ON THE DISTORTIONAL BUCKLING, POST-BUCKLING AND STRENGTH OF

COLD-FORMED STEEL LIPPED CHANNEL COLUMNS UNDER FIRE CONDITIONS

Alexandre Landesmann
*a
& Dinar Camotim
b

a
Civil Eng. Program, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ), Brazil
b
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, ICIST/IST, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
*Corresponding author E-mail: alandes@coc.ufrj.br

Abstract: This paper reports the results of an ongoing shell finite element investigation on the distortional
post-buckling behaviour, ultimate strength and design of cold-formed steel lipped channel columns (centrally
compressed members) subjected to high temperatures typically caused by fire conditions. Two column collapse
situations are dealt with, corresponding to different loading strategies: (i) application of an increasing
compressive load to columns subjected to a constant (uniform) temperature distribution, in order to obtain
failure loads, and (ii) application of a progressive temperature raise to axially compressed column, in order to
obtain failure temperatures the latter approach provides a more realistic simulation of fire conditions. The
steel material behaviour at high temperatures is described by the constitutive model prescribed in Eurocode 3
for cold-formed steel. After validating the numerical model adopted, through the comparison with results of
simulations reported in the literature and based on experimentally obtained stress-strain laws, the paper
presents numerical results concerning lipped channel columns made of various steel grades under fire
conditions they consist of (i) non-linear equilibrium paths, yielded by steady state and transient column
analyses, and (ii) the corresponding failure loads/stresses and temperatures.
Keywords: Fire design, cold-formed steel, lipped channel columns, ultimate strength, distortional buckling,
distortional post-buckling, distortional failure.
1. INTRODUCTION
It is well-known that the use of cold-formed steel profiles in the construction of the structural frames
for either industrial (predominantly) or residential buildings has become increasingly popular in the
last few years, mainly due to their high structural efficiency (high strength-to-weight ratio), remarkable
fabrication versatility and increasingly low production and erection costs.
The knowledge about the structural behaviour of cold-formed steel members at room temperature has
advanced considerably in the last few years and, moreover, such advances have been incorporated in
design specifications at a fairly rapid rate. However, the same does not hold true for cold-formed steel
members subjected to elevated temperatures, namely those caused by fire. Indeed, it is fair to say that
the research activity devoted to cold-formed steel members under fire conditions was only initiated in
this century and is still rather scarce, as attested by the quite small number of available publications
(most of the existing information concerns hot-rolled members). Among them, the works of Outinen et
al. [1], Kaitila [2], Feng et al. [3,4], Lee et al. [5], Feng & Wang [6], Chen & Young [7,8,9,10] and
Ranawaka & Mahendran [11,12] deserve to be specially mentioned.
In addition, only the last two of the above studies address members affected by distortional buckling, an
instability phenomenon that often governs the behaviour and strength of lipped members. Therefore, it is
quite important to assess the structural response of such members under elevated temperatures. The aim of this
paper is to report the results of an ongoing shell finite element investigation on the distortional post-buckling
behaviour, ultimate strength and design of cold-formed steel lipped channel section columns (centrally
compressed members) subjected to elevated temperatures typically caused by fire conditions. Two column
collapse situations are considered, corresponding to two different loading strategies: (i) application of an
increasing compressive load to columns subjected to a constant (uniform) temperature distribution, in order to
obtain failure loads) and (ii) application of a gradual temperature raise to axially compressed columns, in order
to obtain failure temperatures the latter approach provides a more realistic simulation of actual fire conditions.
The steel material behaviour at elevated temperatures is simulated by the model prescribed in
Eurocode 3 (part 1.2) (EC3-1.2 [13]) for cold-formed steel. Other stress-strain laws, based on
experimental investigations reported by Chen & Young [8,9,10] and Ranawaka & Mahendran [12],
are used exclusively in the context of validations studies.
The column post-buckling behaviour and ultimate strength are determined through geometrically and
materially non-linear shell finite element analyses carried out in the code ANSYS [14], incorporating critical-
mode (distortional) initial geometrical imperfections with small amplitudes. After validating the numerical
model adopted, through comparisons with shell finite element results reported by Chen & Young [8] and
Ranawaka [15], the paper presents a numerical investigation concerning the distortional post-buckling
behaviour and ultimate strength of lipped channel columns made of various steel grades and subjected to
fire conditions, involving temperatures ranging from 20C (room temperature) to 600C. The numerical
results presented and discussed consist of non-linear equilibrium paths yielded by steady state and transient
column analyses, which make it possible to obtain failure loads/stresses and failure temperatures,
respectively. Moreover, the relation existing between the data and solutions of the steady state and transient
analyses is addressed.
2 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
2.1 Shell Finite Element Modelling
Column Discretization. The columns were discretized into fine meshes of SHELL181 elements
(ANSYS nomenclature 4-node thin-shell elements with six d.o.f. per node and full integration, and
accounting for shear deformation). Convergence studies showed that 6.25 mm 6.25mm (length
width) element meshes provide accurate results with a moderate computational effort.
End Support Conditions. Columns with two end support conditions are analyzed: (i) locally and globally
pinned end sections that can warp freely and (ii) locally and globally fixed end sections with warping
prevented the latter were considered only in order to replicate the numerical results reported by Chen &
Young [8] and Ranawaka [15]. In the pinned case, the transverse displacements of all end cross-section
nodes were prevented, while keeping the axial (warping) displacements and all the rotations free. In the
fixed case, rigid plates were attached to the end cross-sections, thus precluding the occurrence of local
displacements/rotations and warping. Then, all rigid plate translations and rotations were prevented, with the
exception of the axial translations (associated with the load application).
Loading. The column axial compression is applied by means of either (i) sets of concentrated forces acting on
both end section nodes (pinned columns) or (ii) two concentrated forces applied on the rigid plates points
corresponding to the end section centroids. The above forces are applied in small increments, by means of the
ANSYS automatic load stepping procedure
1
.
Initial Geometrical Imperfections. The initial geometrical imperfections incorporated in the columns freshly
analyzed in this work exhibit the critical (distortional) buckling mode shape and an amplitude equal to 10% of
the wall thickness t, a value also adopted by other researchers (e.g., Dinis & Camotim [16]). In the validation
studies, involving column analyses by Chen & Young [8] and Ranawaka [15], the initial geometrical
imperfections reported by those researchers were considered: again the critical buckling mode shape, but now
an amplitude equal to either the wall thickness t or measured values.
Each critical buckling mode shape was determined by means of a linear stability analysis, also
performed in ANSYS and adopting exactly the same shell finite element mesh employed to carry out
the subsequent non-linear (post-buckling) analysis this approach makes it very easy to transform
the output of the linear stability analysis into an input of the non-linear one.

