Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730

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Journal of Constructional Steel Research

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Cold-formed steel square hollow members with circular perforations

subjected to torsion
Sanasam Vipej Devi, Tekcham Gishan Singh, Konjengbam Darunkumar Singh*
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper describes an experimental and numerical investigation on torsional behaviour of unperforated
Received 5 April 2019 and perforated cold-formed steel hollow section members. The material characteristics and torsional
Received in revised form performance of YSt-310 cold-formed steel square hollow section members (conforming to Indian Standard
29 July 2019
4923), were initially studied, experimentally. Effects of size, number, and position of circular perforation on
Accepted 8 August 2019
Available online 20 August 2019
member torsional strength were investigated using validated finite element models, via Abaqus. Addi-
tionally, using the FE analysis results, design equations were proposed in Eurocode (EN), Direct Strength
Method (DSM) and Deformation Based Method (DBM) formats; for unperforated square hollow section
Keywords:
Torsion
members. The approach is then extended for perforated cases, having circular single and double perfora-
Square hollow section tions, using suitable reduction factors, considering effects of both cross-sectional slenderness and perfo-
YSt-310 steel ration size. The proposed design equations were assessed through reliability analysis and were found to be
Cold-formed steel safe for design of cold-formed square hollow sections under torsion.
Circular perforation © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction introduction of perforation can lead to adverse effects on the failure

Steel hollow/tubular members have long been used by archi-
tects and engineers because of their various advantages over open
sections viz. high torsional rigidity, low drag coefficient, reduced
protection requirement, usable internal space, inherent aesthetic
appearance etc. [1]. Because of their high torsional rigidity, steel
tubular members are particularly suitable to be used as efficient
torsional members. Thin-walled hollow sections used in con-
struction industries are manufactured commonly either by hot-
rolling or cold-forming. Cold-forming process (either by press-
braking or cold-rolling) is known to enhance mechanical proper-
ties such as yield stress and tensile strength, but reduces ductility
[2,3], hence can significantly affect the structural response under
various loading conditions. Such effects of cold-forming on material
response have been addressed by various researchers over the last
few decades (e.g. [2,4e6]). However, unlike compression and
bending, limited studies have been reported on the behaviour of
cold-formed steel hollow members under torsion.
Very often, in structures like girders, perforations (cut-outs or
holes) are introduced for various requirements such as mainte-
nance of building services, aesthetics, attachment of secondary
members etc., apart from enhancing strength/weight ratio. But, the
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: darun@iitg.ac.in (K.D. Singh).
mechanism and structural capacity [7,8]. Elastic buckling of steel
plates and members with perforation, under in-plane shear loading
have been investigated by various researchers [9e12]. Narayanan
and Avanessian [10] carried out elastic buckling analysis for cen-
trally perforated (circular and square shaped perforations) square
and rectangular plates under shear loading, subjected to different
boundary conditions. Effects of eccentrically placed holes on shear
buckling coefficient were also studied and approximate equations
of shear buckling coefficient were proposed. Pellegrino et al. [13]
studied the effects of perforation size, position, plate slenderness
etc. on the elastic and plastic behaviours of hot-rolled carbon steel
square and rectangular plates under shear loading. Wanniarachchi
et al. [14] investigated the shear behaviour of lipped channel beams
with non-circular (square, rectangular, elliptical) web perforations.
Available shear design equations for perforated beams in literature
were checked and new design equations were proposed. Design
equations based on relatively newer approach such as Direct
Strength Method (DSM) for channel sections with perforations in
shear were developed by [14,15]. However, it may be noted that, the
above mentioned studies are based mainly on plates and open
section members. Limited torsional studies on perforated hollow
(or closed) sections were reported in literature, such as Ridley-Ellis
[7]. Ridley-Ellis [7] reported investigations of perforated hot-rolled
and cold-formed steel under torsion considering central circular
perforation at member mid-length. Ridley-Ellis [7] also provided
design recommendations for perforated hot-finished rectangular

