EUROSTEEL 2014, September 10-12, 2014, Naples, Italy

MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND LOCAL BUCKLING BEHAVIOUR OF

HIGH STRENGTH STEEL HOLLOW SECTIONS
Nicole Schilloa, Marios Theofanousb, Leroy Gardnerb, Markus Feldmanna
a
RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Steel Construction, Germany
n.schillo@stb.rwth-aachen.de, feldmann@stb.rwth-aachen.de
b
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, UK
m.theofanous@imperial.ac.uk ,leroy.gardner@imperial.ac.uk

INTRODUCTION
In this paper material coupon tests and a series of stub column tests on high strength steel hollow
sections are reported. The steel grades considered vary between S460 and S960. Complementary
measurements of local geometric imperfection shapes and magnitudes of the specimens are also
reported. The stub column specimens were concentrically loaded and had non-dimensional local plate
slenderness values ranging from 0.18 to 1.2 (i.e. Class 1 to Class 4). The obtained ultimate loads are
compared with the current European codified provisions; the comparisons support the possibility of
extending the Eurocode rules to higher steel grades.
There is a lack of consensus regarding what steel grades can be termed high strength, as different
industries define what is high strength according to their needs. Nonetheless, high strength steels (HSS)
are becoming more widely available and are continuously expanding their scope of applications due to
their favourable strength to weight and strength to price ratios. Within the European construction industry,
steel grades up to S460 are considered normal strength grades and are covered by EN 1993-1-1 [1],
whilst for higher steel grades (up to S700) the additional provisions of EN 1993-1-12 [2] apply.
In order to improve current understanding of the behaviour of high strength steel structures, two major
European research projects (RUOSTE and HILONG) are currently underway, which will produce a
significant amount of experimental and numerical data. The two projects are complementary since
HILONG generally focuses on relative stocky closed sections whereas RUOSTE studies sections of
intermediate to high slenderness. It is envisaged that the experimental and numerical results generated
within these projects will allow the assessment of existing design provisions as well as the
development of novel, more efficient design rules in line with the observed structural response.
Experimental results on material characteristics and cross-sectional response in compression are
reported herein.

1 MATERIAL RESPONSE AND LOCAL GEOMETRIC IMPERFECTIONS

1.1 Manufactured specimens
For the five different steel grades investigated within this study, four different manufacturing
processes were used. All materials consist of hot-rolled base material. The S460(N) and S690(Q)
sections were fabricated seamlessly from continuously cast round ingots. They were hollowed out in
a piercing mill to the final shape, after which the S460(N) sections were normalized, whereas the
S690(Q) were quenched after reaching the final shape. For both materials, the resulting sections can
be categorized as hot-finished.
The S500(MC) and S700(MC) base material was thermomecanically rolled, whereas the S960(Q)
material was quenched and tempered; all three material were subsequently coiled. The cold-forming
process followed, with high frequency inductive, longitudinal welding to achieve the final closed
shape.
1.2 Tensile coupon tests
Tensile tests on coupons extracted from both the flat and corner regions of the finished cross-sections
according to [3] were conducted to obtain the fundamental material characteristics of the structural
components in the as-delivered condition, to assess the conformance of the material to the
specifications given in [2] and to investigate the effect of production routes [4] on the strength and
ductility of the material around the cross-section. The obtained material properties are also utilized in
the subsequent analysis of the stub column tests.
Table 1 summarizes the key results, namely the yield stress fy (upper yield stress for the hot-finished
sections and 0.2% proof stress for the cold-formed sections), the ultimate tensile stress fu, the strain
at fracture over the standard gauge length f and the fu/fy ratios for both flats and corners, where the
letter c denotes corner material. Average stress values and the minimum strains at fracture are
reported in Table 1 in cases where duplicate coupons were tested. Fig.1 depicts some typical stress-
strain responses obtained for flat and corner coupons.

