Tests of cold-formed and welded stainless steel beam-columns

This paper describes a test program on austenitic stainless steel beam-columns. Two types of section were investigated: cold-formed square hollow section and welded H section. Twelve material tensile coupon tests and four stub column tests were conducted to provide the material properties of the specimens. The overall initial geometric imperfections were measured. Ten beam-columns were tested between pin-ended conditions with sideway supports. Results from the tests, including the strengths, the load-deformation responses, and the failure modes were presented. The test strengths and the strengths of all the previous available test specimens were compared with the design strengths predicted using Eurocode (EN 1993-1-4:2006) and American code (SEI/ASCE 8-02). It is shown that the design strengths predicted by these two design codes are generally conservative, and the performance of the American code is better than that of the Eurocode. A modified design rule based on the American code was proposed. Comparison of the predicted strengths with the tests strengths shows that the proposed method offers improved accuracy and reduced scatter.