1
Obviously, this loading description concerns only the steady state analyses (columns subjected to an increasing axial
compression). The application of the rising temperature required to perform the transient analyses is addressed ahead in
the paper sub-section Types of Non-Linear Analysis.
2.2 Steel Material Behaviour
Some researchers have proposed experimentally-based analytical expressions to model the variation of the
cold-formed steel material behaviour with the temperature, namely Outinen et al. [1], Chen & Young
[7,8,9,10] and Ranawaka & Mahendran [12]. The temperature dependence is invariably taken into account by
means of reduction factors applicable to the steel Youngs modulus (k
e
), proportional limit stress (k
p
) and
yield stress (k
y
) Figure 1 illustrates the qualitative differences between the steel constitutive laws at room and
elevated temperatures. Note that the stress-strain curve ceases to be bi-linear for temperatures above 100C
indeed, it then exhibits a considerable amount of non-linear strain-hardening, which makes it indispensable
to distinguish between the yield and proportional limit stresses (the latter is almost always taken as the 0.2%
proof stress). Moreover, it is now widely recognized that that the reduction factors applicable to hot-rolled steel
members do not remain valid for cold-formed steel ones this explains why distinct values are prescribed by
the current design codes (e.g., EC3-1.2).
Figures 2(a)-(b) make it possible to compare the cold-formed steel k
y
and k
e
values prescribed by EC3-1.2 [13]
with those proposed by Outinen et al. [1], Chen & Young [8] and Ranawaka & Mahendran [11]. One readily
observes that there are significant discrepancies between the various values this fact indicates that the
reduction factors depend heavily on the particular cold-formed steel grade and suggests that further research is
required in order to obtain additional information to clarify this matter adequately.
The numerical results presented in this work are determined by adopting the constitutive model
prescribed by EC3-1.2, defined by the expressions
( ) ( )
.
0.5
2
2
. . . .
.
for
for

T p T
T p T y T y p T y T
y T
E
c b a a

(
= + < <
(

. .
for
y T u T

(1)
( )( )
2
. . . . y T p T y T p T T
a c E = +
,
( )
2 2
. . y T p T T
b c E c = +
( )
( ) ( )
2
. .
. . . .
2
y T p T
y T p T T y T p T
c
E

=


Where the (i) proportionality limit stress
p.T
, (ii) yield stress
y.T
, (iii) Youngs modulus E
T
, (iv) proportionality
limit strain
p.T
=
p.T
/E
T
are functions of the temperature T (given in tabular form). Moreover, the strains associated
with the yield (proof) and ultimate stresses (
y.T
,
u.T
) are always
y.T
=0.02 and
u.T
=0.15.
Since the experimentally-based constitutive models developed by Chen & Young [8,9] and Ranawaka &
Mahendran [11], were also employed in this work (for validation), they are briefly presented next. The model
of Chen & Young, based on a Ramberg-Osgood [17] type equation, is expressed as
.
.
. .
. . .
. . .
0.002 for
for
T
T
n
T T
T y T
T y T
T
m
T y T T y T
u T y T T y T
y T u T y T
E
E

| |

+
|
|

\
=

| |
+ + >
|
|

\
(2)
( )
.
.
,
1 0.002
T
y T
T T y T
E
E
n E
=
+
20 0.6 , 1 350
T T
n T m T = = +

where (i) there is an analytical expression providing E
y.T
(elastic modulus at temperature T), (ii) one still has

u.T
=0.15, (iii) the ultimate stress is given by
u.T
=
y.T
k
u
, where k
u
is the reduction factor of the EC3-1.2 model
and, (iv)
T
is the applied stress at temperature T. Note that this equation was also adopted by Mirambell &
Real [18] and Rasmussen [19] to describe the stainless steel stress-strain curve at room temperature. Finally,
Ranawaka & Mahendran [11,12] also employed adopted a constitutive model based on an Ramberg-Osgood
type equation however,
T
is now obtained from the expression
.
T
y T
T T
T
T T T
E E E

| || |
= +
| |
\ \
(3)
where =0.86 (value adopted by Outinen [20]) and the variation of
T
with the temperature is given by
7 3 3
.550
3.05 10 0.0005 0.215 62.653 20 800
T
T T T T

