The Lateral Torsional Buckling Strength of Cold-formed Stainless Steel Beams

The findings of an investigation of the lateral torsional buckling strength of cold-formed stainless steel beams are reported in this study. The sections under consideration are cold-formed lipped channel sections spot-welded back to back to form doubly-symmetric lipped I-beams. The beams were fabricated from a modified AISI Type 409 stainless steel, designated Type 3CR12 corrosion resisting steel. The purpose of this study is to compare the experimental lateral torsional buckling strengths of doubly-symmetric beams to the theoretical predictions proposed by the ASCE Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Stainless Steel Structural Members. It was concluded in this investigation that an acceptable prediction of beam strength may be obtained through the use of the tangent modulus approach adopted in the ASCE stainless steel design specification