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2019.105730
0143-974X/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730
hollow section members.
In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate
torsional behaviour of square hollow section (SHS) members with
circular perforations, usingYSt-310 (with a minimum yield stress of
310 MPa and tensile stress of 450 MPa [17]) cold-formed steel tubular
members, which is one of the most widely adopted constructional
steels in India. The steel tubular members, considered in this study,
were manufactured by Tata Steel [16], under brand name Tata Struc-
tura. The effects of perforation parameters such as number, size and
position on torsional capacity of SHS members were studied. Firstly,
an experimental programme was carried out with an aim of investi-
gating the material characteristics and torsional performance of both
unperforated and perforated YSt-310 cold-formed SHS members. This
was followed by a parametric study using validated finite element
(FE) models, through a commercial software, Abaqus [18], thus
expanding the data set, to cover a wide range of cross section slen-
derness and perforation parameters. Finally, using both the test and
FE results, design equations to predict torsional capacity of unperfo-
rated and perforated cold-formed SHS members were proposed. The
reliability of the proposed design equations were then assessed
through statistical analysis as per AISI [37].
2. Experimental investigation
A series of experimental investigation was carried out on YSt-
310 cold-formed steel thin-walled SHS members, consisting of
tensile coupon tests, metallographic examination and microhard-
ness tests of the material and member test subjected to uniform
torsion. The details of the test programme, instruments employed
and procedure adopted in the present study are provided in the
subsequent sections.
2.1. Tensile test
Square hollow section (SHS) having width (B) and thickness (t)
of 60 mm and 3.2 mm respectively (designated herein as SHS
60
60
3.2), of Grade YSt-310 cold-formed steel manufactured
by Tata Steel [16] was considered for the present work (refer [19] for
chemical composition). A typical SHS cross section geometry is
shown in Fig. 1. Tensile coupon specimens were extracted from flat
and corner regions with dimensions conforming to ASTM [20].
Wire cut EDM was used to cut the coupon specimens. The coupons
were then tested by using a universal testing machine (UTM)
having a maximum capacity of 250 kN. A similar test procedure
described in Singh and Singh [19] was adopted, for the tensile
coupon tests. The resulting stress-strain curves for flat and corner
coupons are presented in Fig. 2 (‘- f ‘and ‘- c’ indicate flat and corner
coupons respectively). Enhanced yield and ultimate strengths of
corner coupon (along with reduced ductility) are evident, similar to
those reported in [2,19,21]. Table 1 summarises basic material
properties obtained from the test, such as Young's modulus (E),
0.05% proof stress (s0.05), 0.2% proof stress (s0.2), 1.0% proof stress
(s1.0), ultimate stress (su) and percentage elongation at fracture (εf).
These material properties obtained from the test were further
Fig. 1. Typical cross section geometry of SHS member.
Fig. 2. Stress-strain curve of flat and corner coupons.
employed in FE models for parametric study and also for design
calculations.
2.2. Member test
A total of four SHS members, each having 600 mm length, were
cut from a parent 5 m long commercially available YSt-310 cold-
formed steel section SHS 60
60
3.2. Among the four SHSs, two
members were perforated, with two opposite central circular per-
forations of diameter (ddp) 25 mm at mid-length (denoted by SHS
60
60
3.2 - ddp25e1 and SHS 60
60
3.2 - ddp25e2). The
circular perforations were made using an approximately 25.0 mm
drill bit, resulting in 25 mm perforation diameters. The remaining
two unperforated members are represented as SHS 60
60
3.2e1
and SHS 60
60
3.2e2. It may be noted that the suffices 1
and 2 in the nomenclature refer to the similar member type (i.e.
same cross-section and member length). They were tested to verify
the repeatability of the test results. The key geometric dimensions
of the test specimens are provided in Table 2.
For torsion testing, the ends of the prepared specimens were
inserted with a solid metal block of suitable size to avoid local
buckling in the interior of supports and then inserted into end-
fixtures (for a depth of 72.5 mm) to ensure support fixity (see
Fig. 3). The end-fixtures also help in mounting the specimen on the
torsion testing machine. Additional end fixity of member was
ensured by tightening the member with bolts to avoid possible slip
during loading. A clear length of ~455 mm is then available to test
specimens for free twisting.
A servo hydraulic torsion testing machine equipped with a load
cell of torque capacity 10,000 Nm and one rotating actuator having
a stroke of ±50 degrees were used for member testing. The data
generated during the test were recorded using a data acquisition
system, housed in the digitally controlled machine controller. One
end of the testing rig was held fixed while the other end was free to
rotate. The rate of rotation was maintained at ~ 9.68
104 rad/s, in
agreement to the rate reported in literature [7]. All specimens were
loaded up to failure or up to the rotating actuator torque limit,
whichever reached earlier. Torque (T) - twist (q) responses obtained
from experimental tests are shown in Fig. 4 and corresponding
ultimate torque values of the test specimens are provided in
Table 2. It can be seen that, the results for both unperforated and
perforated specimens show close match with the corresponding
repeat tests, thus confirming repeatability of the tests. In the pre-
sent study, limited number of specimens was tested due to certain
constraints associated with the test program. However, the exper-
imental results were considered sufficient for validating FE models.
2.3. Metallographic examination
Microstructures of undeformed and deformed (twisted) mem-
bers were examined using an optical microscope (following the
procedure detailed in Singh and Singh [19]) and a comparison was
 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730 3

Table 1
Tensile test result on SHS YSt 310 flat and corner coupons.

Section E (GPa) s0.05 (MPa) s0.2 (MPa) s1.0 (MPa) su (MPa) εf (%)

SHS 60
60
3.2 - f 195.5 387 412 429 452 17.01

SHS 60
60
3.2 - c 184.3 420 582 640 645 3.73

made. Since, deformation was observed to be localised at mid-
length of unperforated member or at the periphery of perfora-
tion, in case of the perforated member (see Section 2.2), the spec-
imens for metallographic examination were cut transversely at
mid-length, using a wire cut EDM. A total of three metallographic
specimens were extracted, each from undeformed, deformed
unperforated and deformed perforated members. Moreover, only a
quarter of the cross-section was considered due to symmetry of the
cross-section along both axes (see Fig. 5). The metallographic
specimens were mounted on resin for easy handling in polishing as
well as to furnish an even flat surface. The intended plane of ex-
amination was grounded on a series of water lubricated silicon
carbide paper having grid size ranging from 100 to 2000, and then
polished using 50 nm aluminium oxide abrasive. The polished
surfaces were finally etched using Nital solution. A typical spec-
imen extracted from undeformed cross-section is shown in Fig. 5
along with the locations considered for metallographic examina-
tion i.e., (a) and (d) at mid-width of section, whereas, (d) is near
perforation in case of a perforated member; (b) at inner face of
corner region and (c) at outer face of corner region. Microstructures
of specimens extracted from undeformed, deformed unperforated
and deformed perforated members, observed under optical mi-
croscope are shown in Figs. 6e8 respectively. It was observed that
there is no appreciable change in the morphology of grains in the
flat region of the cross section (at (a) and (d)) for all three cross-
sections. However, the grains in the corner region of both
deformed unperforated and deformed perforated members were
found to be more elongated as compared to the parent undeformed
cross-section (as shown in Figs. 6e8).
2.4. Microhardness
In order to measure the extent of material yielding due to the
applied twisting moment, surface microhardness was measured us-
ing Vickers Hardness Tester. The microhardness test was carried out
on the same samples which were used for microstructure examina-
tion, following a standard procedure of loading for 15 s at 4.905 N
(500 g) with a diamond pyramidal indenter on the surface of exam-
ination (similar to the test procedure reported by Singh and Singh
[19]). A typical indentation made on the surface of examination can be
seen in Fig. 9. The diagonals of the indent were measured manually
and hardness values (Hv) were generated. Five random hardness
values were measured at each of the three different locations (A, B and
C in Fig. 10), where B is in the corner region; A and C are positioned at
mid widths of the SHS cross section (with A near perforation in case of
a perforated member). The mean of five hardness values are then
plotted in Fig. 10 for all three different cross-sections tested. Three
distinct features were observed from the examination. First, the mean
microhardness values of both the deformed perforated and the
deformed unperforated sections are found to be higher than that of
the parent undeformed section. Secondly, the mean microhardness
values measured at A and C of the unperforated deformed section
were found to be similar, which implies similar material deformation/
stress distribution at these locations, under torsional loading. The
corresponding hardness values of deformed material at the three
different locations are observed to be higher than that of the unde-
formed parent material by ~10%. Also, the mean microhardness value
measured near the edge of circular perforation (A) was observed to be
higher than that of mid-width corresponding to unperforated face (C),
for deformed perforated section.
3. Numerical modelling
The present experimental investigation was supplemented by
numerical analysis, using the most commonly adopted commercial
FE software, Abaqus [18]. FE models were developed and validated
against the experimental results described in Section 2 and from
literature [7]. Upon validation, parametric study was performed to
explore the effects of perforation size, number and position on the
performance of cold-formed steel hollow members under torsion.
In the following subsequent subsections, key assumptions consid-
ered for developing FE models, and validation against the test re-
sults are presented.
3.1. Geometry, boundary condition and loading protocols
The cross-sectional dimensions of SHS members from the pre-
sent test programme as well as those reported by Ridley-Ellis [7]

Table 2
Details of test specimens, experimental and FE results of SHS members used for validation.