Table 1. Measured material properties from tensile coupon tests

Flat coupons Corner coupons Corner/flat
Specimens Grade fy fu f fu/fy fyc fuc fc fuc/fyc
fyc/fy fuc/fu
(MPa) (MPa) (%) (MPa) (MPa) (%)
SHS 50505 505 620 31.0 1.23 481 631 26.2 1.31 0.95 1.02
SHS 50504 523 623 28.5 1.19 477 627 34.0 1.32 0.91 1.01
SHS 1001005 S460 511 616 29.2 1.21 528 636 23.3 1.20 1.03 1.03
SHS 90903.6 (N) 500 655 27.9 1.31 487 614 18.8 1.26 0.97 0.94
Hot-finished

RHS 100506.3 498 699 26.3 1.40 505 700 26.4 1.39 1.01 1.00
RHS 100504.5 498 645 28.3 1.30 512 646 22.0 1.26 1.03 1.00
SHS 50505 759 790 21.7 1.04 782 813 19.2 1.04 1.03 1.03
SHS 1001005.6 782 798 19.2 1.02 774 792 20.2 1.02 0.99 0.99
S690
SHS 90905.6 774 790 20.1 1.02 754 784 18.3 1.04 0.97 0.99
(Q)
RHS 100506.3 799 820 19.0 1.03 768 806 22.0 1.05 0.96 0.98
RHS 10050x5.6 777 811 18.8 1.04 771 781 19.2 1.01 0.99 0.96
SHS 1301304 573 649 29.6 1.13 713 765 9.4 1.08 1.28 1.18
S500
SHS 2002004 568 650 26.3 1.14 626 738 10.9 1.18 1.70 1.56
(MC)
Cold-formed

SHS 2002005 567 648 23.5 1.14 776 925 12.2 1.09 1.22 1.14
SHS 1101104 S700 758 816 25.7 1.08 842 919 8.0 1.09 1.14 1.13
SHS 1501504 (MC) 799 874 13.5 1.09 861 928 7.6 1.08 1.10 1.06
SHS 1001004 S960 981 1096 9.4 1.12 990 1156 12.4 1.17 1.01 1.05
SHS 1201204 (Q) 1051 1207 9.8 1.15 1234 1412 11.4 1.14 1.17 1.17

1000
900
800
700
Stress (MPa)

600
500
400
300
200 Flat
100 Corner
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Strain

a) b) c)
Fig. 1. Sample flat and corner tensile stress strain curves: a) SHS 50504S460; b) SHS 50505S690; c) SHS
2002005S500
1.3 Initial local geometric imperfection measurements
Initial local geometric imperfection measurements were conducted and are reported herein to
augment current limited information on the imperfection magnitudes in HSS sections and facilitate
future FE analyses. For the imperfection measurements conducted at RWTH Aachen, a laser
transducer was used to measure local geometric imperfections in a dense mesh (i.e. measurements
were taken along 5 lines per measured face), thus allowing a 3D-plot of the actual geometry of each
face to be created, which was thereafter approximated with a best fit surface. This was done for all
four faces of each specimen, assuming a three-half-wave shape in the longitudinal direction and a
single half-wave shape in the transversal direction.
For the imperfection measurements conducted at Imperial College London, a displacement
transducer, which was attached to the head of the milling machine, was moved along the central 600
mm of the specimens, which were previously secured onto the flat bed of a milling machine, in
accordance with [5]. Table 2 reports the maximum measured local geometric imperfections for each
measured section, whilst Fig. 2 depicts 3D plots and best fit surfaces of some sample imperfection
measurements conducted at RWTH. As can be seen from Table 2 there is a general trend for
imperfections to increase as the plate slenderness increases.

Table 2. Measured local geometric imperfections

w0 w0
Specimen Grade Specimen Grade
(mm) (mm)
SHS 50505 0.054 SHS 50505 0.076
S690
SHS 50504 0.043 SHS 1001005.6 0.081
(Q)
SHS 1001005 S460 0.077 SHS 90905.6 0.089
SHS 90903.6 (N) 0.083 RHS 100506.3 0.106
RHS 100506.3 0.049 RHS 10050x5.6 0.156
RHS 100504.5 0.070 SHS 1101104 S700 0.604
SHS 1301304 0.952 SHS 1501504 (MC) 1.222
S500
SHS 2002004 0.563 SHS 1001004 S960 0.913
(MC)
SHS 2002005 0.466 SHS 1201204 (Q) 0.539

a) b)

c) d)
Fig. 2. Local geometric imperfection measurements and best-fit surfaces for SHS 1201204 S960Q: a) Face 1; b) Face
2; c) Face 3; d) Face 4

