Column tests of cold-formed steel non-symmetric lipped angle sections

The geometry of angle sections is simple, but the behaviour and design calculations of angle sections can be quite complicated. Furthermore, lipped angle sections with unequal flange widths form a non-symmetric section and the behaviour of the section is even more complicated than a singly-symmetric angle section with equal flange widths. A test program on cold-formed steel non-symmetric lipped angle columns is presented. The non-symmetric angle sections were brake-pressed from high strength structural steel sheets having nominal yield stresses of 450 and 550 MPa with plate thicknesses of 1.0, 1.5 and 1.9 mm. The material properties of the column specimens were obtained by tensile coupon tests. The behaviour and strengths of cold-formed steel non-symmetric lipped angle columns were investigated. The test strengths are compared with the design strengths calculated using the North American Specification for the design of cold-formed steel structural members. In addition, the current design rules in the North American Specification for cold-formed steel non-symmetric lipped angle columns are assessed using reliability analysis. It is shown that the design strengths are generally quite conservative. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.