Section B (mm) H (mm) t (mm) dsp (mm) ddp (mm) Tu (kNm)

Experiment FE

SHS 60
60
3.2e1 60 60 3.2 e e 5.36 5.24

SHS 60
60
3.2e2 60 60 3.2 e e 5.38
SHS 60
60
3.2 - ddp25e1 60 60 3.2 e 25 4.04 4.13
SHS 60
60
3.2 - ddp25e2 60 60 3.2 e 25 4.03
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dp5e1# 38 38 1.43 5 e 0.81 0.82
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dp5e2# 38 38 1.43 5 e 0.81
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dp10e1# 38 38 1.43 10 e 0.76 0.79
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dp10e2# 38 38 1.43 10 e 0.77
RHS 200
100
8 - dp165# (TT6) 197.5 99.5 7.79 165 e 20.8 28.3
RHS 200
100
8 - dp165# (TT12) 199 100 7.93 165 e 26.4 31.9
RHS 150
150
6.3 - dp99# (TT5) 149 149 6.09 99 e 24.3 31.0
RHS 150
150
6.3 - dp99# (TT13) 149.5 149.5 5.79 99 e 32.1 35.8
RHS 200
100
8 - dp165# (TT2) 197.5 99.5 7.79 e 165 16.2 20.2
RHS 200
100
8 - dp165# (TT9) 199 100 7.93 e 165 23.2 23.9
RHS 150
150
6.3 - dp99# (TT1) 149 149 6.09 e 99 23.3 24.1
RHS 150
150
6.3 - dp99# (TT10) 149.5 149.5 5.79 e 99 28.1 27.4
RHS 150
150
6.3 - dp38.1# (TT11) 149.5 149.5 5.79 e 38.1 49.2 53.2

# data from Ridley-Ellis [7], Nomenclature in parenthesis () is as per Ridley-Ellis [7].

4 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730
Fig. 3. Arrangement of doubly perforated SHS specimen for testing.
(presented in Table 2) were employed to develop FE models for
validation of both perforated and unperforated SHS members. The
ends of the FE models were coupled to two reference points (using
kinematic coupling available in Abaqus [18]), through which
boundary conditions were applied. One end of the member was
held fixed (RP1); while the other end was restrained against
translation and rotation along lateral axes only (RP2). Twist was
applied at the centroid of section, through the reference point RP2,
at a rate of ~ 9.68
104 rad/s using displacement control method.
Such boundary conditions are also widely adopted in the literature
for torsional study (see e.g. [22,23]).
3.2. Finite element mesh
General purpose shell finite element S4R [18] with reduced
integration having four nodes with six degrees of freedom (3
translations and 3 rotations) at each node was employed to dis-
cretise the models. Mesh sizes in the range of ~B/9 e B/18 (i.e.
8e15 mm) were adopted for all models, with an aspect ratio of ~1
(based on the outcome of mesh convergence study and cross section
geometry) in the flat regions of the SHS members. Similar to those
adopted in literature [24e26], finer local meshes were used in the
corner regions and fan type meshes around the perforations (see
Fig. 11), to capture stress localisation/gradient, and also for proper
stress distribution. Element sizes in the corner regions were varied
in the range of ~ 0.9 t e 3.5 t (i.e.2e12 mm) based on the cross-
section geometry. Perforation edges were discretised with ~16e72
numbers of S4R elements, depending on the perforation sizes.
3.3. Material property
The material properties of YSt-310 coldeformed steel obtained
from tensile coupon tests (provided in Table 1 and Fig. 2) were
utilised in the FE models. Material properties from the flat coupons
were applied in the flat regions of the section and corresponding
corner coupon material properties, in the corner regions. It is to be
Fig. 4. T e q response of SHS 60
60
3.2 specimens under torsion.
noted that corner material properties were limited only to the
curved corner regions, as the material strength enhancement was
found to be confined within the corner regions [19]. For use in
Abaqus [18], the resulting stressestrain was converted into true
stress (strue) and true plastic strain (εpl
true) using Eqs. (1) and (2).


strue ¼ sengg 1 þ εengg (1)

 strue
εpl
true ¼ ln 1 þ εengg  (2)
E0
where sengg ¼ engineering stress, εengg ¼ engineering strain and
E0 ¼ initial Young's modulus.
As mentioned earlier, accurateness of the present FE procedure
was also assessed using experimental results reported by Ridley-
Ellis [7]. In this case, material properties provided in Ridley-Ellis
[7] were employed in the corresponding FE models.
3.4. Local geometric imperfection, analysis technique and
validation
Initially, eigen buckling analysis was carried out to obtain
buckling mode shapes used for incorporating geometric imper-
fections in the FE models. Nonelinear analysis was then carried out
using *STEP Static, General solver available in Abaqus [18]. The
sensitivity of geometric imperfection on the torsional performance
of the FE models was studied by using different values of local
Fig. 5. A prepared sample and locations considered for microstructure examination.
 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730 5

Fig. 6. Microstructure of undeformed SHS at different locations (see Fig. 5).

