ABSTRACT
This work presents the results of unique tests conducted on 12 full-scale samples of trapezoidal profiled sheeting under conditions that closely replicate operational scenarios (support widths, methods of fastening the sheets to supports, and methods of connecting the sheets into continuous spans). The tests involved two groups of second-generation trapezoidal sheets. The first group consisted of physically continuous sheets. The second group was formed by overlapping two sheets at the intermediate support, with the overlap length along the geometric axis of the support equal to 1/10 of the span length.
The results indicate that the design strength of sheeting formed by joining individual sheets at supports may be overestimated by 5–15%, posing a potential safety risk when designing such structures by EC3. Another significant finding is that the experimental deflections of the samples are 50–100% higher than the theoretical deflections calculated for the sheeting based on a beam model, taking into account the actual stiffness of beam fragments.
