Cold-Formed High-Strength Steel Tubular Structural

Members under Combined Bending and Bearing

Hai-Ting Li, A.M.ASCE 1; and Ben Young, F.ASCE 2

Abstract: This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of cold-formed high-strength steel (CFHSS) tubular structural
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members under combined bending and bearing. A test program that contained 33 experiments was undertaken on square hollow sections
(SHSs) and rectangular hollow sections (RHSs) with nominal yield strengths up to 900 MPa. The combined bending and bearing experiments
were performed under the interior-one-flange bearing load case as per the North American Specification (NAS). Finite-element models were
built and validated with the experiments; a parametric study was undertaken upon validation. The experimentally and numerically obtained
results were compared with nominal resistances as per the NAS and European Code (EC3) to examine their applicability to CFHSS SHS/RHS
members under combined bending and bearing. Overall, the comparisons reveal that the NAS provisions were generally conservative whereas
the EC3 provisions were overly conservative. It is shown that the codified bending and bearing interaction formulas can be used for CFHSS
SHS/RHS members, while more accurate predictions can be achieved using recently proposed bearing design rules. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)
ST.1943-541X.0002371. © 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Bearing; Bending; Cold-formed steel; High-strength steel; Hollow section; Web crippling.

Introduction becoming increasingly attractive in construction owing to their

Cold-formed steel (CFS) square hollow sections (SHSs) and rectan-
gular hollow sections (RHSs) are widely used in various engineering
applications thanks to their structural efficiency and aesthetically
pleasing appearance. Cold-formed steel hollow sections are often
applied in construction without transverse stiffeners, so the webs of
unstiffened CFS SHSs/RHSs may cripple when subjected to high
local intensity of bearing forces or reactions. Moreover, the bearing
(web crippling) capacity of CFS SHS/RHS members under local
transverse forces may reduce noticeably due to the presence of
bending moment, especially in the vicinity of the loading point
within a span or at the interior support of a continuous beam. There-
fore, combined bending and bearing checks are crucial in designing
CFS tubular structural members.
The North American Specification (NAS 2016b) provides de-
sign provisions for CFS flexural members under combined bending
and bearing (also known as combined bending and web crippling).
The bending and bearing interaction equations codified in the NAS
(2016b) were empirically derived based on evaluations of experi-
mental data reported by Winter and Pian (1946), Hetrakul and Yu
(1978, 1980), Yu (1981, 2000), Young and Hancock (2000), and
LaBoube et al. (1994), as mentioned in the NAS commentary
(NAS 2016a). Hence, the provisions related only to certain materi-
als and section profiles. High-strength steel tubular members are
1
Research Fellow, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Nanyang Technological Univ., 50 Nanyang Ave., Singapore 639798;
formerly, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Rd.,
Hong Kong, China (corresponding author). Email: liht@connect.hku.hk
2
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong
Polytechnic Univ., Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China; formerly, Dept. of
Civil Engineering, Univ. of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Rd., Hong Kong,
China.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on September 18, 2018; approved
on January 8, 2019; published online on June 10, 2019. Discussion period
open until November 10, 2019; separate discussions must be submitted
for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Structural
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 0733-9445.
structural and architectural advantages (Zhao et al. 2014; Ma et al.
2017c). The applicability of the existing combined bending and
bearing provisions to cold-formed high-strength steel (CFHSS)
structural members shall be investigated.
In the last few years, CFHSS tubular members in compression
have been extensively investigated by numerous researchers, such
as Ma et al. (2016b, 2018), Wang et al. (2017), Lan et al. (2018),
and Fang et al. (2018). The behavior of CFHSS tubular members
under bending was studied by Ma et al. (2016a, 2017b), and the struc-
tural performance under concentrated bearing load was investigated
by Li and Young (2017b, 2018a). However, the combined bending
and bearing behavior remains unexplored for CFHSS with nominal
0.2% proof stress of 700 MPa and higher. In this study, an experi-
mental program on CFHSS tubular structural members under com-
bined bending and bearing is presented. A total of 33 experiments
were undertaken on SHSs and RHSs that had nominal yield strengths
of 700 and 900 MPa. The combined bending and bearing experiments
were carried out under the interior-one-flange (IOF) load case as
specified in the NAS (2016b). Various specimen lengths were tested
to investigate the interaction behavior of bending moment and local-
ized interior bearing load. Finite-element (FE) models were also built
and validated; upon validation, a parametric study was undertaken
thereafter. The results of the experimental and numerical investiga-
tions were compared against the nominal resistances as per the
NAS (2016b) and EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) to assess the suitability
of the codified provisions to CFHSS SHS and RHS members.
Experimental Investigation
General
A test program was undertaken to study CFHSS SHS and RHS
members under bending and bearing. Three types of experiments
were carried out: pure bending tests, pure bearing tests (i.e., pure
web crippling tests), and combined bending and bearing tests.
The SHS/RHS specimens of the aforementioned three types of tests

© ASCE 04019081-1 J. Struct. Eng.

