Strength curves for aluminium alloy columns

The paper describes a column curve formulation capable of producing accurate strengths for extruded aluminium alloys failing by flexural buckling. The formulation uses a simple extension of the Perry curve and is shown to be valid for the full range of alloys used in practice. The material properties are assumed to be expressed in terms of the Ramberg–Osgood parameters (E0, σ0.2, n), typically obtained from a stub column test of the finished product. shown that firstly, the formulation is capable of reproducing closely the ECCS a-, b- and c-column curves for aluminium alloys. Secondly, by adopting the ECCS Recommendations of basing the column curve selection on the type of alloy (heat-treated or non-heat-treated), it is shown that better agreement with tests can be obtained by using the column curve formulation proposed in the paper compared with the column curves of the ISO Recommendations and the current pre-standard Eurocode9 for aluminium alloy structures.