Flexural -Torsional Buckling Tests of Cold-Formed Lipped Channel Beams Under Restrained Boundary Conditions

In this paper, tests on flexural buckling ( Lateral – Torsional ) of cold-formed steel(CFS) lipped Channel beams under restrained boundary conditions are described Two point loading for flexural tests have been established for 3.0m span to obtain uniform bending moment. The section sizes selected for testing are 100x50x10 mm, 100x50x15 mm and 100x50x20 mm with 1.6mm and 2.0mm thickness for the investigation. Carefully designed loading and support systems were used in the tests to apply gravity load through the web of the section and to ensure that simply supported ends were established. The test results are compared in the BS5950:Part 5 and IS code 801-1975. The influence of warping and torsional restraints on flexural capacity is presented. The influence of buckling length for different boundary conditions proposed by Rhodes was considered to calculate critical flexural-torsional buckling moment.