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 Table 1. Mechanical properties obtained from tensile flat and corner coupon tests
Flat coupona Corner couponb
Section (H × B × t) E (GPa) σ0.2 (MPa) σu (MPa) E (GPa) σ0.2 (MPa) σu (MPa)
H80 × 80 × 4 210.9 725 834 214.2 877 945
H160 × 160 × 4 212.4 751 829 216.2 899 992
H50 × 100 × 4 211.3 679 820 207.2 860 932
V100 × 100 × 4 205.3 971 1,079 219.6 1,073 1,175
a
Data from Li and Young (2017b).
b
Data from Li and Young (2018a).
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Table 2. Measured dimensions and test/FE results of pure bending test specimens
M Exp MExp MExp
Specimen H (mm) B (mm) t (mm) r (mm) L (mm) MExp (kN · m) M el M pl MFEA
B-H80 × 80 × 4 80.1 80.1 3.896 4.7 1,390 29.0 1.48 1.24 1.04
B-H160 × 160 × 4 160.1 160.2 3.971 5.1 2,188 87.8 0.96 0.83 0.98
B-H50 × 100 × 4 50.1 100.3 3.931 4.6 1,389 18.0 1.49 1.28 1.07
B-H100 × 50 × 4 100.4 50.0 3.930 4.6 1,389 31.6 1.76 1.39 1.08
B-V100 × 100 × 4 99.9 100.2 3.946 6.8 1,592 51.7 1.22 1.03 1.00
Mean — — — — — — — — 1.04
COV — — — — — — — — 0.043

were from the same batch of tubes, whose material properties were 500 mm, except for Specimen B-H160 × 160 × 4, whose moment
previously discussed by the authors in Li and Young (2017b, span is 600 mm. Steel plates 90 mm wide were positioned between
2018a). The measured static 0.2% proof stresses of SHSs/RHSs the SHS/RHS specimens and the roller/half-round supports to dis-
gained from the tensile flat coupon tests varied between 679 tribute the concentrated loads. To further prevent premature local-
and 971 MPa. Table 1 tabulates the mechanical properties obtained ized failure, wooden blocks were inserted at the two load points
from longitudinal tensile flat and corner coupon tests, namely, and two end supports; stiffening plates were also clamped to the
Young’s moduli (E), static 0.2% proof stresses (σ0.2 ), and static SHS/RHS webs at the load concentration regions. Calibrated linear
tensile strengths (σu ). Details of the material coupon tests can variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) were set at the bottom
be found in Li and Young (2017b, 2018a). flange of the two load points and the specimen midspan. The cur-
vatures of the SHS/RHS specimens were obtained from these
Pure Bending Tests LVDT readings. Compressive loads were imposed on the SHS/RHS
specimens via displacement control through a servo-controlled
Test Specimens hydraulic actuator; the applied load rate was 0.5 mm=min for
The CFHSS SHS/RHS specimens of pure bending series had mea- all tests.
sured web heights H ranging between 50.1 and 160.1 mm, flange
widths B ranging from 50.0 to 160.2 mm, thicknesses t ranging Test Results
between 3.896 and 3.971 mm, and inside corner radii r ranging The moment capacities M Exp obtained from the pure bending ex-
between 4.6 and 6.8 mm. The RHS (i.e., section H50 × 100 × 4) periments are reported in Table 2. The five beam specimens all
was bent about both major and minor axes. The specimen labels, failed within their moment spans, and out-of-plane bending was
shown in Table 2, illustrate the test type, nominal yield strength, not observed during testing. Local buckling of the compression
and cross-sectional dimensions. For instance, the labels B-H100 × flange was observed before the ultimate load of Specimen
50 × 4 and B-V100 × 100 × 4 defined the following specimens: B-H160 × 160 × 4 was achieved. For the other four tests, local
the first letter, B, indicates they were pure bending specimens; buckling did not occur. These four specimens displayed flexural
the second letter indicates the material of the SHS/RHS, where H
and V denote nominal yield strengths (0.2% proof stresses) of 700
and 900 MPa, respectively; the following symbols were the nomi-
nal cross-sectional dimensions, arranged as H × B × t, in milli-
meters. Table 2 presents the measured specimen dimensions of
the pure bending series using the nomenclature displayed in Fig. 1.
Test Setup
Four-point bending tests were conducted to obtain the moment
capacities of the CFHSS SHSs/RHSs under constant bending
moment. This approach has been used by several researchers
(e.g., Jiao and Zhao 2004; Ma et al. 2016a; Wang et al. 2016)
to investigate the flexural behavior of high-strength steel tubular
beams. The test setup used in this study can be found in Fig. 2(a).
Simply supported boundary conditions have been achieved by
Fig. 1. Definition of symbols.
half-round and roller supports. The lengths of moment spans were

