Experimental studies of flexural torsional buckling of laterally unbraced cold-formed lipped channel beams

Abstract

The behavior of Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) lipped channel beams under 4 different boundary conditions has been investigated, since the application of CFS lipped channel beam has been increased tremendously not only for industrial but also for residential applications. This study reveals the flexural buckling performance of CFS lipped channel members. Special test setup has been fabricated for two point loading conditions. The depth to thickness ratio ranging from 35 to 65 has been selected for the study. Boundary conditions are defined for warping and torsion restraints. Flexural buckling including lateral torsional buckling has been investigated. Experimental results are compared with theoretical study and code provisions. Elastic torsion buckling capacity of CFS lipped channel members have been calculated as per BS 5950 – Part 5. Experimental results were compared with the predictions from B.S.: 5950 – Part 5 and IS code 801-1975.