ABSTRACT
An experimental investigation into the local buckling response of hot-finished high strength steel square and rectangular hollow sections (SHS and RHS) is presented in this paper. Advanced experimental techniques, namely 3D laser-scanning and Digital Image Correlation, were employed. Two grades of quenched and tempered steel – S690 and S770 and seven section sizes – six SHS and one RHS, ranging from Class 1 to Class 4 (in compression) according to prEN 1993-1-1:2018, were studied. In total, twelve tensile coupon tests, five stub column tests, 25 short beam-column tests and a series of local imperfection measurements were carried out. The test results were used to assess the current Eurocode 3 design rules, which were shown to generally yield safe-sided cross-sectional resistance predictions. Numerical studies and the development of design guidance are currently in progress.