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 web crippling load cases in the CFS specifications, i.e., the NAS
(2016b) and AS/NZS (2005), and the specimen lengths were em-
ployed as per the NAS (2016b). The loading or reaction forces were
imposed on the SHSs/RHSs via bearing plates (BPs), and the pure
bearing test program is detailed by Li and Young (2017b). The
measured dimensions and the bearing capacities per web (PExp )
of the IOF specimens of sections H80 × 80 × 4, H160 × 160 × 4,
H50 × 100 × 4, H100 × 50 × 4 and V100 × 100 × 4 are presented
in Table 3. These pure bearing test results were employed in this
study to nondimensionalize the combined bending and bearing
test results, which will be described in the following section of this
paper.
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Combined Bending and Bearing Tests

Fig. 2. Experimental and numerical failure modes for pure bending
Specimen B-V100 × 100 × 4: (a) experimental failure mode; and
(b) numerical failure mode.
behavior at ultimate loads, and inward indentations of the compres-
sion flanges occurred within the moment spans at the postpeak
stage.
The M Exp values were compared against the elastic and plastic
moment capacities, i.e., M el and M pl , as presented in Table 2. The
theoretical Mel and M pl were computed using σ0.2 of the tensile
flat coupons multiplied by the elastic and plastic section moduli,
respectively. The M Exp =M el and M Exp =M pl ratios for Specimen
B-H160 × 160 × 4 were 0.96 and 0.83, respectively. This is owing
to local buckling occurred in the compression flange before
yielding.
Summary of Pure Bearing Tests
Bearing (web crippling) tests of CFHSS SHSs and RHSs were
conducted and previously reported by the authors in Li and Young
(2017b). Pure bearing tests were performed under the four codified
Test Specimens
The measured specimen dimensions of the combined loading series
are reported in Table 4. The test specimens have a measured
H ranging from 50.0 to 160.1 mm, B ranging from 50.0 to
160.3 mm, t ranging from 3.901 to 3.979 mm, and r varying be-
tween 4.6 and 6.8 mm. The h=t ratios ranged between 8.3 and 35.8.
In general, the lengths L of the combined bending and bearing
specimens equaled 2a þ 90 mm, where a is the distance (in milli-
meters) from the support point to the midspan, as illustrated in
Fig. 3. For specimens of the C-H160 × 160 × 4N150 series
(i.e., N ¼ 150 mm), the L were designed to be 2a þ 150 mm to
avoid any possible failure at the end of the specimens. The distance
a was varied to study the interaction relationship between bending
moment and localized interior bearing load; this method was pre-
viously employed by many researchers (e.g., Zhao and Hancock
1991, 1992; Young and Hancock 2000, 2002; Zhou and Young
2007b). The distance a was determined as follows:
M Exp
a¼k ð1Þ
PExp
in which M Exp = moment capacity from four-point bending test;
PExp = experimental bearing (web crippling) capacity per web
under IOF load case of the same SHS/RHS; and k = interaction
factor. The k values were selected to allow the interaction of bend-
ing moment and localized bearing load over a wide range; the se-
lected k values varied between 0.7 and 1.8 in this test program. Test
specimens with lower k values resulted in lower ratios of moment to
localized bearing force, while specimens with higher k values led to
higher ratios of moment to localized bearing force.
The specimens, as shown in Table 4, were labeled so that the test
type, nominal yield strength, cross-sectional dimensions, bearing
length, and interaction factor can be identified. For example, the
label C-H80 × 80 × 4N50-k1.0-R defined the following specimen:
the first letter C indicates it was a combined loading specimen;
the second letter H means the nominal 0.2% proof stress was
700 MPa; the following symbols show that the nominal H × B × t

Table 3. Measured dimensions and experimental results of pure bearing test specimens (Li and Young 2017b)
Specimen H (mm) B (mm) t (mm) r (mm) L (mm) PExp (kN)
IOF-H80 × 80 × 4N90 80.1 80.1 3.900 4.7 510 120.4
IOF-H80 × 80 × 4N50 80.2 80.2 3.899 4.7 390 102.1
IOF-H160 × 160 × 4N150 160.2 160.3 3.969 5.1 930 155.5
IOF-H160 × 160 × 4N90 160.3 160.3 3.985 5.1 751 132.9
IOF-H50 × 100 × 4N50 50.1 100.3 3.969 4.6 300 106.4
IOF-H100 × 50 × 4N50 100.4 50.0 3.917 4.6 450 98.5
IOF-H100 × 50 × 4N30 100.4 50.1 3.928 4.6 389 83.9
IOF-V100 × 100 × 4N50 100.1 99.9 3.964 6.8 450 115.4

