Flexural strength of aluminum members with tapered thickness component elements

摘要

Commonly used aluminum and steel structural members often have cross-sections with tapered thickness. Buckling behavior of tapered thickness component elements subjected to compression is significantly different from that of uniform thickness elements. However, typical steel and aluminum specifications suggest using the average of the varying thickness, as if the tapered component element behaves in the same way as the uniform thickness element. In this study, to precisely evaluate the compressive strength of tapered thickness plates, stiffness matrices are derived for use in an available finite strip program. Using the program, the buckling coefficients are computed for tapered thickness plates. Based on the buckling coefficients, design equations are proposed for aluminum tapered thickness component elements under compression. The equations are verified through physical tests and a parametric study using the finite element analysis. The finite element analysis is validated through the physical tests of aluminum I-shaped sections with tapered flanges.