= + +
(4)
3
.250
0.000138 0.085468 19.212 350 800
T
T T T = +
(5)
for high and low strength steels. In the latter case, the stress-strain curves at T<350C were shown to exhibit a
yield plateau, thus meaning that
T
cannot be predicted by eq. (5), developed only for a gradually changing
stress-strain laws (Ranawaka [15]). In this work, it is assumed that eq. (4) holds approximately.
The code ANSYS [14] allows for the consideration of the multi-linear stress-strain curve adopted in this work.
Its first branch models the elastic range, up to the proportional limit stress, and exhibits the measured Youngs
modulus. The subsequent branches stand for the non-linear inelastic range, which accounts for (kinematic)
strain-hardening. It is assumed herein that Poissons ratio does not depend on the temperature and is equal to
0.3. Finally, note that, because the distortional post-buckling analyses carried out involve large inelastic strains,
the nominal (engineering) static stress-strain curve is replaced by a relation between the true stress and the
logarithmic plastic strain.
2.3 Temperature Evolution
In order to obtain the evolution of the column temperature as a function of the elapsed fire duration,
the 2D non-linear heat transfer finite model incorporated in the code SAFIR (Franssen et al. [21]) was
employed. The temperature evolution within the column cross-section, assumed longitudinally
uniform, is calculated in accordance with the standard fire design curve prescribed in Part 1.2 of
Eurocode 1 (EC1-1.2 [22]). Since the columns simulated in this paper are deemed to be completely
engulfed in flames, it was concluded that all their cross-sections and the surrounding air share the same
temperature (Landesmann et al. [23]) moreover, the above standard temperature-time curve is applicable to
all the cross-section walls. Finally, it is worth noting that the thermal actions, including heat transfer
through convection and radiation, have also been included in the analyses at constant load since the
fire duration is deemed small (less than 1 hour), creep effects were neglected.
2.4 Types of Non-Linear Analysis
Two different non-linear column analyses are performed, corresponding to distinct loading strategies: (i)
application of an increasing compressive load on a column exhibiting a constant temperature distribution
(steady case) or (ii) application of an initial compressive force, which remains constant, followed by a
progressive temperature increase (transient case). In the first case, it is assumed that the initial (imperfect)
column geometry already includes the thermal expansion associated with heating it to the pre-defined
temperature then, the analyses of columns with two distinct temperatures only differ in the steel material
behaviour adopted. The aim of the steady analyses is to determine the variation of the column failure load with
the temperature. In the transient analyses, which correspond to a more realistic simulation of natural fire
conditions, one begins by applying an axial load with a pre-defined value to an initially imperfect column at
room temperature T=20C (obviously, the applied load must be lower than the associated ultimate value)
and by recording the ensuing column deflected equilibrium state. Then, incremental temperature increases are
sequentially prescribed to the column, leading it to neighbouring (more deflected) equilibrium states in order
to obtain a new equilibrium state, the shell finite element analysis must take into account (i) the variation of the
steel stress-strain curve, (ii) the thermal strains caused by the temperature rise and (iii) the geometrically non-
linear effects due to the continuous presence of the axial load. The aim of these analyses is to assess the
variation of the column failure temperature with the applied load in other words, to determine for which
temperature the applied load ceases to correspond to a column equilibrium state. Both analyses are carried by
means of an incremental-iterative technique employing Newton-Raphsons method and an arc-length control
strategy. The relation between the results yielded by the steady state and transient analyses (failure loads and
temperatures) is addressed further ahead this paper.
At this stage, it should be noted that, in the transient analyses, the temperature values are prescribed at all the
column nodes and incrementally raised by means of the ANSYS automatic load stepping. The thermal
strains stemming from these temperature increments are imposed
2
and a column equilibrium state is
sought taking into account both (i) the stress-strain law variation with T and (ii) the geometrically non-
linear effects associated with the compressive force existing in the column before the temperature rises.
3 VALIDATION STUDIES
3.1 Introduction
In order to validate the use of the ANSYS shell finite element model, one begins by reproducing numerical
simulations recently reported in the literature. These simulations concern cold-formed steel lipped channel
fixed columns that were experimentally and numerically analyzed by (i) Chen & Young [8] (columns C1 and
C2 high strength steel at room temperature) and by (ii) Ranawaka [15] (columns C3 low and high
strength steels at room and elevated temperatures). Table 1 shows these column dimensions.
3.2 Room Temperature
The C1 and C2 columns, analyzed by Chen & Young [8], (i) were made of high strength zinc-coated steel
characterized by E=210 GPa, =0.3 and
y,20
=450 MPa, and (ii) were analyzed in the code ABAQUS [24],
adopting discretizations into 10 mm10 mm meshes of S4R5 shell elements (ABAQUS nomenclature 4-node
thin-shell elements with five d.o.f. per node and reduced integration, and accounting for shear deformation).
The analyses (i) included initial geometrical imperfections with a critical (local or distortional) buckling mode
shapes and an amplitude equal to the wall thickness t, and (ii) did not take into account residual stress effects.
As for the C3 columns, analyzed by Ranawaka [15] at both room and elevated temperatures, they (i) were
made of both low and high strength steel grades G250 and G550, characterized by E=210 GPa, =0.3 and

y,20
=250 or
y,20
=550 MPa, and (iii) were also analyzed in ABAQUS [24], but adopting discretizations into 5
mm5 mm meshes of S4 elements (4-node thin-shell elements with six d.o.f. per node and full integration, and
accounting for shear deformation). The columns contained initial geometrical imperfections and flexural
residual stresses with configurations and amplitudes corresponding to the average values measured in the
tested specimens
3
.
The numerical analyses carried out in this work included initial geometrical imperfections with critical
(local or distortional) buckling mode shapes and amplitude of either 10% of the wall thickness (C1, C2
columns 0.15 mm) or the reported measured average values (C3 columns 0.65 mm and 0.4 mm for

2
The thermal strains are imposed under the assumption that the steel linear thermal expansion coefficient does not depend on the
temperature T its value is always taken as 1.2x10
-5
per C.
3
More details about the initial geometrical imperfection and residual stress measurements can be found in the work of
Ranawaka [15].
the G250 and G550 steel grades). No residual stresses were included in the analyses
4
. The table in Figure
3(a) provides the column ultimate loads obtained with simulations performed by the authors (P
u.obt
) and
by the other researchers (P
u.rpt
) the percentage differences are also given.
The plot in Figure 3(b) shows a comparison between the obtained and reported equilibrium paths concerning
the C2 column applied load vs. axial shortening. At this stage, it is worth mentioning that (i) all C1 and
C2 columns failed locally and (ii) both C3 columns failed distortionally. Since there is excellent agreement
between the obtained and reported (i) ultimate loads values (the differences never exceed 3.8% and
most of them fall below 1%) and (ii) equilibrium path configurations, one may consider that the shell
finite element model employed in this work as properly validated for room temperature analysis.
3.3 Elevated Temperature
The table in Figure 4(a) indicates the C3 columns analyzed by Ranawaka [15] at elevated temperatures
(ranging from 200 to 800C) that were also simulated in this work they all have length L=20 cm and failed
distortionally. Their material behaviour dependence on the temperature follows the model described in eqs.
(3)-(5) and the column (i) room temperature material properties and (ii) initial geometrical imperfections
adopted are those indicated in the previous sub-section (the residual stresses are again neglected).
The above table provides the column P
u.obt
and P
u.rpt
values, together with the associated percentage
differences. The plot in Figure 4(b) shows a comparison between the equilibrium paths concerning the column
made of G550 steel at 800C applied load vs. axial shortening. Although still quite acceptable, the agreement
between the obtained and reported ultimate loads values is not as good as at room temperature (the differences
now reach about 8% and several of them exceed 5%), most likely due some (virtually inevitable)
discrepancies in the numerical modelling of the steel material behaviour under elevated temperatures.
Nevertheless, there is a very good correlation between the equilibrium paths plotted in Figure 4(b). Therefore,
it seems fair to assume that the shell finite element model employed in this work is also adequately
validated for elevated temperature analysis.

