Design Equations Page 1 of 7

International Codes

British Codes - Design Per British Cold Formed Steel Code

2E.4 Design Equations

Tensile Strength

The allowable tensile strength, as calculated in STAAD as per BS5950-5, section 7 is

described below.

The tensile strength, P t of the member should be determined from clause 7.2.1

Where

Ae is the net area An determined in accordance with cl.3.5.4

py is the design strength

Combined bending and tension

As per clause 7.3 of BS 5950-5:1998 members subjected to both axial tension and
bending should be proportioned such that the following relationships are satisfied at the
ultimate limit state

And

and

1
Where

Ft is the applies tensile strength

Pt is the tensile capacity determined in accordance with clause 7.2.1 of the subject
code
M z ,M y ,M cz ,M cy are as defined in clause 6.4.2 of the subject code

Compressive Strength

The allowable Compressive strength, as calculated in STAAD as per BS5950-5, section 6

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is described below.

For sections symmetrical about both principal axes orclosed cross-sections which are not
subjected to torsionalflexural buckling, the buckling resistance under axial load, Pc, may
be obtained from the following equation as per clause 6.2.3 of the subject code

For Sections symmetrical about a single axis and which are not subject to torsional
flexural buckling, the buckling resistance under axial load, Pc, may be obtained from the
following equation as per clause 6.2.4 of the subject code

Where the meanings of the symbols used are indicated in the subject clauses.

Torsional flexural buckling

Design of the memberswhich have at least one axis of symmetry, and which are subject to
torsional flexural buckling should be done according to the stipulations of the clause
6.3.2 using factored slenderness ratio aL E /r in place of actual slenderness ratio while
reading Table 10 for the value of Compressive strength(p c ).

Where

= 1 , otherwise

Where the meanings of the symbols used are indicated in the subject clause.

Combined bending and compression

Members subjected to both axial compression and bending should be checked for local
capacity and overall buckling

Local capacity check as per clause 6.4.2 of the subject code

Overall buckling check as per clause 6.4.3 of the subject code

For Beams not subjected to lateral buckling, the following relationship should be satisfied

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For Beams subjected to lateral buckling, the following relationship should be satisfied

Fc is the applied axial load

P cs is the short strut capacity as per clause 6.2.3
Mz is the applied bending moment about z axis
My is the applied bending moment about y axis
M cz is the moment capacity in bending about the local Z axis in the absence of F c and
M y , as per clause 5.2.2 and 5.6
M cy is the moment capacity in bending about the local Y axis, in the absence of F c
and M z ,as per clause 5.2.2 and 5.6

Mb is the lateral buckling resistance moment as per clause 5.6.2

P Ez is the flexural buckling load in compression for bending about the local Z axis
P Ey is the flexural buckling load in compression for bending about the local Y axis
C bz ,C by are taken as unity unless their values are specified by the user

The Mcz, Mcy and Mb are calculated from clause numbers 5.2.2 and 5.6 in the manner
described hereinbelow.

Calculation of moment capacities

For restrained beams, the applied moment based on factored loads should not be greater
then the bending moment resistance of the section, M c

Mcz = SzzX po
Mcy = Syy X po

Where
M cz is the Moment resistance of the section in z axis
M cz is the Moment resistance of the section in z axis
po is the limiting stress for bending elements under stress gradient and should not
greater then design strength p y
For unrestrained beams the applied moment based on factored loads should not be greater

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than the smaller of the bending moment resistance of the section , M c , and the buckling
resistance moment of the beam, M b

Then buckling resistance moment, M b, may be calculated as follows

MY is the yield moment of the section , product of design strength p y and elastic
modules of the gross section with respect to the compression flange Zc
ME is the elastic lateral buckling resistance as per clause 5.6.2.2

η is the Perry coefficient

Please refer clause numbers 5.2.2 and 5.6 of the subject code for a detailed discussion
regarding the parameters used in the abovementioned equations.

Shear Strength

The maximum shear stress should not be greater then 0.7 ´ p y as per clause 5.4.2

The average shear stress should not exceed the lesser of the shear yield strength, p v or the
shear buckling strength, q cr as stipulated in clause 5.4.3 of the subject code.

