Structural behaviour of elliptical hollow sections under combined compression and uniaxial bending

The structural behaviour of elliptical hollow sections (EHS) has been examined in previous studies under the isolated loading conditions of pure compression and pure bending. This paper examines the response of EHS under combined compression plus uniaxial bending at the cross-sectional level. Structural performance data were initially generated through a series of laboratory stub column tests with various load eccentricities. The measured geometric and material properties of the test specimens, together with the full load-deformation histories have been reported herein. The test data were supplemented by further results generated through parallel numerical studies. Slenderness parameters and limits for EHS under combined compression plus bending were developed following analytical work. Finally, the experimental and numerical data were used to verify proposed interaction expressions for the design of EHS under combined loading; these have been developed in accordance with Eurocode 3 for ease of future incorporation.