Direct strength prediction of innovative corrugated columns

This paper responds to the need for a theoretical model to describe the structural strength capacity of innovative hollow corrugated columns consisting of four cold-formed corrugated mild steel plates. Interest in these columns has been growing over a number of years, due to high ratio of axial load bearing capacity to weight. The paper utilises the Direct Strength Method (DSM) to calculate the axial strength of aforementioned columns while the results are compared with those obtained from experiments and finite element models. Existing formulations are extended to predict local failure of these columns over a vast range of slenderness with a good degree of accuracy. The results show the appropriateness of this method as an alternative for analytical capacity prediction of innovative corrugated columns.