Finite element analysis of cold formed steel connections

This paper presents a study on the structural performance of column-base and beam-column connections of cold-formed steel with the use of single-lipped C-sections with bolted moment connections. Experiments were done on two specimens; a column-base connection and a beamcolumn connection and the results showed that section failure caused by flexural buckling was always critical. Managing to attain moment resistances which are close to the results of connected sections, it was proven that the proposed connections were structurally efficient. Finite element models were established with the use of shell elements to model the sections while bar elements were used to model the bolted fastenings for the purpose of examining the structural behaviour of both the column-base and the beam-column connections. Incorporation of material non-linearity and comparison between the experimental and numerical results were presented. The proposed analysis method for predicting structural behaviour of column-base and beamcolumn connections with similar connection configuration proved to be adequate.