2 STUB COLUMN TESTS

Stub column tests were conducted to assess the effect of material grade on the susceptibility of HSS
SHS and RHS to local buckling. A stub column length conforming to the provisions of [7] was
chosen. This length is deemed long enough to contain a representative pattern of geometric
imperfections and residual stresses, yet short enough to avoid member buckling. Four strain gauges
were affixed near the edges of the outer faces of the flanges at mid-height, whilst three LVDTs were
employed to measure the end-shortening of the specimens. The strain gauge readings were utilized
for alignment purposes and to account for the effect of the deformation of the end plates.
The stockiest SHS specimens failed by developing an elephant foot type of failure near one of their
ends. This is attributed to the high frictional forces between the specimens and the loading plates,
which hinder the lateral Poisson expansion of the end sections, whilst all slender specimens failed by
developing typical local buckling pattern. It should be noted that for some of the RHS specimens,
failure was by local buckling, but global buckling was triggered soon after peak load. Typical stub
column failure modes are displayed in Fig. 3. Table 3 reports the recorded failure loads Fu, the
corresponding end-shortenings u at failure and the measured geometry. In Table 3, L is the stub
column length, H is the outer height of the cross-section, B is the outer flange width, t is the thickness,
p is the non-dimensional plate slenderness, as defined in EN 1993-1-5 [6], and c/t is the slenderness
ratio of the most slender constituent plate element according to the provisions of EN 1993-1-1 [1],
with =235fy .

Table 3. Stub column geometry and experimental results

u
p
Grade L H B t Fu
Specimen c/t
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kN) (mm)
SHS 50505 150.0 50.3 50.4 5.02 9.7 0.17 645 10.83
SHS 50504 150.0 50.3 50.3 3.82 14.1 0.25 477 7.29
SHS 1001005 S460 300.0 99.8 99.4 5.27 22.2 0.39 1042 4.57
SHS 90903.6 (N) 269.8 90.4 90.8 3.77 28.3 0.50 628 0.83
RHS 100506.3 300.0 99.9 49.8 6.41 17.6 0.31 1188 8.56
RHS 100504.5 300.0 99.7 49.8 4.71 24.8 0.44 713 4.47
SHS 50505 149.9 50.4 50.3 4.89 12.6 0.22 804 7.28
SHS 1001005.6 300.1 100.7 100.4 5.74 25.3 0.44 1688 1.11
S690
SHS 90905.6 270.0 91.0 90.6 5.76 22.2 0.39 1511 4.46
(Q)
RHS 100506.3 300.0 100.2 50.1 6.44 22.2 0.39 1409 5.34
RHS 10050x5.6 300.1 100.5 49.8 5.72 25.1 0.44 1243 1.14
SHS 1301304-1 440.0 130.0 130.0 4.20 20.1 0.74 1214 2.56
SHS 1301304-2 440.0 130.0 130.0 4.20 20.1 0.74 1173 2.35
SHS 2002005-1 S500 650.0 200.0 200.0 5.17 25.3 0.95 1689 2.05
SHS 2002005-2 (MC) 650.0 200.0 200.0 5.17 25.3 0.95 1693 2.08
SHS 2002004-1 650.0 200.0 200.0 4.20 32.1 1.20 1097 1.94
SHS 2002004-2 650.0 200.0 200.0 4.20 32.1 1.20 1109 2.29
SHS 1101104-1 380.0 110.0 110.0 3.83 14.3 0.80 1099 N/A
SHS 1101104-2 S700 380.0 110.0 110.0 3.83 14.3 0.80 1011 1.43
SHS 1501504-1 (MC) 500.0 150.0 150.0 3.90 20.0 1.11 1113 2.35
SHS 1501504-2 500.0 150.0 150.0 3.90 20.0 1.11 1120 2.26
SHS 1001004-1 350.0 100.0 100.0 4.04 10.9 0.69 1443 2.84
SHS 1001004-2 S960 350.0 100.0 100.0 4.04 10.9 0.69 1427 2.44
SHS 1201204-1 (Q) 410.0 120.0 120.0 3.96 13.4 0.93 1372 2.13
SHS 1201204-2 410.0 120.0 120.0 3.96 13.4 0.93 1360 2.16
 a) b) c) d)
Fig. 3. Stub column failure modes: a), b) Local buckling; c) Elephant foot; d) Local buckling followed by global buckling

