CHAPTER 2

COLD-FORMED STEEL MEMBERS SUBJECT TO BENDING

The provisions on regard to cold-formed steel members subjected to bending is

presented including classification of section, material properties, effect of local buckling,
capacity and stability of the section as mentioned in BS 5950 Part 1:2000 and BS 5950 Part
5:1998.

2.1 Classification of Sections

Cold-formed steel sections should be classified to determine whether its capacity is
affected by local buckling or not without prior calculating the local buckling capacity. The
classification of each compression element subjected to bending or axial force should be
based on the width to thickness ratio.
Classification for circular hollow sections (CHS) and rectangular hollow sections
(RHS) in compression caused by bending should be carried-out in accordance with Table 12
of BS 5950 Part 1: 2000 with the limitations of width to thickness ratio are as follows (See
Appendix A):
Class1plastic

Crosssectionswithplastichingerotationcapacity.

b / t 26 but 72 d / t ; d / t 56
2.17
Class2compact

Crosssectionswithplasticmomentcapacity.

b / t 28 but 54 0.5.d / t ; d / t 70
2.18
Class3semicompact

Cross sections in which the stress at the extreme

compressionfibrecanreachthedesignstrength,but
theplasticmomentcapacitycannotbedeveloped.

1|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

b / t 35 ; d / t 105
2.19
Class4slender

Cross sections in which it is necessary to make

explicitallowancefortheeffectoflocalbuckling.

b / t 35 ; d / t 105
2.20
where,
b
d

flange width;

web depth;

flange or web thickness;

275

p
y

0.5

py

design strength.

2.2 Material Properties

The properties of material of cold-formed steel should be taken in line with sub
section 3.3 of the BS 5950 Part 5: 1998 as follows.
Design strength py, should be taken as Ys but not greater than 0.84 Us, where:
Ys

minimumyieldstrengthorinthecaseofthematerialdoesnotshowthe
yieldingclearly,eitherthe0.2%proofstressorthestressat0.5%total
elongation;

Us

minimumultimatetensilestrength.

Ys may normally be taken as specified in the British Standard as indicated in Appendix

B. As an alternative, for any cold-formed steel the material strength may be determined by
testing according to Chapter 10 of the code.
2|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

The design strength may be increased as the effect of cold forming as mentioned in
sub section 3.4 of the standard.
For the elastic properties the following value can be used as mentioned in Clause
3.3.2 of the code:
Modulusofelasticity

E =

205kN/mm2

Shearmodulus

G =

79kN/mm2

Poissonsratio

0.3

Coefficientoflinearthermalexpansion

12x106perC

Meanwhile, for calculating of the section properties of materials up to 3.2 mm

thickness, usually it is enough to assume the material is concentrated at the mid-line of the
section and the round corners are replaced by the flat element intersections (Clause 3.5.1 of
BS 5950 Part 5: 1998).

2.3 Effect of Local Buckling

The effect of local buckling must be taken into account for determining the design
strength and thickness of the cold-formed steel members. This can be solved by using the
effective section properties calculated based on the width of each element individually
(Clause 4 of BS 5950 Part 5: 1998).
The maximum width to thickness ratio b/t of the plate for compressive elements is as
follows (Clause 4.2 of BS 5950 Part 5: 1998):
(a) Stiffenedelementshavingonelongitudinaledgeconnectedtoaflangeorweb
element,theotheredgestiffenedby:
- Simplelip

60

- Anyothertypeofstiffener

90

- (b)Stiffened elements with both longitudinal edges connected other

stiffenedelement:
(c) Unstiffenedcompressionelements

3|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

500
60

In addition, determination of effective width of compression element is assigned as

follows (Clause 4.3 of BS 5950 Part 5: 1998):

f c / pcr 0.123
(i) For
beff / b 1

2.21

f c / pcr 0.123
(ii) For
beff / b (1 14( f c / p r )1 / 2 0.35 ) 0.2
4

2.22
where,

fc
:

compressive stress of the effective element;

local buckling stress of the element given by:

pcr
t
pcr 185000.K .
b

2.23

where,
K

localbucklingcoefficientwhichdependsonelementtypeandsection
geometry(seeAppendixC);

materialthickness.