geometric imperfection, viz. t/10, t/50 and t/100. However, no sig-
nificant difference in the overall response was observed for the
imperfection amplitude values mentioned earlier (similar obser-
vation was made by [19] for cold-formed YSt-310 steel stub col-
umns), and hence an imperfection amplitude of t/100 was adopted
for the validation of FE models. Earlier studies [27,28] reported
insignificant effect of residual stress on member response and
hence it was not explicitly included in the FE models.
The torsional response of cold-formed steel hollow members,
including the deformed shapes generated from the FE models were
then compared with the present test results, detailed in Section 2,
to assess the validity of the FE modelling procedure followed in this
paper. The deformed shapes and overall response of Teq curve were
compared as shown in Fig. 12. It can be observed that the Teq
curves generated from the FE models are found to be in good
agreement with those of the experimental results. A close match in
ultimate torque (Tup), initial stiffness etc. can be seen from the
comparison. As the focus of the current study is on perforated
members, only the deformation shapes related to perforated
members are shown for brevity. Comparison of deformed shapes
for perforated members at post peak shows a very close agreement
as can be seen in Fig. 13, where experimental and FE results along

Fig. 7. Microstructure of deformed unperforated SHS at different locations (see Fig. 5).
6 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730
Fig. 8. Microstructure of deformed perforated SHS at different locations (see Fig. 5).
with a 3D scan image obtained by using a nonecontact 3D Laser
scanner are compared.
To supplement the validation of the present FE modelling pro-
cedure, experimental results reported by Ridley-Ellis [7] for
perforated cold-formed and hot-rolled SHS members, under tor-
sion were adopted and a comparison was made with the results
obtained from the present FE models (see Table 2, Figs. 14 and 15 for
cold-formed and hot-rolled specimens respectively). Close agree-
ment between test and FE results of cold-formed SHS members can
be seen in Fig. 14. In case of hot-rolled RHS/SHS members, while FE
results for members with double perforations match relatively well
with the corresponding test results (Figs. 15e e i), certain disparity
was observed in members with single perforation (Figs. 15a e c).
This may be due to difficulties associated in replicating pure torsion
boundary conditions in the experimental arrangement (for
instance, application of torque/twist via two manually balanced
hydraulic cylinders/jacks) for ‘larger’ full scale specimens (e.g. RHS
Fig. 9. Typical indentation made on the surface for examination by microhardness
study.
200
100
8; RHS 150
150
6.3 sections of length 2000 mm)
reported in Ridley-Ellis [7], whereas it becomes near perfectly
possible to simulate such boundary conditions in a finite element
analysis environment. It may be noteworthy to mention that dif-
ferences in test and FE results were also mentioned by Ridley-Ellis
[7]. Considering the general close agreement of experimental and
FE results seen in majority of validation results, it can be concluded
that the present FE modelling approach can be adopted for accu-
rately modelling cold-formed hollow steel sections under torsion.
Hence, the validated FE modelling steps were adopted for further
parametric study.
4. Parametric study
Upon validation of the FE models for perforated cold-formed
steel hollow members, parametric study was further conducted.
Square hollow sections of width, B ¼ 150 mm, having an outer
rounded corner of diameter ¼ 2 t, conforming to IS 4923 [17] were
chosen (see Fig. 1). Member length (L) of all FE models was main-
tained equal to three times its lateral dimensions. In order to cover
a wide range of slenderness, t was varied from 0.6e10 mm. The
Fig. 10. Variation of hardness values at various locations of undeformed and deformed
cross-sections.
 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730
Fig. 11. Typical FE mesh and fan type meshing around perforation.
effects of number and size of perforations on the torsional capacity
of cold-formed SHS members were investigated by varying the
perforation size from 10% B - 70% B. In addition, to study the effects
of perforation location / position, three different positions were
considered along the compression and tension diagonals. A typical
SHS member is shown in Fig. 16 showing arrangement in perfora-
tion position along compression and tension diagonals (with
designated symbols used). The symbols ecd and etd represent ec-
centricity of perforation along the compression and tension di-
agonals respectively. A system of nomenclature was used for all the
sections such that SHS 150
150
2.5 - dsp45 - ecd118.6 represents
a SHS section having a width of 150 mm, section thickness of
2.5 mm, containing a single perforation of diameter (dsp) 45 mm,
placed eccentrically (ecd) at 118.6 mm along the compression di-
agonal. Results were also generated for unperforated members, for
comparison and to serve as reference data.
4.1. Failure mechanism of perforated members under torsion
To study the effects of perforation parameters on the torsional
capacity of SHS members, single and double perforations were
considered, for both slender and stocky sections (cross-section
classified as per Eurocode 3 [29]). Fig. 17a shows T-q curves of
centrally perforated slender SHS members (t ¼ 2.5 mm) under
torsion, with single perforation diameter (dsp) and double perfo-
ration diameter (ddp) equal to 45 mm (which is 30% of B). The
corresponding curve for unperforated member was also plotted, to
act as a reference for comparison. Stress distribution pattern was
seen to be significantly affected by the presence of perforation (see
Fig. 17b). When similar stress distribution was observed in all four
faces of the unperforated member, stress pattern in the face con-
taining perforation was observed to be different from the remain-
ing unperforated faces. Stress concentration was found at the
periphery of perforation, whereas, stress was equally distributed in
all faces of the unperforated member. Failures of all slender
members were observed by local buckling (at mid-length of
unperforated members and at periphery of perforation for perfo-
rated members). Torsional capacity of the perforated member (Tup)
Fig. 12. Comparison of experimental and FE T-q curves.
7
was found to be lesser than that of corresponding unperforated
member (Tus), which may be associated with stress relaxation
occurring at the perforated face (a2, a3), except at the periphery of
perforation, and thereby indicating the ineffectiveness of the
perforated face in resisting torsional load. Reduction in torsional
capacity was observed to be comparatively higher for doubly
perforated member, where stress relaxation can be seen on two
perforated faces (a3), and hence, two ineffective faces for torsional
load resistance. Although Tup reduces with increasing number of
perforation, twist at failure (qc) remains unaffected by perforation
in case of a slender section.
Fig. 18a shows T-q response of perforated SHS members
(dsp ¼ ddp ¼ 45 mm) with stocky cross-section (t ¼ 8 mm). Unlike
slender sections, stocky sections reach material yield stress before
failure (see b1 in Fig. 18b). Significant effect of perforation on stress
distribution under torsional loading can be seen in Fig. 18b. While
all flat faces reach yield stress uniformly at failure (grey regions) in
the absence of perforation, concentration of stress at the periphery
of perforation was observed in the perforated member. Vierendeel
mechanism was observed at failure for perforated members (also
reported in literature [14,30,31] for large size perforations), with
higher stress concentration at the periphery of perforation. Both Tup
and qc were observed to reduce with increasing number of perfo-
rated faces, compared to that of unperforated section. Non-uniform
distribution of stress in the perforated faces was observed in both
slender and stocky sections.
4.1.1. Effect of perforation size
In order to establish relationship between torsional capacity and
perforation size, perforation diameter was varied from 15 mm (10%
B) to 105 mm (70% B). The increase in perforation size was observed
to reduce the torsional capacity (Fig. 19). The rate of reduction was
seen to be minimal for smaller sized perforations (up to ~20% B),
while a near-linear reduction was found for comparatively larger
sized perforations (diameter > 20% B). The rate of reduction in Tup
with increasing perforation size was observed to be more in case of
slender sections compared to stocky ones. Tup was seen to reduce by
~25% and ~21% in slender and stocky sections respectively, for single
perforation size of dsp ¼ 70% B. For the same perforation size, double
perforations lead to a greater reduction in torsional capacity, as
discussed earlier. This reduction was found to be approximately
double of the reduction in singly perforated member (i.e. ~51% and
~42% in slender and stocky members respectively for ddp ¼ 70% B).
4.1.2. Effect of perforation position
Structural response of perforated members under torsion was
investigated by varying perforation positions / locations along the
compression (cd) and tension diagonals (td). Central position at
member mid-length was taken as reference position; from where
eccentricity is measured along compression and tension diagonals
(see Fig. 16). Three different perforation sizes (dsp ¼ ddp ¼ 10%, 30%
and 50% of B) were considered (very large size perforation was not
8 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730

