Flexural Buckling of Steel Angles: Experimental Investigation

Abstract

Structural steel angles have a wide variety of applications. However, steel angles have not received the attention comparable to heavy shapes such as wide flange sections. For steel angles, flexural buckling strength is the basic design strength, while the torsional-flexural buckling strength is computed in many codes by modifying the design procedure for flexural buckling strength. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of 26 hot-rolled steel angles under concentric axial compression failing in flexural buckling. The width-thickness ratios of test specimens ranged from 6 to 16. The slenderness ratios varied from 68 to 188, covering almost the entire practical range. Residual stresses and yield stresses across the cross sections were determined and initial out-of-straightness was measured. These data were used in the development of a column curve reported in a companion paper.