4
No residual stresses were included in the analyses carried out by Chen & Young [8] and Ranawaka [15] explicitly
mentioned that the influence of the residual stresses on the C3 column (distortional) failure loads is negligible about 0.2%.
4 DISTORTIONAL POST-BUCKLING BEHAVIOUR AND FAILURE
The ANSYS shell finite element model validated in the previous section is now employed to perform a
parametric study aimed at assessing the post-buckling and ultimate strength behaviour of simply
supported lipped channel columns that both buckle and fail in distortional modes. Previous work by
the authors (Landesmann et al. [23]) showed that, regardless of the temperature, columns with the
cross-section dimensions given in Figure 5(a) and length L=60 cm exhibit distortional critical
buckling modes Figure 5(b) provides an overall view of this buckling mode type, which is
characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of cross-section wall transverse bending and rigid-body
motions of the flange-lip assemblies. The various curves depicted in Figure 5(c) provide the variation
of the critical elastic buckling stress
cr
with the column length L (logarithmic scale) and temperature T
it should be pointed out that (i) T varies between 20/100C (room temperature material behaviour)
and 800C, and (ii)
cr
is normalized with respect to
cr.D.20
=154.9 MPa (minimum critical stress
associated with a single half-wave distortional buckling mode at T=20C)
5
. The observation of these
curves shows that (i) all of them may be obtained from the top one by means of a vertical translation with a
value that depends exclusively on the Youngs modulus erosion caused by the rising temperature, and
that, as mentioned earlier (ii) L=60 cm always corresponds to
cr.D.T
(minimum single half-wave
critical distortional stress at temperature T). Moreover, note that
cr.D.T
drops by about 90% when the
temperature rises from 20/100C to 800C (Youngs modulus decreases from 205 to 18.5 GPa).
The columns whose post-buckling behaviour and ultimate strength are analyzed in this work are built from
four European standard steel grades: S150, S235, S355 and S460 (E=205 GPa, =0.3 and
y,20
=150, 235, 355,
460 MPa) as mentioned earlier, the variation of the steel constitutive law with the temperature T is assumed
to follow the EC3-1.2 [13] model for light-gauge steels. All the columns are concentrically compressed and
contain critical-mode (distortional) initial geometrical imperfections with an amplitude equal to 10% of the
wall thickness and involving outward flange-lip motions (see Fig. 5(b))
6
. Next, one addresses separately the
determination of (i) failure loads (steady state analyses, in which columns subjected to a constant uniform
temperature are acted by an increasing axial compression) and (ii) failure temperatures (transient analyses, in
which columns under a constant axial compression are subjected to an increasing temperature) some
attention is also devoted to the relation between these failure loads and temperatures.

5
These curves were obtained through buckling analyses carried out in using the code GBTUL (Bebiano et al. [25]), based
on a recent Generalised Beam Theory (GBT) formulation (Bebiano et al. [26]), and adopting the variation of Youngs
modulus with T prescribed in the EC3-1.2.
6
As shown by Prola & Camotim [27] and Silvestre & Camotim [28], the column distortional post-buckling behaviour exhibits a non-
negligible asymmetry with respect to the flange-lip motion sense (outward or inward). These authors showed that the
ultimate load associated with outward distortional failure is always lower than its inward counterpart (in lipped channel columns).
4.1 Column Failure Loads at Constant Temperature
Figure 6 shows the non-linear (post-buckling) equilibrium paths of initial imperfect columns made of
four steel grades (S150, S235, S355, S460) and subjected to with six uniform temperatures: 20/100C
(20C corresponds to room temperature and the steel material properties are deemed unchanged up to
100C), 200C, 300C, 400C, 500C, 600C. Each equilibrium path relates (i) the applied stress ,
normalized with respect to
cr.D.20
=154.9 MPa (critical distortional buckling stress at room temperature), with
(ii) the (outward) vertical displacement of the mid-span lips. The triangles indicate the various column
ultimate stress ratios (
u
/
cr.D.20
).
The observation of the column post-buckling equilibrium paths and ultimate stresses displayed in
Figures 6(a)-(f) prompts the following remarks:
(i) Obviously, the various column ultimate stresses decrease as T increases.
(ii) At room temperature, the columns always collapse immediately after the onset of yielding (i.e.,
there is no elastic-plastic strength reserve). In the S150 and S235 columns practically no ductility
precedes failure.
(iii) As T increases, the S150 and S235 columns exhibit some ductility prior to failure that is associated with
a visible (but very small) amount of elastic-plastic strength reserve. On the other hand, the S355 and
S460 columns failure always follows the onset of yielding, regardless of the temperature.
(v) In order to quantify the column ultimate stress erosion stemming from the rising temperature, Figure 7
shows the variation of the ultimate stress ratio
u.D.T
/
u.D.20
with the temperature T for the four steel
grades considered dashed lines. Also given in these figures is the variation of the critical stress ratio

cr.D.T
/
cr.D.20
with T solid line. On the other hand, Table 2 indicates the
u.D.T
/
cr.D.T
values, which
provide the amount of post-critical strength reserve associated with each simulated column. The analysis
of these results leads to the following conclusions:
(v.1) Obviously, the variation of
cr.D.T
/
cr.D.20
with T is the same for all steel grades recall that
cr.D.T