Fig. 13. Deformed shapes at post peak from (a) experiment, (b) 3D scan and (c) FE model.

considered due to complexity in locating perforation at the prox- calculated taking into account individual parts of the section, by
imity of corner region). Fig. 20 shows variation of Tup with perfo- considering contribution of web plate to shear buckling resistance.
ration position (ecd ¼ etd ¼ 59.3 mm, 118.6 mm) for singly Contribution of a web plate to shear buckling resistance, denoted as
perforated slender section. Along the compression diagonal, Tup cw, provided in [29] is given in Eq. (3).
was found to increase slightly as perforation is located away from 8
centre position (ecd ¼ 0) to ecd ¼ 59.3 mm. But, as it locates further > 0:83
>
>
> h l
w<
away to ecd ¼ 118.6 mm, significant improvement was not seen, >
> h
>
>
although Tup was relatively higher compared to that corresponding < 0:83 0:83
to ecd ¼ 0. This may be associated with closeness of perforation with cw ¼  l
w < 1:08 (3)
>
>
>
l
w h
the corner region at ecd ¼ 118.6 mm, thus reducing effectiveness of >
>
>
> 1:37
cold hardened corner region (with enhanced yield stress) in >
: l
w  1:08
resisting load. Similar observations were made for all perforation ð0:7 þ l
wÞ
sizes considered (see Fig. 20a). Along the tension diagonal, except
for very small perforation sizes, a slightly higher value of Tup was where h and lw  are web contribution factor and modified slen-
seen at centre location, which then reduces slightly as it locates derness respectively. The value of h is taken as 1.20 and lw  is
away from centre (Fig. 20b). On the other hand, the effect of defined as
perforation position on torsional capacity of stocky section was sffiffiffiffiffiffi
observed to be less significant along both the compression and  fy
lw ¼ 0:76 (4)
tension diagonals (see Fig. 21). Overall, it can be concluded that tcr
perforation positions have very minimal effect on Tup for all sec-
tions, considered. where fy is yield stress and tcr is critical elastic shear buckling
stress.
5. Available design guidelines for torsion Having known cw, torsional capacity (Tus)EN of a SHS member
can be calculated as
Torsion design rules for cold-formed hollow sections are not
ðTus ÞEN ¼ cw Ty (5)
readily available in public domain, unlike members subjected to
compression and bending, to the best of authors' knowledge.
where Ty is yield torque given by Eq. (6).
Moreover, available design guidelines were mainly developed on
the basis of open sections. In this section, available torsion design Ty ¼ 2Ae t ty (6)
equations are presented which were assessed for their suitability
(via reliability analyses, see Section 6) in the design of steel hollow where Ae ¼ area enclosed by mid line of section and ty ¼ shear yield
members under torsion, by comparing with the FE results. stress.

5.1. Eurocode 3 (EN 1993-1-1:2005)

Eurocode 3 [32] provides design rules for torsional shear resis-
tance of hollow members. The design shear strength can be
Fig. 14. Validation of FE model by comparison with test results (cold-formed perfo-
rated specimens) from Ridley-Ellis [7].
5.2. Direct strength method (DSM)
As an alternative to Effective Width Method (EWM),Direct
Strength Method (DSM) was developed by Schafer and Peko €z [33]
for design of cold-formed steel structures. The method employs
elastic buckling stress and yield stress of the gross cross-section to
determine member capacity. Initially, all DSM equations were
developed for sections of large cross-section slenderness whose
primary mode of failure is elastic instability. The method was
further extended to stocky cross-sections by Rossi and Rasmussen
[34] to include inelastic reserve strength of cold-formed stainless
steel. Adopting similar approach to Rossi and Rasmussen [34],
design equations for full range of section slenderness for cold-
formed carbon steel for various loading conditions such as
compression, bending and combined loading were proposed by
other researchers e.g. [19,35]. To the best of authors' knowledge,
DSM equations for the case of torsional loading were first reported
 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730 9

Fig. 15. Validation of FE model by comparison with test results (hot rolled perforated specimens) from Ridley-Ellis [7].
(Tel and qel represents torque and twist at yield respectively of corresponding unperforated member as in [7])
10 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730

parameters MM, VM, FM, and VF (mean and coefficient of variation for
material properties and fabrication factors) are taken as 1.10, 0.10,
1.00 and 0.05 respectively. A correction factor (Cp) was also adopted
to account for sample size (or number of observations). A target
reliability index of 2.5 is specified by [37] for structural steel
members and hence adopted for the present study.