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 Table 4. Measured dimensions and test/FE results of combined bending and bearing test specimens
PC;Exp M C;Exp
Specimen H (mm) B (mm) t (mm) r (mm) L (mm) PC;Exp (kN) M C;Exp (kN · m) PC;FEA M C;FEA
C-H80 × 80 × 4N90-k1.0 80.1 80.1 3.922 4.7 572 111.4 26.8 1.00 1.00
C-H80 × 80 × 4N90-k1.3 80.1 80.1 3.925 4.7 717 90.9 28.5 1.02 1.02
C-H80 × 80 × 4N90-k1.8 80.2 80.1 3.919 4.7 957 66.1 28.6 1.01 1.01
C-H80 × 80 × 4N50-k0.7 80.1 80.1 3.949 4.7 488 99.4 19.8 1.00 1.00
C-H80 × 80 × 4N50-k1.0 80.1 80.1 3.901 4.7 658 81.5 23.1 1.02 1.02
C-H80 × 80 × 4N50-k1.0-R 80.1 80.1 3.942 4.7 658 81.1 23.0 1.00 1.00
C-H80 × 80 × 4N50-k1.5 80.1 80.1 3.902 4.7 943 60.3 25.7 1.02 1.02
C-H160 × 160 × 4N150-k0.8 160.1 160.2 3.953 5.1 1,053 144.9 65.4 0.95 0.95
C-H160 × 160 × 4N150-k1.1 160.1 160.1 3.974 5.1 1,392 119.0 73.9 0.93 0.93
C-H160 × 160 × 4N150-k1.6 160.0 160.2 3.970 5.1 1,957 89.7 81.0 0.93 0.93
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C-H160 × 160 × 4N90-k0.7 160.0 160.3 3.979 5.1 1,015 121.6 56.2 0.98 0.98
C-H160 × 160 × 4N90-k1.0 160.0 160.1 3.956 5.1 1,411 97.7 64.5 0.95 0.95
C-H160 × 160 × 4N90-k1.5 160.0 160.2 3.979 5.1 2,072 74.4 73.7 0.94 0.94
C-H50 × 100 × 4N50-k0.9 50.0 100.4 3.944 4.6 395 96.3 14.7 1.10 1.10
C-H50 × 100 × 4N50-k1.2 50.1 100.3 3.958 4.6 496 78.6 15.9 1.11 1.11
C-H50 × 100 × 4N50-k1.7 50.1 100.3 3.932 4.6 665 57.8 16.6 1.09 1.09
C-H100 × 50 × 4N50-k0.7 100.3 50.0 3.948 4.6 539 95.2 21.4 1.01 1.01
C-H100 × 50 × 4N50-k0.7-R 100.4 50.2 3.963 4.6 539 93.7 21.0 0.98 0.98
C-H100 × 50 × 4N50-k1.0 100.3 50.0 3.952 4.6 732 77.9 25.0 0.99 0.99
C-H100 × 50 × 4N50-k1.5 100.3 50.1 3.926 4.6 1,053 57.8 27.8 0.99 0.99
C-H100 × 50 × 4N30-k0.7 100.3 50.1 3.967 4.6 617 77.4 20.4 1.02 1.02
C-H100 × 50 × 4N30-k0.7-R 100.3 50.1 3.940 4.6 617 75.3 19.8 1.00 1.00
C-H100 × 50 × 4N30-k1.0 100.3 50.1 3.926 4.6 843 62.9 23.7 1.02 1.02
C-H100 × 50 × 4N30-k1.0-R 100.3 50.1 3.937 4.6 843 61.3 23.1 0.98 0.98
C-H100 × 50 × 4N30-k1.5 100.3 50.0 3.933 4.6 1,220 46.8 26.4 0.99 0.99
C-V100 × 100 × 4N50-k0.7 100.4 100.0 3.957 6.8 717 95.5 29.9 0.94 0.94
C-V100 × 100 × 4N50-k1.0 100.2 99.9 3.907 6.8 986 77.2 34.6 0.94 0.94
C-V100 × 100 × 4N50-k1.5 100.1 100.1 3.931 6.8 1,434 59.0 39.6 0.95 0.95
Mean — — — — — — — 1.00 1.00
COV — — — — — — — 0.048 0.048

Fig. 3. Specimen length design for combined bending and bearing tests.

dimensions were 80 × 80 × 4 in millimeters; N50 denotes the
bearing length N ¼ 50 mm; k1.0 indicates an interaction factor
of 1.0; the R at the end (if any) indicates that it was a repeated test.
Test Setup
Regarding the combined bending and bearing tests, various speci-
men lengths were employed using the IOF web crippling load case
as per the NAS (2016b) and AS/NZS (2005); the test setup can be
found in Fig. 4(a). It is worth mentioning that this setup is similar to
the three-point bending test setup used by Wang et al. (2016) to
study high-strength steel SHS/RHS beams under a moment gra-
dient. However, the main difference between the three-point bend-
ing test setup and the combined bending and bearing test setup
herein was that the web crippling under concentrated bearing force
was not prevented from buckling at the midspan of the specimen in
combined bending and bearing tests. In the combined bending and
bearing test setup, a BP was employed to transfer the bearing force
to the SHS/RHS members via a half-round at the midspan. Two
steel plates, supported by two rollers, were applied at the specimen
ends to allow symmetric boundary conditions; the width of these