depends exclusively on the reduction of the Youngs modulus with the temperature (see Fig. 5(c)).
(v.2) Since the variation of the ultimate stress is also affected by the (v
1
) proportionality limit and yield
stresses, and (v
2
) the shape of the stress-strain curve, there is a clear dependence on T.
(v.3) In the S460 columns the critical and ultimate stress ratio values practically coincide, which
means that, at least for this particular column geometry, the critical (distortional) and
ultimate stresses are equally affected by the temperature. Indeed, the
u.D.T
/
cr.D.T
values
are all very similar, even if they slightly decrease with T they vary from 1.042 to 1.003, thus
indicating a very small post-critical strength.
(v.4) As the yield stress decreases, the column critical stress ratio values progressively fall below
their ultimate stress counterparts, which means that, again for this particular column geometry, the

u.D.T
/
cr.D.T
values decrease more significantly with T Table 2 shows that this ratio falls by
about 4% (S460), 7% (S355), 15% (S235) and 20% (S150).
(v.5) The
u.D.T
/
cr.D.T
increase with the yield stress (steel grade) grows with T it varies between
about 20% (100C) and 37% (600C).
(v.6) All the
u.D.T
/
cr.D.T
values concerning the S235 and S150 columns fall below 1.0, which means
that their collapses occur before the critical applied stress level is reached. Moreover, those values
decrease with both the temperature and the yield stress, thus implying that plasticity effects play
an increasing role in column failure.
Figure 8 shows the von Mises stress distributions occurring at the distortional collapse (=
u.D.T
) of columns
made of S460 steel and subjected to four different temperatures (T=20-400-600-800C) note that the stress
scales are different for each distribution. One observes that, since the thermal action effects are negligible
(uniform temperature and free-to-deform columns), the distortional failure modes are virtually identical in the
four columns, i.e., they do not depend on the temperature. Moreover, the four von Mises stress distributions are
also qualitatively rather similar the higher stresses always occur in the vicinity of the lip free ends. It is worth
noting that the collapse is always triggered by the yielding of the web-flange edge regions in the vicinity of the
column mid-span. Quantitatively speaking, the stress values obviously decrease as the temperature rises and
continuously erodes the steel material behaviour.
Figure 9(a) illustrates the distortional post-buckling equilibrium path obtained it concerns a S460 column
subjected to 20/100C (i.e., room temperature condition). As for Figure 9(b), it provides information
about the evolution of column deformed configuration and plastic strain distribution 4 plastic strain
diagrams are presented, corresponding to distinct equilibrium states located along the equilibrium path
(their locations are indicated in Figure 9(a)). It is worth noting that (i) the deformed configuration
corresponding to point 1 is amplified 5 times, and that (ii) point 3 corresponds to the occurrence of the column
collapse i.e., the associated deformed configuration provides the shape of the column failure mode.
4.2 Column Failure Temperatures at Constant Load
The curves shown in Figures 10(a)-(d) concern the behaviour of initially imperfect columns that (i) are first
subjected to 20, 40, 60 and 80% of their distortional critical buckling load at room temperature (P
cr.D.20
) and
(ii) then subjected to small uniform temperature increments (starting at T=20C). After each increment, one
seeks a column equilibrium configuration that (i) accommodates the change in the steel constitutive (stress-
strain) relationship, (ii) includes the geometry change due to the thermal strains stemming from the
temperature increase and (iii) incorporates the corresponding geometrically non-linear effects associated with
the (constant) applied load. The temperature is incrementally raised until no equilibrium configuration can be
reached (for that applied load), which means that the column collapses for that specific temperature value
it constitutes the column failure temperature (T
u
).
The observation of the column equilibrium paths and failure temperatures presented in Figures 10(a)-
(d) leads the following comments:
(i) Obviously, the failure temperature of a given column drops as the initially applied load level P increases.
(ii) The ductility prior to failure generally increases with the steel grade. No clear correlation can be
established with the column applied load level.
(iii) As expected, the non-linearity of the equilibrium path ascending branch grows with the applied load
level the geometrically non-linear effects due to the axial compression (and felt throughout the whole
heating process) are more pronounced.
(iv) Table 3 provides the T
u
values obtained, making it possible to assess how the yield stress and initial
applied load level influence the column temperature failure. One observes that the T
u
percentage
drop, as P/P
cr.D.20
varies from 0.20 to 0.80, decreases as the yield stress increases: the drops are of
77% (S150), 60% (S235), 56.5% (S355) and 55.6% (S460). Note, however, that the percentage drop is
practically the same for the S355 and S460 columns indeed, the T
u
values are almost identical
for these two sets of columns.
4.3 Relation between Failure Loads/Stresses and Temperatures
One question naturally arises concerning the relation existing between the data and solutions of the steady
state (failure loads/stresses at constant temperature) and transient (failure temperatures at constant
load/stress) analyses. In order to investigate this issue, Figures 11(a)-(b) plot curves
u
/
cr.D.20
(T) and
T
u
( /
cr.D.20
) while (i) the former are dashed with small triangles identifying the constant temperatures
considered (see Table 2), (ii) the latter are dotted with small squares identifying the constant initial
stresses/loads dealt with (see Table 3). One readily observes that, regardless of the steel grade, the two curves
(obtained by joining the small triangles and squares) practically coincide, which means that (i) the failure
stress/load at temperature T
0
(
u.T0
) is virtually identical to (ii) the applied stress () that leads to a failure
temperature T
u
=T
0
. This can be confirmed by looking at the steady state analysis the S460 column at
temperature T=500 C, which led to
u
/
cr.D.20
=0.602 Table 3 shows that a transient analysis of this
same column initially compressed at
u
/
cr.D.20
=0.60 yields the failure temperature T
u
=500C. In this
context, it is worth noting that the experimental results recently reported by Ranawaka & Mahendran [11]
point out to this same conclusion, as the differences between the applied/failure temperature and load sets
are negligible. Thus, it was shown that the result of a steady state analysis (much easier to perform) matches
that of the corresponding transient analysis.
4.4 Column Failure Times at Constant Load
On the basis of the well known member temperature evolution, expressed by the time-temperature relation
shown in Figure 12 (e.g., EC1-1.2 [22]), it is possible to determine the time required for the columns to fail
as function of the applied load value these failure times are also plotted in Figure 12 versus the
applied load ratio P