7. Assessment of design equations

The applicability of existing design equations for torsion

Fig. 16. Schematic diagram of arrangement of perforations along various axes.
(detailed in Section 5) were assessed for cold-formed SHS mem-
by Bian et al. [36] (see Eq. (7)). However, it is to be noted that these bers. Fig. 22 shows comparison of existing Eurocode 3 design curve
equations were developed for cold-formed lipped channel sections with the FE results from the present parametric study. It can be
where response is dominated by warping. observed that the overall strength of member is over-predicted by
the existing Eurocode 3 equation. Moreover, the target reliability
Prediction I : with quadratic inelastic reserve index of 2.5 is not achieved (b ¼ 2.24 from Table 3), which makes
8 2 the design curve unsuitable for design of SHS members under
>
> 2  lT lT  1

  < torsion and hence the equations need to be modified and improved.
Tus Ty DSM ¼ Comparison of existing DSM equations by [36] with FE results is
>
> 1
: 2 lT > 1 presented in Fig. 23. A large deviation in predicted capacity by [36]
lT (7) was found throughout the whole range of cross section slender-
Prediction II : with linear inelastic reserve ness. It can be observed that the existing DSM Eqs. [36] under-
8
> 2:5  1:5lT lT  1 predict design torsional capacity for sections with lT > 1.2,
>
<

  whereas the torsional capacity is over-predicted for section of
Tus Ty DSM ¼ lT < 1.2. Overall, a mean value of 1.12 with a high COV of 0.78 was
> 1
> lT > 1
: 2
lT achieved for both design predictive equations, resulting to a reli-
ability index value of 0.83 which is lesser that the target value of
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
where lT ¼ Ty =Tcr , lT and Tcr are torsional slenderness and critical 2.5. Hence, new and modified design equations suitable for cold-
elastic torsional buckling strength respectively. formed SHS members under torsion are proposed in the subse-
quent sections.
6. Reliability analysis
8. Modified and proposed design rules
To assess the existing and proposed design equations as detailed
in Sections 5 and 8, reliability analyses were carried out using Design equations are proposed in this section for cold-formed
procedures elaborated in American Standards [37,38] for design of steel SHS members subjected to torsion, based on the FE results
cold-formed steel structural members. A measure of reliability or generated from the present parametric study. Furthermore, these
safety index (b) is used to assess the applicability of design rules to design equations were used as a basis for developing design
SHS members under torsion in the present study. A resistance guidelines for perforated SHS members under torsion. Since, posi-
factor (4) of 0.91and 0.90 were adopted respectively for Eurocode 3 tion of perforation was found to have minimal effect on its ultimate
[32] and DSM [33], as available in literature [35,39] with a load capacity (see Sub-section 4.1.2), the design proposals for perforated
combination of 1.2D þ 1.6 L (D-dead load, L-live load). Ratio of D/L is members were made mainly on the basis of centrally perforated
taken as 1/5, as recommended in AISI [37]. The statistical members, but are equally applicable to all perforated members

Fig. 17. (a) Typical T e q response for slender unperforated and perforated SHS 150
150
2.5 members (dsp ¼ ddp ¼ 30% B); (b) Deformed shapes superimposed with Von mises
stress contour on it at ultimate torque.
 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730 11

Fig. 18. (a) Typical T e q response for stocky unperforated and perforated SHS 150
150
8 members (dsp ¼ ddp ¼ 30% B); (b) Deformed shapes superimposed with Von mises stress
contour on it at ultimate torque.

irrespective of its position. The proposed design equations for equations were fitted based on lower bound FE data and a modified
unperforated and perforated members are given in detail in Sub- shear buckling resistance factor (cw,modified) was proposed, as pre-
sections 8.1 and 8.2 respectively. sented in Eq. (8).
8
> 0:35
8.1. Unperforated SHS member >
>
> h lw  
>
>
>
h
>
<
8.1.1. Eurocode 3 format 0:955 0:35 
cw;modified ¼  < lw < 0:776 (8)
Available shear design rules presented in [29] were checked >
>
> lw 0:185 h
with FE results which indicates rooms for improvement (see Sub- >
>
> 1:016
>
section 7) to make them applicable for cold-formed steel SHS >
: lw   0:776

members under torsion. Using a regression analysis, design
0:24 þ lw

Fig. 19. Variation of normalised Tup with perforation diameter for (a) slender section (t ¼ 2.5 mm) and (b) stocky section (t ¼ 8 mm).

Fig. 20. Variation of Tup with perforation position for slender section (t ¼ 2.5 mm) along (a) compression diagonal (b) tension diagonal.
12 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730

Fig. 21. Variation of Tup with perforation position for stocky section (t ¼ 8 mm) along (a) compression diagonal (b) tension diagonal.

Comparison of proposed design equation with FE data can be 8  

>
> su
seen in Fig. 22. An improvement (indicated by closeness of the >
> 1 þ ð3:43  5:67l Þ  1 lT  0:358
proposed curve with the FE results) in shear buckling resistance >
>
>
T
sy
, >
>  
factor can be observed. The modified torsional capacity (Tus,EN) can < su
then be calculated using Eq. (9). Tus;DSM Ty ¼ 1 þ ð2:6  3:35lT Þ 1 0:358 < lT  0:776
>
> sy
>
>
>
>
Tus;EN ¼ cw;modified Ty (9) >
> 2:66 1:84
>
: 0:49  0:35 lT > 0:776
Comparison of FE results with Tus,EN in terms of Tus,FE/Tus,EN ratio
lT lT
gives a mean value of 1.02 and coefficient of variation (COV) of 0.06 as (10)
shown in Table 3. Reliability index (b) was found to be 2.60 which is A comparison of the proposed design equation (Eq. (10)) with FE
higher than 2.50 (target value) and hence these modified equations results is shown in Fig. 23. The proposed equations were assessed
may safely be adopted for design of cold-formed SHS members under by reliability analysis detailed in Section 6. Comparison with FE
torsion. Additionally, the proposed design values were also compared results gives a mean value, COV and reliability index of 1.03, 0.07
with available test results as shown in Table 4. A close agreement of and 2.62 respectively (see Table 3). Design values calculated from
the proposed design values with the present experimental results can proposed DSM equations were also compared with available
be seen. Slightly higher values of torsional capacity can be seen for test experimental results, as shown in Table 4. The test results, although
data as compared to the proposed values, for test data taken from closely comparable, were found to be slightly higher than proposed
literature (marked with #). Difference observed in the amount of results for tested SHS specimens in this study. Hence these equa-
scatter for experimental results (relatively higher scatter can be seen tions can be safely adopted for design of cold-formed SHS members
in the case of data taken from literature) may be attributed to differ- under torsion.
ence in test set up, procedure, test specimen material grade etc.
adopted in testing. Although proposed design values are slightly on
8.1.3. Deformation based method (DBM)
the conservative side, it may be safely adopted for design of cold-
Deformation based method (DBM) is a simplified design
formed SHS members under torsion.
approach based on deformation capacity of a cross-section in line
with Continuous Strength Method (CSM) [40]. A rotation capacity
8.1.2. Direct strength method (DSM) format
Modified DSM equations for design of SHS members under Table 3
Comparison of FE and proposed design results for unperforated members.
torsion were developed in this section, since available DSM equa-
tion (Eq. (7)) was found unsuitable. The equations were proposed Tus, FE/ Tus, FE/ Tus, FE/Tus, Tus, FE/Tus, Tus,FE/Tus,
for full slenderness range adopting similar approaches as in [34,35]. (Tus)EN (Tus)DSM EN DSM DBM