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Fig. 4. Experimental and numerical failure modes for combined bend-
ing and bearing Specimen C-H160 × 160 × 4N90-k1.5: (a) experimen-
tal failure mode; and (b) numerical failure mode.
two plates was 90 mm, except for the specimens of the C-H160 ×
160 × 4N150 series, where 150-mm-width plates were adopted.
Similar to the IOF test setup previously applied by the authors
in Li and Young (2017b), steel stiffening plates were employed
at the specimen ends. Vertical deformations of the SHS/RHS webs
were obtained by LVDT measurements; the maximum lateral web
deformations were captured by employing plastic plates, which
rigidly connected to the LVDTs, as previously applied by Li and
Young (2017b, 2018b). In this study, vertical deflections at the
midspan of the combined bending and bearing specimens were also
measured.
The hydraulic actuator, which was used in the pure bending and
pure bearing tests, was applied in the combined bending and bear-
ing tests herein. Displacement control mode was selected, and the
tests were conducted at a load rate of 0.5 mm/min; this is the same
as the pure bending tests and pure bearing tests.
Test Results
The ultimate loads per web (PC;Exp ) of the combined bending and
bearing specimens are reported in Table 4. Four repeated tests were
undertaken on Specimens C-H80 × 80 × 4N50-k1.0, C-H100 ×
50 × 4N50-k0.7, C-H100 × 50 × 4N30-k0.7, and C-H100 × 50 ×
4N30-k1.0; the repeated test results were close to the first ones,
© ASCE 04019081-5
J. Struct. Eng., 2019, 145(8): 04019081
with differences of 0.4%, 1.7%, 2.9%, and 2.5%, respectively. This
illustrated the reliability of the test results. The experimentally
obtained PC;Exp was utilized to obtain the ultimate moment of
the SHS/RHS specimen using M C;Exp ¼ aPC;Exp ; the ultimate mo-
ments of the combined bending and bearing specimens are pre-
sented in Table 4. Out-of-plane deformation was not observed
during testing for all 28 combined bending and bearing specimens.
Numerical Modeling
General
In parallel to the experimental program, a numerical study was con-
ducted using ABAQUS (2012). Finite-element models were built to
replicate the tests. Upon validation, a parametric study was under-
taken to gain further numerical data on CFHSS SHS and RHS
structural members under combined bending and bearing.
Finite-Element Models
The numerical models were established based on measured speci-
men geometries. The S4R element in ABAQUS (2012) was em-
ployed herein to model the CFHSS SHS/RHS members; this
element has been successfully employed by various researchers
in previous FE modeling of cold-formed sections subject to web
crippling (e.g., Zhou and Young 2007a; Bock et al. 2013; Natário
et al. 2014; Li and Young 2017a, 2018a, c; Yousefi et al. 2018;
Heurkens et al. 2018) and bending (e.g., Theofanous and Gardner
2010; Zhao et al. 2016; Ma et al. 2017b). The applied meshes in the
SHS/RHS flat regions varied between 4 × 4 and 12 × 12 mm,
which depended on the SHS/RHS sizes; finer meshes at the
SHS/RHS corners were adopted to accurately represent the corner
regions. The nonlinearity of the CFHSS materials were incorpo-
rated based on measured engineering stress-strain data gained from
the flat and corner coupon tests; the engineering stress-strain data
were converted to obtain the true stress and true plastic strain re-
lationships prior to being put into the FE models. In this study, the
corner properties were applied to the SHS/RHS corners with a 2t
extension to the adjacent flat portions, as recommended by Gardner
and Nethercot (2004).
The boundary conditions were replicated according to the ex-
periments. With regard to the pure bending tests, the loading points
and supports were modeled using reference points, which were
coupled to the contact surfaces between the specimens and the
90-mm-width load transfer plates. The half-round support was
modeled by restraining the corresponding reference point against
all degrees of freedom (DOFs) except for rotation about the bend-
ing axis, whereas the roller support was simulated by allowing an
extra DOF of longitudinal movement. The loads were imposed by
applying vertical displacements perpendicular to the flanges of the
SHS/RHS specimens to the reference points that modeled the load-
ing points. The FE modeling of the pure bearing tests was previ-
ously reported by the authors in Li and Young (2018a); regarding
the combined bending and bearing modeling, the same technique as
employed by Li and Young (2018a) for the IOF load case was ap-
plied herein. The concentrated bearing forces were transferred to
the SHS/RHS specimens by BPs. The BPs were simulated by dis-
crete, rigid, 3D solid elements. The surface interactions of the BPs
and the SHS/RHS specimens were defined using contact pairs. A
“hard” contact was used in the normal direction, and a penalty con-
tact with a 0.4 friction coefficient was used in the tangential direc-
tion. The loads were imposed by applying displacements to the
BPs, which is the same as the experiments using displacement
control.
J. Struct. Eng.
 40 160

