allowing a 3D-plot of the actual geometry of each
face to be created, which was thereafter approximated with a best fit surface. This was done for all
four faces of each specimen, assuming a three-half-wave shape in the longitudinal direction and a
single half-wave shape in the transversal direction.
For the imperfection measurements conducted at Imperial College London, a displacement
transducer, which was attached to the head of the milling machine, was moved along the central 600
mm of the specimens, which were previously secured onto the flat bed of a milling machine, in
accordance with [5]. Table 2 reports the maximum measured local geometric imperfections for each
measured section, whilst Fig. 2 depicts 3D plots and best fit surfaces of some sample imperfection
measurements conducted at RWTH. As can be seen from Table 2 there is a general trend for
imperfections to increase as the plate slenderness increases.
a) b)
c) d)
Fig. 2. Local geometric imperfection measurements and best-fit surfaces for SHS 1201204 S960Q: a) Face 1; b) Face
2; c) Face 3; d) Face 4
f (%)
S700MC-CF - Corners
20
S960Q-CF - Flats
1.10
S960Q-CF - Corners
15
EN 1993 requirements
1.00
10
1.20 1.20
1.00 1.00
Fu/Afy
Fu/Afy
0.80 0.80
S460N - HF S460N - HF
0.60 S690Q - HF 0.60 S690Q - HF
S500MC - CF S500MC - CF
0.40 0.40
S700MC - CF S700MC - CF
Fig. 5. Assessment of: a) EN 1993-1-1 [1] slenderness limit; b) EN 1993-1-5 [6] effective width equation
4 CONCLUSIONS
An experimental investigation into the material response, local geometric imperfections and
compressive cross-sectional response of HSS SHS and RHS has been reported, covering several steel
grades and production processes. Local geometric imperfections were measured and their magnitudes
were reported to augment the limited available data on HSS sections. The production route was found
to have a marked effect on the shape of the stress-strain curve, with cold-formed specimens exhibiting
a rounded stress-strain response, significant corner strength enhancements and reduced ductility -
especially in the corners - compared to hot finished specimens. For all coupons the ductility and
strain-hardening were found to decrease with increasing material grade. Current design rules in EN
1993-1-1 [1] and EN 1993-1-5 [6] regarding slenderness limits and effective width equation were
found to be optimistic for HSS internal elements in compression.
5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research leading to these results has received funding from the Research Fund for Coal and Steel
(RFCS) under grant agreement no [RFSR CT 2012-00028] and [RFSR CT 2012-00036]. VoestAlpine
Krems, Ruukki Metals Oy and V&M DEUTSCHLAND GMBH are acknowledged for the supply of
the specimens. The authors are indebted to Mr Gordon Herbert, Mr Fillip Kirazov, Mr Isaak Vryzidis,
Miss Jie Wang, as well as to Mr Andreas Kessels and Miss Julia Bauer for their assistance during the
tests.
REFERENCES
[1] EN 1993-1-1, Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures: Part 1.1: General rules and rules for buildings,
CEN, 2005.
[2] EN 1993-1-12, Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures: Part 1.12: Additional rules for the extension of
EN 1993 up to steel grades S700, CEN, 2007.
[3] DIN 50125:2009-07, Testing of metallic materials - Tensile test pieces, 2009.
[4] Akiyama H, Kuwamura H, Yamada S, Chiu J-C, Influences of manufacturing processes on the ultimate
behaviour of box-section members, Proceedings of the Third Pacific Structural Steel Conference, Tokyo,
Japan, pp. 313320, 1992.
[5] Schafer, B, Pekz, T, Computational modeling of cold-formed steel: characterizing geometric
imperfections and residual stresses, J Constr Steel Res, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp.193-210, 1998.
[6] EN 1993-1-5, Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures: Part 1.5: Plated structural elements, CEN, 2006.
[7] Galambos TV ed., Guide to Stability Design Criteria for Metal Structures, 5th ed. New York, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1998.
[8] Rasmussen KJR, Hancock GJ, Plate slenderness limits for high strength steel sections, J Constr Steel
Res, 23 (1-3), pp. 73-96, 1992