A lower bound curve was fitted on data available from FE para- I II

metric study by using a regression analysis. A torsional slenderness Mean 0.945 1.12 1.12 1.02 1.03 1.09
(lT) limit of 0.776 was found suitable to distinguish stocky sections COV 0.07 0.78 0.78 0.06 0.07 0.06
from slender sections. A linear expression in two stages was pro- Resistance factor 0.91 0.90 0.90 0.91 0.90 0.90
posed for stocky sections in the same format developed by [34], and (4)
Reliability index 2.24 0.83 0.83 2.60 2.62 2.89
similarly in the conventional DSM format for slender sections [33]. (b)
The proposed DSM equations are given in Eq. (10).

Fig. 22. Eurocode design curves for unperforated SHS members under torsion. Fig. 23. DSM design curves for unperforated SHS members under torsion.
 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730 13

Table 4
Comparison of experimental results with proposed design results.

Section B (mm) H (mm) t (mm) dsp/B ddp/B Experiment/Proposed

EN DSM DBM

SHS 60
60
3.2e1 60 60 3.2 e e 1.04 1.06 1.09

SHS 60
60
3.2e2 60 60 3.2 e e 1.04 1.06 1.09
SHS 38
38
1.43# 38 38 1.43 e e 1.10 1.11 1.15
SHS 60
60
3.2 -ddp25e1 60 60 3.2 e 0.42 0.98 1.00 1.03
SHS 60
60
3.2 -ddp25e2 60 60 3.2 e 0.42 0.98 0.99 1.03
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dsp5 # 38 38 1.43 0.13 e 1.11 1.12 1.16
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dsp10 # 38 38 1.43 0.26 e 1.08 1.09 1.14
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dsp15 # 38 38 1.43 0.39 e 0.98 0.99 1.03
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dsp20 # 38 38 1.43 0.52 e 0.87 0.88 0.91
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dsp25 # 38 38 1.43 0.65 e 0.73 0.74 0.76
SHS 38
38
1.43 - dsp30 # 38 38 1.43 0.78 e 0.71 0.72 0.74
SHS 38
38
1.43 - ddp5 # 38 38 1.43 e 0.13 1.13 1.15 1.19
SHS 38
38
1.43 - ddp10 # 38 38 1.43 e 0.26 0.96 0.97 1.00
SHS 38
38
1.43 - ddp15 # 38 38 1.43 e 0.39 1.05 1.06 1.10
SHS 38
38
1.43 - ddp20 # 38 38 1.43 e 0.52 0.96 0.98 1.01
SHS 38
38
1.43 - ddp25 # 38 38 1.43 e 0.65 0.88 0.89 0.93
SHS 38
38
1.43 - ddp30 # 38 38 1.43 e 0.78 0.82 0.83 0.86

# data from Ridley-Ellis [7].

Fig. 24. Proposed DBM design curves for (a) rotation capacity and (b) member capacity.

ratio (qc/qy) was adopted in DBM in place of strain ratio of CSM.A The proposed DBM design equation for torsion gives a mean
direct relation between ultimate torsional strength (Tus,DBM) and value of 1.09 and COV of 0.06, as provided in Table 3. Based on the
ultimate rotation capacity (qc) was then established. The usual statistical analysis, a reliability index value of 2.89 was achieved
section slenderness limit of 0.68 (in CSM) was adopted to differ-
entiate stocky and slender cross-sections. A predicted relation of qc/
qy (q ¼ qy for Ty) with lT is shown in Fig. 24a. A conservative esti-
mate for qc/qy as given in Eq. (11) was maintained as a cross-section
classification limit of 0.68. Further, DBM design proposal for
strength capacity (Tus,DBM) was made based on this conservative
estimate to offer a safer design at this point, which may be
improved in future with availability of additional experimental and
numerical results for cold-formed steel under torsion.
8 0:109
, >
> lT  0:68
>
< 1:969þ5:56lT
lT
qc qy ¼   (11)
>
> 1 0:104
>
: 1 lT > 0:68
lT 0:33 lT 0:33
After the rotation capacity of a section is determined, it can be
related directly with its strength using a two stage lower bound
curve; fitted with the present FE results by a non-linear regression
analysis. The two stage lower bound strength curve is given in Eq.
(12) and plotted in Fig. 24b.
8  3:00
,
>
>
> c
q qc
>
< qy 1
qy
Tus;DBM Ty ¼  0:05 (12)
>
> qc qc
>
>
: >1
qy qy Fig. 25. Surface plot of Rf as a function of (dsp or ddp)/Band lw or lT for (a) single
perforation and (b) double perforation.
14 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730

Fig. 28. Proposed DBM design curves for (a) single and (b) double perforated members
under torsion.
Fig. 26. Proposed Eurocode design curves for (a) single and (b) double perforated
members under torsion.

8.2. Perforated SHS member

(b > 2.5). Additionally, the validity of the proposed design equations
was also checked by the predicted value against the test results. It
was observed that the proposed design equation provides a slightly
conservative prediction (see Table 4). Hence, the proposed equation
may safely be adopted for design of cold-formed closed hollow
section members subjected to torsion.
In this sub-section, design equations for perforated SHS mem-
bers subjected to torsion are proposed. Torsional capacity of
perforated member is expressed as a fraction of corresponding
unperforated member, by introducing a reduction factor (Rf) which
accounts for reduction in strength due to perforation. A design
formula to estimate torsional capacity of perforated cold-formed
steel hollow member (Tup) is provided in Eq. (13). This equation is
expected to be applicable to all perforated members of all perfo-
ration sizes and perforation position.



