Experimental capacity of perforated cold-formed steel open sections under compression and bending

This study evaluates the reliability of present European codes in predicting the collapse load of columns made with perforated cold-formed steel (CFS) profiles under combined axial load and bending. To this aim, a series of experimental tests on slender open-section specimens have been performed at varying load eccentricity. Preliminarily, stub column tests have also been performed to calculate the effective section properties of the investigated profile. By comparison of experimental data with code-specified M-N strength domains, the authors demonstrate that present code formulations may underestimate the collapse load of thin-walled perforated open sections. The study is the first step of a wider experimental and numerical study aimed at better describing strength domains of perforated CFS open sections.