Moment (kN·m)
30 120
k1.0

Load (kN)
20 80 k1.3

k1.8

10 40
Test Tests
FEA FEA
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0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8
Curvature (10-4 mm-1) Vertical deformation (mm)

Fig. 5. Experimental and numerical moment-curvature curves for pure Fig. 6. Experimental and numerical load-web vertical deformation
bending Specimen B-H80 × 80 × 4. curves for combined bending and bearing Specimens C-H80 × 80 ×
4N90-k1.0, C-H80 × 80 × 4N90-k1.3, and C-H80 × 80 × 4N90-k1.8.

Validation of Finite-Element Models

160
The developed numerical models were validated by experiments.
For the CFHSS SHS/RHS specimens under pure bending, the mo-
ment capacities obtained experimentally (M Exp ) and numerically
120
(MFEA ) were compared and shown in Table 2; the mean ratio of
k1.0
M Exp =M FEA equaled 1.04 and the corresponding coefficient of
variation (COV) was 0.043. The failure modes and moment- Load (kN) k1.3
curvature curves derived from the FE analyses were also compared 80
to their experimental counterparts; the typical comparisons are k1.8
illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. It is shown that the FE model for beams
can replicate accurately the experimental ultimate moments, failure 40
modes, and moment-curvature histories of the pure bending tests. Tests
Numerical validation for IOF specimens undergoing pure web FEA
crippling was performed and has been reported by Li and Young 0
(2018a). Regarding the CFHSS SHS/RHS members under com- 0 5 10 15 20 25
bined bending and bearing, the validation is carried out herein; Midspan deflection (mm)
the ultimate loads per web (PC;FEA ) and ultimate moments (M C;FEA )
predicted by the FE analyses were compared to their experimental Fig. 7. Experimental and numerical load-midspan deflection curves for
counterparts PC;Exp and M C;Exp . The mean ratio of PC;Exp =PC;FEA combined bending and bearing Specimens C-H80 × 80 × 4N90-k1.0,
(and M C;Exp =M C;FEA ) was 1.00 and the COV was 0.048, as shown C-H80 × 80 × 4N90-k1.3, and C-H80 × 80 × 4N90-k1.8.
in Table 4. Typical numerical failure mode, load-web deformation
curves, and load-midspan deflection curves derived from FE analy-
sis were compared to their corresponding experimental ones, as either N ¼ B or N ¼ 0.5B. The N=t ratios ranged between 9.4
illustrated in Figs. 4, 6, and 7, respectively. It is revealed that and 110.0 and the N=h ratios varied between 0.3 and 1.4. In total,
the developed FE model for combined bending and bearing suc- 18 parametric specimens were modeled under pure bending and
cessfully captured the ultimate loads per web, ultimate moments, 188 results were generated for specimens under combined bending
failure modes, load-web deformation, and load-midspan deflection and bearing.
histories and therefore is deemed suitable for use in parametric
study.
Comparison of Test and Numerical Results with
Parametric Study Current Design Provisions

After validation of the numerical models, a parametric study was

undertaken to obtain further numerical data. Like the testing pro-
gram, the nominal yield strengths of the SHS/RHS members were
700 MPa for the H series and 900 MPa for the V series herein; the
measured properties obtained from material tests of Sections
H160 × 160 × 4 and V100 × 100 × 4 were applied for the H and
V series, respectively. An extensive range of tubular sections, in-
cluding 10 SHSs and 8 RHSs, was studied. These SHS/RHS mem-
bers had H ranging between 150 and 400 mm, t ranging between
2 and 8 mm, and h=t ratios ranging from 13.8 to 106.0. The bearing
length N varied between 75 and 220 mm and was chosen to be
Pure Bending
The moment capacities M u gained from the test and FE programs
were compared with nominal moment resistances obtained as per
the NAS (2016b) (M NAS and M NAS;IR ) and EN 1993-1-1 (CEN
2014) (MEC3 ), as shown in Table 5 and Fig. 8. The nominal moment
resistances computed as per the NAS (2016b) were based on a di-
rect strength method, which was incorporated into the main body of
the latest 2016 edition of the specification; the MNAS;IR and M NAS
stand for the moment resistances with and without inelastic re-
serve consideration, respectively. Compared to MNAS , the inelastic

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J. Struct. Eng., 2019, 145(8): 04019081

 Table 5. Comparison of pure bending test and FE results with predicted Table 6. Comparison of pure bearing test and FE results with predicted
nominal resistances nominal resistances
Mu Mu Mu Pu Pu Pu
Evaluation parameter M NAS MNAS;IR MEC3 Evaluation parameter PNAS PEC3 PL&Y
Mean 1.22 1.19 1.14 Mean 0.76 1.76 1.07
COV 0.149 0.114 0.087 COV 0.111 0.098 0.099
Note: Number of tests: 5; and number of FE simulations: 18. Note: Number of tests: 8 (data from Li and Young 2017b); and number of
FE simulations: 36 (data from Li and Young 2018a).

