The objective of this paper is to present a comparison between experimental results to each of two numerical analyses of cold formed steel roof deck in flexure. Prior numerical studies using the Direct Strength Method (DSM) and the Equivalent Width Method (EWM) have shown discrepancies between results obtained by the two methods. The goal of this research initiative was to compare results from each of the two numerical analysis methods to experimental results in an effort to determine which numerical method is most appropriate for analyzing steel deck in flexure.Twenty-four physical tests were conducted using four different deck gages (22, 20, 18 and 16 gage) in both the deck's positive and negative positions. Detailed measurements of the physical geometry and the material properties of the deck samples were taken. Load was applied in a four-point bending scenario using a loading frame that engaged all flutes across the width of the deck sample. Deck was loaded to failure. Applied load and several displacement measurements were recorded. Maximum load measurements and load-displacement plots were used to determine the maximum moment capacity in the deck.Finite strip modeling using CUFSM v4.03 was conducted and analyses using the DSM and EWM are compared to experimental results. It was found that the DSM and EWM vary in their prediction of the nominal moment capacity across material grades and deck thicknesses, but tend to converge to a constant ratio at higher deck gages. The EWM was found to be more accurate for thinner gages and the DSM was found to be more accurate for thicker gages, but both methods provide reasonable results when determining steel roof deck capacities.
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