2.4 Capacity of Cold-Formed Steel Sections Subject to Bending

In case of sections which have stiffening webs or bending elements, the moment

p0
capacity should be determined on the basis of a limiting compressive stress in the web,

This stress is used in evaluation of the effective width of compression elements, and hence
the reduce section properties, and in the determination of the moment capacity (Clause 5 of
BS 5950 Part 5: 1998).
4|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

p0
The compressive stress,

, in a stiffened element which results from bending in its

plane, should not exceed the smaller one of the following values (Clause 5.2.2.2 of BS 5950
Part 5: 1998):

D Y
p 0 1.13 0.0019 s
t 280

or

1
2

py

2.24

p0 p y

2.25
where,
p0

compressive stress ( in N/mm2);

py

design strength ( in N/mm2);

overall web depth ( in mm);

material yield strength (in N/mm2);

web thickness (in mm);

design strength (in N/mm2).

Ys
t

py

Where a web element has an intermediate stiffener, the limiting compressive stress,

p0
, may be used the smaller one of the following values (Clause 5.2.2.3 of BS 5950 Part 5:
1998):

D Y
p 0 1.13 0.0019 e s
t 280

or

1
2

py

2.26

p0 p y

2.27
where,
5|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

De

equivalentdepthofanintermediatelystiffenedwebandmaybetakenasthe
largerofthevaluesgivenby:

De D2

De D D2 / 4

or

2.28

where
D2

distance between the centre line of the intermediate stiffener web and the
tensionelement(whereawebhasanumberofintermediatestiffeners,the
value of D2 should be assessed on the basis of the stiffener nearest the
compressionflange,withallotherstiffenersdisregarded);

D, Ys , p y

and

are as defined previously.

For sections with stiffened compression elements, the maximum moments are
determined as follows (Clause 5.2.3.2 of BS 5950 Part 5: 1998):
(a) For b/t 25 (280/Ys)1/2 (plastic cross section)

M c' M p
2.29
(b) for b/t 40 (280/Ys)1/2
M c' M c

2.30
(b) For

25 (280/Ys)1/2

b/ t 40 (280/Ys)1/2 ,

M c'

may be obtained by linear

interpolation between 2.8 (a) and 2.8 (b), i.e.:

1

M c' M c

40(280 / Ys ) 2 b / t
15(280 / Ys )

1
2

(M p M c )

2.31
The maximum moment for sections with unstiffened compression elements are as
follows (Clause 5.2.3.3 of BS 5950 Part 5: 1998):
(a) for b/t 8 (280/Ys)1/2 (plastic cross section)

M c' M p
2.32
(b) for b/t 13 (280/Ys)1/2
6|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

M c' M c

2.33
(c) for 8 (280/Ys)1/2 b/t 13 (280/Ys)1/2 ,

M c'

may be obtained by linear interpolation

between (7) and (8), i.e.:

1

M c' M c

13(280 / Ys ) 2 b / t
5( 280 / Ys )

1
2

(M p M c )

2.34
where,
b
t

widthofthecompressionelement;

compressionelementthickness;

yield strength;

actual maximum moment capacity;

fullyplasticmomentforthefullsection

Ys
M c'
Mp
M p Ys .S

, where S is the plastic modulus of the section;

Mc
:

the moment capacity of the section determined in accordance with Clause

5.2.2oftheBS5950PartoftheBS5950Part5;

M c p 0 .Z
,whereZistheelasticmodulusofthesection.

2.5 Stability of Cold-Formed Steel Sections Subject to Bending

The next process of structural member design after determination of preliminary
section dimension is the stability check. For cold-formed steel sections subjected to bending
the stability should be checked in accordance with Chapter 5 of BS 5950 Part 5: 1998, which
includes crushing, shear in web, combined effect, lateral buckling, deflection, flange curling
and effect of torsion.

7|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

The value of force and moment of the members may not exceed the section capacity
calculated using the suitable formulas and should satisfy the following provisions:
(a) Webcrushing(Clause5.3andTable7ofBS5950Part5:1998)

D
Pw t 2 .k .C3 .C4 .C12 . 2060 3.8.

N
. 1 0.01.