1200

1000
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1000

800
800
Mu (kN)

600 600

Pu (kN)
400
400

200 NAS
NAS,IR
EC3
0 EC3
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Mpred (kN)
Fig. 8. Comparison of pure bending test and FE results with NAS and
EC3 resistance predictions.
reserve moment resistances MNAS;IR were closer to M u by 3% on
average, which is due to the fact that the M NAS;IR were more
accurate than the M NAS for the SHS/RHS specimens with low slen-
derness values. It is shown that the M EC3 provided better predic-
tions than M NAS and M NAS;IR , and the mean ratio of M u =M EC3 was
1.14, with a corresponding COV of 0.087.
Pure Bearing
To investigate the CFHSS SHS/RHS members under combined
bending and bearing, pure bearing (web crippling) endpoints in the
interaction curves are needed. The bearing capacities per web Pu
obtained from the experimental (Li and Young 2017b) and numeri-
cal (Li and Young 2018a) studies were compared to the codified
nominal bearing resistances. It was demonstrated that the NAS
(2016b) bearing provisions were generally unconservative for
the CFHSS SHS/RHS specimens, while the EN 1993-1-3 (CEN
2006) predictions were overly conservative; therefore, improved
design rules were proposed for CFHSS SHS/RHS members under-
going pure bearing, as detailed in Li and Young (2018a). The Pu
of the IOF specimens, which are required in this study to nondi-
mensionalize the combined bending and bearing capacities, were
compared against the nominal resistances per web based on the
NAS (2016b) (PNAS ), EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) (PEC3 ), and Li
and Young (2018a) (PL&Y ) provisions, as shown in Table 6 and
Fig. 9; the PNAS , PEC3 , and PL&Y were computed using the tensile
flat material properties. It is shown that the PL&Y , which was pro-
posed based on modification of the NAS (2016b) design rules,
provided much-improved predictions over the current codified
provisions.
200
NAS
Li and Young (2018a)
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Ppred (kN)
Fig. 9. Comparison of pure bearing test (data from Li and Young
2017b) and FE (data from Li and Young 2018a) results with nominal
resistances predicted by NAS, EC3, and Li and Young (2018a).
Combined Bending and Bearing
The ultimate capacities obtained from the combined bending and
bearing specimens were compared against the nominal resistances
calculated as per the NAS (2016b) and EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006).
The bending and bearing interaction equation in the NAS (2016b)
is given as follows:
   
PC MC
0.91 þ ≤ 1.33 ð2Þ
PNAS M NAS
in which PC = maximum concentrated interior bearing load per
web in presence of bending moment; M C = maximum bending mo-
ment of SHS/RHS; PNAS = nominal bearing resistance per web by
NAS (2016b) (i.e., nominal web crippling resistance per web from
IOF load case); and M NAS = nominal moment resistance of SHSs/
RHSs determined according to NAS (2016b).
In the test/FE results, PC and MC were nondimensionalized
with respect to the nominal bearing resistances per web (PNAS )
and the nominal moment resistances (MNAS or M NAS;IR ); the com-
parisons with the NAS (2016b) interaction curve are shown in
Figs. 10(a and b). Overall, the nominal resistances predicted by
the NAS (2016b) were generally conservative for the CFHSS
SHS/RHS members. It is shown that using M NAS rather than
M NAS;IR as the pure bending endpoints in the interaction curves
were able to give more conservative predictions. On the other hand,
very limited data in Figs. 10(a and b) were found to have PC =PNAS
values greater than 0.8; this is due to the PNAS predicted by the

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J. Struct. Eng., 2019, 145(8): 04019081

 1.6 1.6

1.4 1.4

1.2 1.2

1.0 1.0

MC /MNAS,IR
MC /MNAS
0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4
H series H series
0.2 V series 0.2 V series
NAS NAS
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0.0 0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
(a) PC / PNAS (b) PC / PNAS

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0
MC /MEC3

0.8

0.6

0.4
H series
0.2 V series
EC3
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2
(c) PC / PEC3

Fig. 10. Comparison of combined bending and bearing test and FE capacities with nominal design resistances: (a) nondimensionalized with respect
to PNAS and M NAS ; (b) nondimensionalized with respect to PNAS and MNAS;IR ; and (c) nondimensionalized with respect to PEC3 and MEC3 .

