Compression tests of stainless steel tubular members

A series of tests consisting of three cross-section geometries was performed on cold-formed stainless steel circular hollow section (CHS) columns compressed between fixed ends. The specimens were cold rolled from stainless steel sheets. The tests were performed over a range of column lengths, which involved local buckling and overall flexural buckling. Measurements of overall geometric imperfections and material properties were conducted. The test strengths are compared with the design strengths predicted using the American, Australian/New Zealand and European specifications for cold-formed stainless steel structures as well as the column strengths obtained from the design rules proposed by Rasmussen and Hancock in 1993 and Rasmussen and Rondal in 1997. Generally, the specifications unconservatively predict the strengths of the tested CHS columns, while Rasmussen and Hancock; and Rasmussen and Rondal conservatively predict the column strengths. The reliability of these design rules is evaluated using reliability analysis.