2.35

where,
Pw

concentrated load resistance of a single web;

overall web depth (in mm);

web thickness (in mm);

inside bend radius (in mm);

actual length of bearing (in mm) determined in accordance with Clause 5.3of
BS 5950 Part 5: 1998

Pw

concentrated load resistance of a single web (in N/mm2);

distance from the end of the beam to the load or the reaction (in mm);

C3, C4, C12 are constants;

C3 1.33 0.33k
2.36

C 4 (1.15 0.15 r / t ) 1.0

but not less than 0.5

C12 0.7 0.3 ( / 90) 2

k

p y / 228

=
:

2.37
2.38

py

, where

is the design strength (N/mm2);

angle(indegrees)betweenplaneofwebandplaneofbearingsurface,where

45

90.

(b) Shearinweb(Clause5.4ofBS5950Part5:1998)
Maximumshearstress(Clause5.4.2ofBS5950Part5:1998)
f v 0 .7 p y

2.39
Averageshearstress(Clause5.4.3ofBS5950Part5:1998)
8|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

f av 0.6. p y

or

qcr

2.40

1000.t
qcr

N/mm2

2.41

where,
py
t

design strength (in N/mm2);

web thickness (in mm);

web depth (in mm).

(c) Combinedbendingandwebcrushing(Clause5.5.1ofBS5950Part5:1998)

F M
1.5
1.1. w
P
M
c
w

2.42

Fw
1. 0
Pw

2.43
M
1. 0
Mc

2.44
where,

Fw
:

concentrated web load or reaction;

web concentrated load resistance;

Pw
M

Fw
:

applied bending moment at the point of application of

moment capacity.

Mc

(d) Combinedbendingandshear(Clause5.5.2ofBS5950Part5:1998)

9|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

Fv
M

P
M
c
v

1
2.45

where,

Fv
:

shear force;

Pv

p v .D.t
:

shear capacity or shear buckling resistance and is equal to

q cr .D.t
or

whichever is the lesser;

M

Fv
:

value of the bending moment acting at the action as

moment capacity.

Mc

(e) Lateralbuckling/lateraltorsionalbuckling(Clause5.6.2.1ofBS5950Part5:
1998)

Mb

1
1
M y 1 .M E M y 1 .M E 2 4.M y .M E 2
2

2.46

where,
My

Ys .Z c
=

ME

2.47

elastic lateral buckling resistance moment;

Perry coefficient, such that:

LE/ry40.Cb

0
2.48
LE/ry>40.Cb

LE

40.Cb
r

0.002.

10|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

2.49

where,
LE

effective length;

radius of gyration of the section about Y axis;

coefficient which may be conservatively assumed to be unity, or can be

ry

Cb
calculated using:
Cb 1.75 1.05 0.382

2.3

2.50
where,

is the ratio of the smaller end moment to the larger end moment

in the

unbraced length of a beam.

is taken as positive in the case of single

curvature bending and negative in the case of double curvature bending (See
Appendix D).
(f) Deflections(Clause5.7ofBS5950Part5:1998)
For

M c M cr
or

Thefullcrosssectionshouldbeusedinevaluatingthesecondmomentofarea
andthedeflectioncalculatedusingsimplebeamtheory;

M cr M M c
For
EitherMorisdeterminedfromaspecifiedvalueoftheotherquantityusing
theequation:
M M cr
cr

M c M cr c cr

2.51
where,
M

bending moment for a loading system;

11|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

deflection for the given loading system;

moment capacity;

Mc
c

Mc
:

deflection corresponding to

, calculated using the reduced cross section;

critical bending moment, given by:

M cr
2

t
M cr 120000.K . .Z c
b
K
t

2.52

buckling coefficient of the compression flange (See Appendix C);

thickness of the compression flange;

bending compression modulus for the full cross section;

flat width of the compression flange;

Zc
b

cr

M cr
:

deflection of the beam corresponding to

calculated using the full cross

section.
g) Flangecurling(Clause5.8ofBS5950Part5:1998)
f a2 .B 4
B
For 250 u 2.
_
t
E 2 .t 2 . y

u 5 00 D

2.53
where

deflection of the centre of the flange towards the neutral axis;

average stress in the flange;

flange width for unstiffened or edge stiffened flanges, or half the overall

fa
B

flange width for stiffened flanges;

E
t

modulus of elasticity;

flange thickness;

12|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3

distance of the flange from the neutral axis.

13|3 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 2 3