Influence of Longitudinal Web Stiffeners on the Bending Capacity of c-shaped Thin-Walled Steel Members

This paper investigates the influence of longitudinal web stiffeners on the bending capacities of C-shaped thin-walled steel members with rectangular or triangular stiffeners. The width and depth of rectangular stiffeners and the sizes of triangular stiffeners are varied to study their impact on the buckling capacities of sections and on the ultimate flexural strength of members. The buckling capacities are determined using a finite strip-based Python code developed on the basis of the public domain pyCUFSM.py code, while the ultimate flexural strength is computed using the Direct Strength Method (DSM) of design formulae in accordance with the Australian Standard for cold-formed steel structures AS/NZS 4600:2018. The results demonstrate that the non-linear relationships between the web stiffener sizes and the flexural capacity vary depending on the thicknesses and the geometries of the members. The findings of this study provide useful information for designers for selecting optimal stiffener sizes to maximize the flexural strengths of C-shaped thin-walled steel members.