Numerical investigation of cold-formed steel channel columns subjected to axial thrust

Cold-formed steel channel sections had been widely recognized as lightweight material and its application in construction industry seen to be unlimited because it has proven in minimizing the building cost while satisfying the required strength. This paper investigates the structural behavior of cold-formed steel channel columns (without or with stiffeners) subjected to axial thrust. Computer aided analyses were used in order to determine the required results such as ultimate loads, deflections, load-displacement relationships and the failure modes. A total of nine (9) models were adopted to compare the performance of different shapes of channel sections at various lengths (500mm, 750mm and 1000 mm). Results from finite element analysis agree well with the British Standard and previous researcher ultimate loads. The results indicate that the channel sections with intermediate stiffener are superior in terms of ultimate load among the three shapes at the same column length. On the other hand, the stub columns have the greater load capacity compared to the slender columns. Nevertheless, all column sections failed in local buckling and the channel sections with stiffeners has shown a less deform in terms of buckling.