Tup;EN or DSM or DBM ¼ Rf;sp or Rf ;dp Tus;EN or DSM or DBM
(13)

where Rf,sp and Rf,dp are reduction factor for single and double
perforation respectively. The reduction factor was fitted based on
ratio of torsional capacity of perforated and unperforated member
(Tup/Tus) generated from FE results in the present study. Since ul-
timate capacity was found to be affected by both cross-section
slenderness (lw or lT) and perforation size ratio (dsp/B or ddp/B),
Rf was defined as a function of both these parameters. The proposed
relation to predict the reduction factor Rf is presented in Eq. (14)
and the resulted surface curves of Rf are plotted in Fig. 25a and b
for single and double perforation members respectively.

Table 5
Comparison of FE and proposed EN design results for perforated members.

Tup, FE/Tup, EN

dsp/B ddp/B

0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7

Mean 1.05 1.07 1.03 1.02 1.01 1.01 0.98 0.99

COV 0.07 0.08 0.04 0.04 0.07 0.04 0.04 0.03
Resistance factor (4) 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91
Fig. 27. Proposed DSM design curves for (a) single and (b) double perforated members
Reliability index (b) 2.66 2.71 2.68 2.63 2.50 2.57 2.50 2.56
under torsion.
 S.V. Devi et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 162 (2019) 105730 15

Table 6 checked by comparing the ultimate torsional capacity of FE results

Comparison of FE and proposed DSM design results for perforated members. with the proposed design curves as shown in Figs. 26-28. Fig. 26
Tup, FE/Tup, DSM represents design equations based on Eurocode 3 format (see Eq.
dsp/B ddp /B
(9)), while Figs. 27 and 28 represent equations based on DSM
format (see Eq. (10)) and DBM (see Eq. (12)) respectively. The sta-
0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7
tistical analysis of the three design equations against the FE results
Mean 1.05 1.07 1.04 1.03 1.02 1.01 0.99 1.01 through reliability check is provided in Tables 5-7. Based on the
COV 0.06 0.09 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.04
analysis, the mean and COVs are found to be in the range of
Resistance factor (4) 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90
Reliability index (b) 2.74 2.72 2.70 2.64 2.60 2.63 2.53 2.59 0.98e1.17 and 0.03e0.12 respectively. Also, the proposed design
equations for perforated member were found to satisfy the target
reliability index and hence, are reliable for design of perforated
cold-formed SHS members subjected to torsion.
A1  B1 l l  0:78 Moreover, the proposed design values of perforated members
Rf ;sp or Rf;dp ¼ 2 (14)
A2 l þ B2 l þ C2 l > 0:78 were compared with experimental results of the present study and
the literature [7], as shown in Table 4. The predicted results were
The coefficients A1, B1, A2, B2 and C2 are given in Eqs. (15) and
found to give adequately close agreement with the experimental
(16) for single and double perforation respectively:
results of the current study. The proposed results were seen to
agree well with test results of members (from the literature [7])
(a) For single perforation,
with moderately large size perforation (0.26 < dp/B < 0.52), while
 2   discrepancy was observed for very small and large size perforation.
dsp dsp
A1 ¼ 0:384  0:063 þ 1:001 It may be noted that, these comparisons are made with limited
B B number of available test results (from a single study by Ridley-Ellis
    [7]) and hence, these equations could be further improved subject
dsp 2 dsp
B1 ¼ 0:390 þ 0:327 to availability of reliable torsion test results in future.
B B
 2  
dsp dsp (15) 9. Conclusion
A2 ¼ 0:148  0:123
B B
 2   A systematic parametric study was conducted on cold-formed
dsp dsp YSt-310 steel square hollow section members under torsion, us-
B2 ¼ 0:271 þ 0:223
B B ing FE models validated against experimental results. In this study,
 
dsp the effect of perforation on the torsional behavior of hollow
C2 ¼ 0:377 þ 1:00 member was investigated by considering various critical parame-
B
ters such as number, size and position of perforation. Based on the
analysis results, the following observations were made:
(b) For double perforation,
1. The introduction of perforation was found to adversely affect the

  
ddp 2 ddp stress distribution pattern on the perforated face of SHS, thereby
A1 ¼ 0:758  0:019 þ 0:994 making it less effective in resisting torsional load.
B B
2. The increase in size of perforation as well as number of perforation
 2  
ddp ddp was found to reduce torsional capacity of square hollow section
B1 ¼ 0:480 þ 0:562 members. A relatively large sized central single perforation of
B B
diameter equal to 70% of section width was found to reduce its
 2   capacity by ~21% to 25% compared to that of unperforated mem-
ddp ddp
A2 ¼ 0:312  0:283  0:001 ber. This reduction approximately doubled when double perfo-
B B (16) rations were introduced instead of single perforation.
 2   3. Position of perforation was found to have insignificant effect on
ddp ddp
B2 ¼ 1:25 þ 1:204 þ 0:004 the member torsional capacity.
B B
 2   Design equations for both unperforated and perforated square
ddp ddp hollow section members subjected to torsion were developed using
C2 ¼ 0:385  1:249 þ 1:011
B B the generated FE results. The proposed equations were presented in
three different design formats based on - Eurocode (EN), Direct
Strength Method (DSM) and Deformation Based Method (DBM).
Suitability of the proposed design equations for single and Considering effects of both cross-sectional slenderness and perfo-
double perforated cold-formed steel members using Eq. (13) was ration size, reduction factors were proposed for both single and
double perforated members. These equations were assessed using
Table 7 reliability analyses and were found to be reliable for design. Hence
Comparison of FE and proposed DBM design results for perforated members. the developed equations may be recommended for the design of
Tup, FE/Tup, DBM
cold-formed steel square hollow section members subjected to
torsion. Further improvement to these proposed equations could be
dsp /B ddp /B
obtained using a large pool of test results subject to availability of
0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 torsion test results in future.
Mean 1.16 1.17 1.13 1.12 1.10 1.10 1.07 0.08
COV 0.09 0.12 0.08 0.07 0.08 0.07 0.05 0.06
References
Resistance factor (4) 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90
Reliability index (b) 2.97 2.88 2.96 2.96 2.82 2.91 2.85 2.87
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