/P
cr.D.20
for the different steel grades. The observation of these plots leads to the
following remarks (note that, obviously, they are the logical consequence of the earlier remarks concerning the
failure temperature results):
(i) Naturally, the failure time drops as (i
1
) the applied load ratio P /P
cr.D.20
increases and (i
2
) the steel
yield stress decreases nevertheless, there is very little difference between the failure times of the S460
and S355 columns, which suggests that there is a yield stress threshold after which it does not influence
the failure time
7
.
(ii) For each steel grade, it seems fair to say that the failure time is approximately inversely proportional
to the applied load level.
(iii) In the columns analysed, the failure times varied between 1.04 min (S150 column under P /P
cr.D.20
=0.80)
and 10.11 min (S460 column under P /P
cr.D.20
= 0.20). Since these values are very small, the application
of fire protection insulation to increase the column failure time becomes indispensable.
5. CONCLUDING REMARKS
This paper reported the available results of an ongoing shell finite element investigation on the distortional
buckling, post-buckling and ultimate strength behaviour of simply supported cold-formed steel lipped
channel columns subjected to (i) concentric compression and (ii) elevated temperatures caused by fire
conditions. The variation of the steel material behaviour with the temperature was assumed to follow the
model prescribed in EC3-1.2, for cold-formed steel, and the geometrically and materially non-linear

7
Only indirectly, through the value of
cr.D.20
, which obviously increases with the yield stress.
response of the lipped channel columns was determined by means of shell finite element analyses
performed in ANSYS. The column collapse was computed for two loading strategies: (i) application of an
increasing compressive load on a column subjected to a constant temperature distribution (obtaining failure
loads) or (ii) application of an increasing temperature to an initially compressed column (obtaining failure
temperatures) using the well known time-temperature curve prescribed in EC1-1.2, the failure temperatures
were also transformed into failure times. Among the various conclusions already drawn from this ongoing
investigation, the following ones deserve to be specially mentioned:
(i) It was shown that the differences between the applied/failure temperature and load sets are
negligible, which means that the results of the steady state analyses match those of the
corresponding transient analyses. Therefore, the (distortional) failure of columns under fire conditions
can be fully investigated by resorting only to failure loads under elevated temperatures steady
state analyses are easier to perform than transient ones. Nevertheless, the transient analyses can
also yield failure times, which provide very useful information concerning the stringency of the
need to have fire protection insulation.
(ii) Since the column failure load drop with the temperature stems from (ii
1
) the reduction of the steel
Youngs modulus, proportionality limit stress and yield stress, and (ii
2
) the variation of the
stress-strain curve shape, it cannot be adequately measured by the associated critical load
decrease, exclusively due to the Youngs modulus reduction. Nevertheless, it was found that, for
a high enough steel grade (S460 in this case), the column critical and ultimate loads are equally
affected by the temperature, probably because failure is mostly governed by instability effects
further research is needed to clarify this issue, which may have far-reaching implications on the
design of high-strength steel columns under fire conditions.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that further developments of this work (presently under way) include analysing
the buckling, post-buckling and ultimate strength behaviour, under fire conditions, of cold-formed steel
columns with other end support conditions (fixed columns) and/or other cross-section shapes (rack-
section columns) the results obtained will be reported in the near future. Moreover, since there are no
specific rules to predict the ultimate load of cold-formed steel columns exhibiting distortional collapses at high
temperatures, the failure loads gathered during this ongoing research effort should be very helpful in
establishing guidelines for the design of such members under fire conditions. The authors have already
done some preliminary work towards achieving this goal (Landesmann & Camotim [29]), which
consisted of comparing numerical and experimental lipped channel column ultimate loads with the predictions
yielded by the application of the (slightly modified) provisions of the Direct Strength Method (e.g., Schafer
[30,31]) for distortional failure at room temperature
8
note that the Direct Strength Method was recently
included in Appendix 1 of the North American Specification for cold-formed steel structures (AISI [32]).
REFERENCES
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conditions, Proceedings of First International Workshop on Structures in Fire (Copenhagen), 2000, 267-281.
2. Kaitila, O., Imperfection sensitivity analysis of lipped channel columns at high temperatures,
Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 2002, 58(3), 333-51.
3. Feng, M., Wang, Y.C. and Davies, J.M., Structural behaviour of cold-formed thin-walled short steel channel
columns at elevated temperatures Part 1: experiments, Thin-Walled Structures, 2003a, 41(6), 543-70.
4. Feng, M., Wang, Y.C. and Davies, J.M., Structural behaviour of cold-formed thin-walled short steel
channel columns at elevated temperatures Part 2: design calculations and numerical analysis, Thin-Walled
Structures, 2003b, 41(6), 571-94.
5. Lee, J.H., Mahendran, M. and Makelainen, P., Prediction of mechanical properties of light gauge steels at
elevated temperatures, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 2003, 59(12), 1517-32.
6. Feng, M. and Wang, Y.C., An analysis of the structural behaviour of axially loaded full-scale cold-formed
thin-walled steel structural panels tested under fire conditions, Thin-Walled Structures, 2005, 43(2), 291-332.
7. Chen, J. and Young, B., Corner properties of cold-formed steel sections at elevated temperatures, Thin-
Walled Structures, 2006, 44(2), 216-23.
8. Chen J. and Young B., Cold-formed steel lipped channel columns at elevated temperatures,
Engineering Structures, 2007a, 29(10), 2445-56.
9. Chen, J. and Young, B., Experimental investigation of cold-formed steel material at elevated
temperatures. Thin-Walled Structures, 2007b, 45(1), 96-110.
10. Chen, J. and Young, B., Design of high strength steel columns at elevated temperatures, Journal of
Constructional Steel Research, 2008, 64(6), 689-703.
11. Ranawaka, T. and Mahendran, M., Distortional buckling tests of cold-formed steel compression
members at elevated temperatures, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 2009, 65(2), 249-59,.