NAS (2016b) for the CFHSS SHS/RHS were generally unconser- (2016b) and EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) can therefore be expressed
vative, as shown in Table 6. as Eqs. (4) and (5), respectively:
The obtained combined bending and bearing results were com-    
pared to the nominal resistances calculated using EN 1993-1-3 P MC
0.91 C þ ≤ 1.33 ð4Þ
(CEN 2006). The bending and bearing interaction equation in Pu Mu
EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) is as follows:
   
    PC MC
PC MC þ ≤ 1.25 ð5Þ
þ ≤ 1.25 ð3Þ Pu Mu
PEC3 M EC3
PC =Pu and M C =M u are plotted in Fig. 11 with the codified in-
The PC and M C were nondimensionalized with respect to the teraction curves. As illustrated by Fig. 11, the interaction curves in
nominal bearing resistances per web PEC3 and the nominal moment the NAS (2016b) and EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) were generally
resistances M EC3 ; comparisons with EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) in- conservative, although they might have slightly overestimated
teraction curve are depicted in Fig. 10(c), where great conservatism the strengths of specimens with high moment-to-concentrated load
of the predictions can be observed. The excessive conservatism ratios. Overall, the codified interaction equations are deemed ap-
of the EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) predictions are mainly due to propriate for the CFHSS SHS/RHS members under combined
the overly pessimistic predictions of the PEC3 , as demonstrated bending and bearing.
in Table 6. Furthermore, as shown in Table 6 and Fig. 9, the PL&Y provided
Moreover, the experimentally and numerically derived PC and improved pure bearing predictions over the codified provisions. In
M C were also nondimensionalized with respect to the correspond- this study, the PC were also nondimensionalized with respect to the
ing Pu and Mu obtained from the pure bearing and pure bending PL&Y ; the comparisons with the NAS (2016b) and EN 1993-1-3
specimens; this is to appraise the appropriateness of the NAS (CEN 2006) interaction curves using PL&Y as pure bearing end-
(2016b) and EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) interaction coefficients points in the interaction curves are shown in Fig. 12, in which
for CFHSS SHSs and RHSs. The interaction equations in NAS the vertical axes are still the ratios MC =M NAS , M C =M NAS;IR , or

© ASCE 04019081-8 J. Struct. Eng.

J. Struct. Eng., 2019, 145(8): 04019081

 M C =M EC3 as their counterparts in Fig. 10, but the horizontal axes Li and Young (2018a) as the bearing endpoints. Hence, improved
are changed into PC =PL&Y . It is demonstrated that the NAS design rules for CFHSS SHS/RHS structural members under com-
(2016b) and EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006) provided more accurate bined bending and bearing can be sought through the adoption of
predictions when using the bearing strengths predicted by the PL&Y as the bearing endpoints in the interaction curves.

1.6 Conclusions
1.4
In this article, the design of cold-formed high-strength steel
1.2
(CFHSS) tubular structural members under combined bending
and bearing was appraised. A total of 33 new experiments were
1.0 undertaken on cold-formed square and rectangular hollow sections
(SHS and RHS) of high-strength steel with measured 0.2% proof
MC /Mu
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0.8 stresses ranging from 679 to 971 MPa. The combined bending and
bearing tests were carried out using the IOF web crippling load case
0.6 as per the NAS (2016b). The specimens were tested at different
lengths, and various bending moment-to-concentrated bearing load
0.4 H series ratios were achieved. Finite-element models were built and vali-
V series dated by the experiments; a parametric study was performed there-
0.2 NAS
EC3 after, and 188 parametric results were generated for specimens
0.0 under combined bending and bearing.
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 The experimentally and numerically obtained results were
PC / Pu compared against the nominal resistances predicted by the NAS
(2016b) and EN 1993-1-3 (CEN 2006). It was demonstrated
Fig. 11. Comparison of combined bending and bearing test and FE
that the combined bending and bearing resistances calculated
capacities with NAS and EC3 interaction curves.
from the NAS (2016b) were generally conservative for the CFHSS

1.6 1.6

1.4 1.4

1.2 1.2

1.0 1.0
MC /MNAS,IR
MC /MNAS

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4
H series H series
0.2 V series 0.2 V series
NAS NAS
0.0 0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
(a) PC / PL&Y (b) PC / PL&Y

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0
MC /MEC3

0.8

0.6

0.4
H series
0.2 V series
EC3
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
(c) PC / PL&Y
Fig. 12. Comparison of combined bending and bearing test and FE capacities with nominal design resistances: (a) nondimensionalized with respect
to PL&Y and MNAS ; (b) nondimensionalized with respect to PL&Y and MNAS;IR ; and (c) nondimensionalized with respect to PL&Y and MEC3 .

© ASCE 04019081-9 J. Struct. Eng.

J. Struct. Eng., 2019, 145(8): 04019081

 SHS/RHS members, and the predictions by EN 1993-1-3 (CEN
2006) were overly conservative. It was illustrated that the codified
interaction equations can be used for CFHSS SHS/RHS members
under combined bending and bearing, while improved predictions
can be achieved through the adoption of PL&Y as pure bearing end-
points in interaction curves.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Rautaruukki Corporation for provid-
ing the test specimens. The research work described in this paper
was supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of
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the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project
No. 17209614).
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