Best-performance of cold-formed steel stiffened trapezoidal self-supporting roof members under flexural bending due wind suction pressure

Lightweight steel constructions are often used as a suitable structural solution, allowing cost reduction on the superstructure and infrastructure work. In this context, one employs the cold-formed steel profiles (CFS) and, for being slender structural elements, they become liable to buckling. Thus, this paper seeks to develop a shape solution for a cold-formed steel stiffened trapezoidal roofing member that presents the best alternative with respect to both flexural bending (caused by wind suction pressure) and obtained covering. For the stability analysis one used the software CUFSM (Constrained and Unconstrained Finite Strip Method) based on the Finite Strip Method. In addition, one used the Direct Strength Method to calculate the design bending strength. Therefore, six parametric analysis were made in order to propose a model that presents the best relation between bending strength and covering ratio. Finally, one suggests a solution for the stiffened trapezoidal roofing member that offer the best efficiency under the flexural bending due wind suction pressure and with a satisfactory covering ratio.