8
The authors followed an approach already (partially) explored by other researchers, namely Chen & Young [8,10] and Ranawaka &
Mahendran [11].
12. Ranawaka, T. and Mahendran, M., Numerical modelling of light gauge cold-formed steel
compression members subjected to distortional buckling at elevated temperatures, Thin-Walled
Structures, 2010, 48(4-5), 334-344,.
13. Comit Europen de Normalisation (CEN). Eurocode 3: Design of Steel Structures Part 1-2:
General Rules Structural Fire Design, Brussels, 2005.
14. Swanson Analysis Systems (SAS). ANSYS Reference Manual (vs. 8.1), 2004.
15. Ranawaka, T., Distortional Buckling Behaviour of Cold-Formed Steel Compression Members at
Elevated Temperatures. Ph.D. Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, 2006.
16. Dinis, P.B. and Camotim, D., On the use of shell finite element analysis to assess the local
buckling and post-buckling behaviour of cold-formed steel thin-walled members, in C.A.M. Soares et al.
(eds.): Book of Abstracts of III European Conference on Computational Mechanics: Solids, Structures and
Coupled Problems in Engineering (Lisbon, 5-9/6), Springer (Dordrecht), 689, 2006. (full paper in CD-
ROM Proceedings)
17. Ramberg, W. and Osgood, W.R., Description of stressstrain curves by three parameters, NACA
Technical Note 902, 1943.
18. Mirambell, E. and Real, E., On the calculation of deflections in structural stainless steel beams: an
experimental and numerical investigation. Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 2000, 54(1), 109-33.
19. Rasmussen, K.J.R., Full-range stressstrain curves for stainless steel alloys, Journal of
Constructional Steel Research, 2003, 59(1), 47-61.
20. Outinen J., Mechanical Properties of Structural Steels at Elevated Temperatures, Licentiate Thesis,
Helsinki University of Technology, Finland, 1999.
21. Franssen, J.M., Kodur, V. and Mason, J., Users Manual for SAFIR 2004 (computer program to analyse
structures subjected to fire), University of Lige, 2004.
22. Comit Europen de Normalisation (CEN), Eurocode 1: Actions on Structures Part 1-2: General
Actions Actions on Structures Exposed to Fire, Brussels, 2002.
23. Landesmann, A., Camotim, D. and Batista, E.M., On the distortional buckling, post-buckling and strength
of cold-formed steel lipped channel columns subjected to elevated temperatures, In F. Wald, P. Kallerov, J.
Chlouba (eds.): Proceedings of International Conference on Applications of Structural Fire Engineering
(Prague), 2009, A8-A13.
24. Hibbit, Karlsson & Sorensen Inc. (HKS). ABAQUS Standard (vrs. 6.5), 2004.
25. Bebiano, R., Pina, P., Silvestre, N. and Camotim, D., GBTUL 1.0 Buckling and Vibration
Analysis of Thin-Walled Members, DECivil/IST, Technical University of Lisbon, 2008.
(http://www.civil.ist.utl.pt/gbt)
26. Bebiano, R., Silvestre, N. and Camotim, D., GBTUL - A code for the buckling analysis of cold-
formed steel members, In R. LaBoube, W.-W. Yu (eds.): Proceedings of 19
th
International Specialty
Conference on Recent Research and Developments in Cold-Formed Steel Design and Construction (St.
Louis, 14-15/10), 2008b, 61-79.
27. Prola, L.C. and Camotim, D., On the distortional post-buckling behaviour of cold-formed lipped channel
steel columns, Proceedings of Structural Stability Research Council Annual Stability Conference, (Seattle 24-
26/4), 2002, 571-590.
28. Silvestre, N. and Camotim, D., Local-plate and distortional post-buckling behaviour of cold-formed
steel lipped channel columns with intermediate stiffeners, Journal of Structural Engineering (ASCE), 2006,
132(4), 529-540.
29. Landesmann, A. and Camotim, D., Distortional failure and design of cold-formed steel lipped channel
columns under fire conditions, Proceedings of Structural Stability Research Council Annual Stability
Conference (Orlando, 12-15/5), 2010. (in press)
30. Schafer, B.W., Direct Strength Method Design Guide, American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI),
Washington DC, 2005.
31. Schafer B.W., Review: the Direct Strength Method of cold-formed steel member design, Journal
of Constructional Steel Research, 2008, 64(7-8), 766-88.
32. American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Appendix I of the North American Specification (NAS)
for the Design of Cold-formed Steel Structural Members: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural
Members with the Direct Strength Method, Washington DC, 2007.


0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Strain (%)
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

s
t
r
e
s
s
600
200
20C
Ranawaka & Mahendran
Chen & Young
EC3-1.2

(
)
.
2
0
T
y

Figure 1. Cold-formed steel constitutive laws at room and high temperatures ( 2%).
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Y
i
e
l
d

s
t
r
e
s
s

r
e
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

f
a
c
t
o
r

(
k
y
)
Temperature T (C)
Chen & Young
Ranawaka
& Mahendran
EC3-1.2
Outinen

0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Y
o
u
n
g

s

m
o
d
u
l
u
s

r
e
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

f
a
c
t
o
r

(
k
e
)
Temperature T (C)
Chen & Young
Ranawaka
& Mahendran
EC3-1.2
Outinen


Figure 2. Variation of (a) k
y
and (b) k
e
with the temperature (T800C).