The parameters are calculated as follows :-

pv = 0.6 X p y

Pv= A*Min(pv,qcr)

Where

Pv is the shear capacity in N/mm^2

py is the design strength in N/mm^2
t is the web thickness in mm
D is the web depth in mm

Combined bending and Shear

For beam webs subjected to both bending and shear stresses the member should be
designed to satisfy the following relationship as per the stipulations of clause 5.5.2 of the
subject code

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Where

Fv is the shear force

M is the bending moment acting at the same section as F v
Mc is the moment capacity determined in accordance with 5.2.2

The next table contains the input parameters for specifying values of design variables and selection of
design options.

BRITISH COLD FORMED STEEL DESIGN PARAMETERS

Parameter Name Default Value Description

BEAM 1.0 When this parameter is set

to 1.0 (default), the
adequacy of the member
is determined by checking
a total of 13 equally
spaced locations along the
length of the member. If
the BEAM value is 0.0, the
13 location check is not
conducted, and instead,
checking is done only at
the locations specified by
the SECTION command
(See STAAD manual for
details. For TRUSS
members only start and
end locations are
designed.
CMZ 1.0 Coefficient of equivalent
uniform bending Cb. See
BS:5950-5:1998,5.6. Used
for Combined axial load
and bending design.
CMY 1.0 Coefficient of equivalent
uniform bending Cb. See
BS:5950-5:1998,5.6. Used
for Combined axial load

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and bending design.

CWY 1.0 Specifies whether the cold
work of forming
strengthening effect
should be included in
resistance computation.
See BS:5950-5:1998,3.4
Values: 0 – effect should
not be included
1 – effect should
be included
FLX 1 Specifies whether
torsional-flexural buckling
restraint is provided or is
not necessary for the
member. See BS:5950-
5:1998, 5.6
Values:
0 – Section not subject to
torsional flexural
buckling
1 – Section subject to
torsional flexural buckling
FU 430 MPa Ultimate tensile strength of
steel in current units.
FYLD 250 Yield strength of steel in current units.
MPa

KX 1.0 Effective length factor for torsional buckling. It is a fraction

and is unit-less. Values can range from 0.01 (for a column
completely prevented from buckling) to any user specified
large value. It is used to compute the KL/R ratio for twisting
for determining the capacity in axial compression.

KY 1.0 Effective length factor for overall buckling about the local Y-
axis. It is a fraction and is unit-less. Values can range from
0.01 (for a column completely prevented from buckling) to any
user specified large value. It is used to compute the KL/R
ratio for determining the capacity in axial compression.

KZ 1.0 Effective length factor for overall buckling in the local Z-axis. It
is a fraction and is unit-less. Values can range from 0.01 (for
a member completely prevented from buckling) to any user
specified large value. It is used to compute the KL/R ratio for
determining the capacity in axial compression.

LX Member Unbraced length for twisting. It is input in the current units of

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length length. Values can range from 0.01 (for a member completely
prevented from torsional buckling) to any user specified large
value. It is used to compute the KL/R ratio for twisting for
determining the capacity in axial compression.
LY Member Effective length for overall buckling in the local Y-axis. It is
length input in the current units of length. Values can range from
0.01 (for a member completely prevented from buckling) to
any user specified large value. It is used to compute the KL/R
ratio for determining the capacity in axial compression.

LZ Member Effective length for overall buckling in the local Z-axis. It is

length input in the current units of length. Values can range from
0.01 (for a member completely prevented from buckling) to
any user specified large value. It is used to compute the KL/R
ratio for determining the capacity in axial compression.

MAIN 0 0 – Check slenderness ratio

0 – Do not check slenderness ratio
NSF 1.0 Net section factor for tension members
2540.0
Maximum allowable depth. It is input in the current units of
DMAX cm.
length.
RATIO 1.0 Permissible ratio of actual to allowable stresses
0 This parameter is used to control the level of detail in which
TRACK
the design output is reported in the output file. The allowable
values are:

0 - Prints only the member number, section name, ratio, and

PASS/FAIL status.
1 - Prints the design summary in addition to that printed by
TRACK 1
2 - Prints member and material properties in addition to that
printed by TRACK 2.

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