Buckling of steel cylindrical hollow sections with large imperfections under compression

This study was conducted using finite element analyses on CHS steel tubes with geometric variables. The ultimate capacity and buckling modes were evaluated and discussed in this paper. The effect of dent-shaped damages was assessed for different models with a varying slenderness, and the buckling behaviour was compared for such models. In general, the dent imperfection appeared to have a moderately reducing effect on the capacity. Yet, a reduction of 25% for the largest dents was found in slender models, which is significant when design and/or rehabilitation of these elements are taken into consideration. Very good agreement was seen comparing experiments and the present models demonstrating that the present FE approach was capable of being employed to examine the buckling response of dented cylindrical shells.