(a)
(b)

Column C2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Axial shortening (mm)
A
p
p
l
i
e
d

l
o
a
d

(
k
N
)
Reported by Chen & Young (2007a)
Obtained


Figure 3. (a) Column ultimate loads obtained (P
u.obt
) and reported (P
u.rpt
), and (b) comparison between
the equilibrium paths concerning the C2 column.
C
L
(cm)
P
u.obt

(kN)
P
u.rpt

(kN)
u.obt u.rpt
u.rpt
P -P
P

C1 28 99.9 100.2 0.29%
C1 100 94.5 91.0 -3.80%
C1 150 83.9 84.8 1.11%
C2 100 104.5 103.5 -0.99%
C3
G250
20 12.5 12.4 -0.40%
C3
G550
20 19.75 20.14 1.94%

(a) (b)


Column C3
G550
800C
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Axial shortening (mm)
A
p
p
l
i
e
d

l
o
a
d

(
k
N
)
Reported by Ranawaka (2006)
Obtained

Figure 4. (a) Column P
u.obt
and P
u.rpt
values, and (b) comparison between the equilibrium paths
concerning the C3 column made of G550 steel at 800C.
C
T
(C)
P
u.obt

(kN)
P
u.rpt

(kN)
u.obt u.rpt
u.rpt
P -P
P

C3
G250
200 9.80 9.45 3.70%
C3
G250
500 3.80 3.61 5.26%
C3
G250
800 0.84 0.79 6.33%
C3
G550
350 15.78 14.60 8.08%
C3
G550
500 2.90 2.75 5.45%
C3
G550
650 0.73 0.76 -3.95%
C3
G550
800 7.62 7.51 1.41%

(a) (b)










Figure 5. Lipped channel column (a) cross-section dimensions, (b) distortional buckling mode shape
and (c)
cr
/
cr.D.20
vs. L elastic buckling curves.
0
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
1 10 100 1000
Column length

c
r
/

c
r
.
D
.
2
0

L = 60 cm
20-100 C
600 C
700 C
800 C
500 C
(c)
(b)
100
1
3
0
1
2
.
5
x
y
2
(a)
Dimensions in mm
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
S460
S355
S235
S150
20

. . u cr D
20/100 C
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
Elastic

0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
S460
S355
S235
S150
20

. . u cr D
200 C
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
Elastic

0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
S460
S355
S235
S150
20

. . u cr D
300 C
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
Elastic

0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
S460
S355
S235
S150
20

. . u cr D
400 C
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
Elastic

0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
S460
S355
S235
S150
20

. . u cr D
500C
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
Elastic

0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
S460
S355
S235
S150
20

. . u cr D
600C
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
Elastic

Figure 6. Distortional post-buckling equilibrium paths concerning columns made of 4 steel grades
(S150, S235, S355, S460) and subjected to temperatures (a) 20/100 C, (b) 200 C, (c) 300 C, (d) 400 C,
(e) 500 C and (f) 600 C.
(c)
(a) (b )
(f)
(d)
(e)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0 200 400 600
Temperature T (C)

u
.
D
.
T

/

u
.
D
.
2
0


o
r

c
r
.
D
.
T

/

c
r
.
D
.
2
0


S355
S460
. . . .20 cr D T cr D

S150

u.D.T
/
u.D.20

S235

Figure 7. Variation of
u.D.T
/
u.D.20
(dashed curves) and
cr.D.T
/
cr.D.20
with T (common solid curve) for the
steel grades S150, S235, S355 and S460.


20C

400C

600C

800C
Figure 8. Von Mises stress distributions occurring at the distortional collapse of columns made of S460 steel
and subjected to four different temperatures.

165


137.5


110


82.5


55.0


27.5

0
MPa

460


383


307


230


153


76.7

0
MPa
50


41.7


33.3


25.0


16.7


8.3

0
MPa

460


383


307


230


153


76.7

0

MPa


0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0 4 8 12 16
Outward lip displacement (mm)
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
1
4
3
2


Figure 9. (a) Distortional post-buckling equilibrium paths and (b) deformed configurations and plastic
strain locations at the four equilibrium points indicated (S460 column subjected to 20/100C).

1 3
2 4
(a)
(b)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.20
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.40
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.60
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.80
Failure temperature
o
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e


(
C
)
T
S150

0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.20
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.40
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.60
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.80
Failure temperature
S235


0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.20
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.40
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.60
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.80
Failure temperature
o
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e


(
C
)
T
S355

0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Outward lip displacement (mm)
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.20
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.40
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.60
P/P
cr.D.20
= 0.80
Failure temperature
S460

Figure 10. Variation with P/P
cr.D.20
of the column response to a temperature increase, for columns
made of (a) S150, (b) S235, (c) S355 and (d) S460 steel.
(a) (b)
(c)
(d)
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

T

(

C
)

T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

T

(

C
)



0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0 200 400 600
Temperature T (C)
Failure temperature
Failure stress/load ratio
S150
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
S355

0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0 200 400 600
Temperature T (C)
Failure temperature
Failure stress/load ratio
2
0

.
.
c
r
D
S460 S235



Figure 11. Plots /
cr.D.20
vs. T relating the data and solutions of the steady state and transient
analyses for (a) S150 + S355 and (b) S235 + S460 steel columns.



(a) (b)
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0 4 8 12
Failure Time t
u
(min)
Temperature-time curve:
T = 20 + 345 log
10
(8t +1)
.
.
2
0
c
r
D
P
P
S150
S235
S460
S355

Figure 12. Variation of the column failure time (t
u
) with P /P
cr.D.20
.

Table 1. Dimensions of the columns considered in the validation studies
Column
b
w
(mm)
b
f

(mm)
b
s

(mm)
t
(mm)
L
(cm)
C1 96 36 12 1.5 28-150
C2 96 48 12 1.5 100
C3 30 30 5 0.6 20

t
b
w

b
f

b
s


Table 2.
u.D.T
/
cr.D.T
values concerning the columns analysed in this work
T ( C) S150 S235 S355 S460
100 0.836 0.976 1.026 1.042
200 0.836 0.976 1.026 1.042
300 0.787 0.952 1.018 1.036
400 0.722 0.910 1.000 1.027
500 0.636 0.827 0.961 1.004
600 0.632 0.823 0.959 1.003
Table 3. T
u
values concerning the columns analyzed in this work
P/P
cr.D.20
S150 S235 S355 S460
0.2 595 640 655 665
0.4 475 540 565 575
0.6 280 385 480 500
0.8 135 255 285 295