Tensile Tests of Cold-Formed Stainless Steel Tubes

In this study, an experimental program on cold-formed stainless steel tubular sections with and without perforations under pure tension is presented. Nine cross section series made of ferritic, lean duplex, and austenitic stainless steel were included. The square and rectangular stainless steel tubes had a nominal outer dimension ranging from 20 to 80 mm and nominal wall thickness ranging from 1.5 to 4 mm, while the nominal diameters of circular tubes were 60.5 and 76.3 mm. Tensile coupon tests were performed to determine the mechanical properties, and 21 full cross section tensile tests were performed on 9 specimens with circular perforations and the rest without perforation. Tensile test results were discussed and further compared with the tensile strengths predicted by the prevalent design rules for stainless steel structures, such as the American Specification SEI/ASCE8, Australian/New Zealand Standards AS/NZS4673, and European Code EN1993-1-4. The comparisons reveal that the tensile strength predictions by these design rules are quite conservative and scattered for cold-formed stainless steel tubular sections with and without perforations.