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Material response
The additional rules for the extension of EN 1993-1-1 [1] up to S700 steel specified in EN 1993-1-
12 [2] impose some restrictions on the HSS material properties with respect to the minimum fu/fy
ratio and minimum ductility. Fig. 4 a) shows the measured fu/fy ratio of the tested flat and corner
coupons against the material yield strength, where HF designates hot-finished and CF inficates
cold-formed. The EN 1993-1-1 [1] and EN 1993-1-12 [2] requirements are also depicted. As
expected, with increasing material grade the ultimate to yield ratio (and hence strain-hardening)
decreases significantly and tends to unity; in some cases the requirements of [2] are not met. The
production route seems to have significant influence on the fu/fy ratio, as is depicted in Fig. 4 a): for
the hot-finished specimens, both flats and corners can be observed to behave similarly, while the
cold-formed specimens show significant differences. In Fig. 4 b) the effect of material grade on the
elongation at failure f can be observed. The cold-forming process also has a significant effect on
material ductility, especially in the corners. In general, coupons extracted from the lower steel grades
up to S700 showed high ductility, in excess of the EN 1993-1-1 [1] requirements, whilst the higher
grades of cold-formed (S960Q) material would fail to meet the EN 1993-1-12 [2] ductility
requirements. Research regarding the necessity of such material restrictions is underway.
1.50 40
S460N-HF - Flats S460N-HF - Corners S460N-HF - Flats
S690Q-HF - Flats S690Q-HF - Corners S460N-HF - Corners
1.40 35
S500MC-CF - Flats S500MC-CF - Corners S690Q-HF - Flats
S700MC-CF - Flats S700MC-CF - Corners S690Q-HF - Corners
30
1.30 S960Q-CF - Flats S960Q-CF - Corners S500MC-CF - Flats
EN 1993 requirements S500MC-CF - Corners
25
1.20 S700MC-CF - Flats
fu/fy

f (%)

S700MC-CF - Corners
20
S960Q-CF - Flats
1.10
S960Q-CF - Corners
15
EN 1993 requirements
1.00
10

0.90 Part Part

Part 1.1 1.12 Outside EN 1993 scope 5
Part 1.1 1.12
Outside EN 1993 scope
0.80 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
fy (MPa)
a) fy (MPa)
b)
Fig. 4. Effect of material grade on a) strain-hardening; b) elongation at failure
3.2 Assessment of Eurocode slenderness limits and effective width equations
The applicability of the Class 3 slenderness limit for internal elements in compression specified in
EN 1993-1-1 [1] can be assessed on the basis of the reported stub column tests. Fig.5 a) shows the
test failure loads Fu normalized by the respective yield loads against the slenderness parameter c/t.
The current slenderness limit of 42 can be seen to be marginally safe, as all test points on the left of
this limit have reached or exceeded their yield load, whilst more slender specimens have failed prior
to the attainment of their yield load. The applicability of the effective width equation specified in EN
1993-1-5 [6] is less clear, as shown in Fig. 5 b), where almost all of the test points lie below the curve.
Similar observations on slender HSS sections have been reported in [8].
 1.60 1.60
Cross-section Cross-section
class 1-3 class 4
1.40 1.40

1.20 1.20

1.00 1.00

Fu/Afy
Fu/Afy

0.80 0.80
S460N - HF S460N - HF
0.60 S690Q - HF 0.60 S690Q - HF
S500MC - CF S500MC - CF
0.40 0.40
S700MC - CF S700MC - CF

0.20 S960Q - CF 0.20 S960Q - CF

EN 1993-1-1 [1] EN 1993-1-5 [8]
0.00 0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20
l
a)
c/t
b) p

Fig. 5. Assessment of: a) EN 1993-1-1 [1] slenderness limit; b) EN 1993-1-5 [6] effective width equation

4 CONCLUSIONS
An experimental investigation into the material response, local geometric imperfections and
compressive cross-sectional response of HSS SHS and RHS has been reported, covering several steel
grades and production processes. Local geometric imperfections were measured and their magnitudes
were reported to augment the limited available data on HSS sections. The production route was found
to have a marked effect on the shape of the stress-strain curve, with cold-formed specimens exhibiting
a rounded stress-strain response, significant corner strength enhancements and reduced ductility -
especially in the corners - compared to hot finished specimens. For all coupons the ductility and
strain-hardening were found to decrease with increasing material grade. Current design rules in EN
1993-1-1 [1] and EN 1993-1-5 [6] regarding slenderness limits and effective width equation were
found to be optimistic for HSS internal elements in compression.

5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research leading to these results has received funding from the Research Fund for Coal and Steel
(RFCS) under grant agreement no [RFSR CT 2012-00028] and [RFSR CT 2012-00036]. VoestAlpine
Krems, Ruukki Metals Oy and V&M DEUTSCHLAND GMBH are acknowledged for the supply of
the specimens. The authors are indebted to Mr Gordon Herbert, Mr Fillip Kirazov, Mr Isaak Vryzidis,
Miss Jie Wang, as well as to Mr Andreas Kessels and Miss Julia Bauer for their assistance during the
tests.

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[3] DIN 50125:2009-07, Testing of metallic materials - Tensile test pieces, 2009.
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