• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.441-456
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• 2024

This paper aims to develop Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to predict the buckling resistance of cold-formed steel (CFS) channels with restrained flanges, widely used in typical CFS sheathed wall panels, and provide practical design tools for engineers. The effects of cross-sectional restraints were first evaluated on the elastic buckling behaviour of CFS channels subjected to pure axial compressive load or bending moment. Feedforward multi-layer Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were then trained on different datasets comprising CFS channels with various dimensions and properties, plate thicknesses, and restraining conditions on one or two flanges, while the elastic distortional buckling resistance of the elements were determined according to the Finite Strip Method (FSM). To develop less biased networks and ensure that every observation from the original dataset has the chance of appearing in the training and test set, a K-fold cross-validation technique was implemented. In addition, the hyperparameters of the ANNs were tuned using a grid search technique to provide ANNs with optimum performances. The results demonstrated that the trained ANNs were able to predict the elastic distortional buckling resistance of CFS flange-restrained elements with an average accuracy of 99% in terms of coefficient of determination. The developed models were then used to propose a simple ANN-based design formula for the prediction of the elastic distortional buckling stress of CFS flange-restrained elements. Finally, the proposed formula was further evaluated on a separate set of unseen data to ensure its accuracy for practical applications.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.57-70
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• 2016

The predominant type of buckling that I-steel concrete composite beams experience in the negative moment area is distortional buckling. The key factors that affect distortional buckling are the torsional and lateral restraints by the bottom flange. This study thoroughly investigates the equivalent lateral and torsional restraint stiffnesses of the bottom flange of an I-steel concrete composite beam under negative moments. The results show a coupling effect between the applied forces and the lateral and torsional restraint stiffnesses of the bottom flange. A formula is proposed to calculate the critical buckling stress of the I-steel concrete composite beams under negative moments by considering the lateral and torsional restraint stiffnesses of the bottom flange. The proposed method is shown to better predict the critical bending moment of the I-steel composite beams. This article introduces an improved method to calculate the elastic foundation beams, which takes into account the lateral and torsional restraint stiffnesses of the bottom flange and considers the coupling effect between them. The results show a close match in results from the calculation method proposed in this paper and the ANSYS finite element method, which validates the proposed calculation method. The proposed calculation method provides a theoretical basis for further research on distortional buckling and the ultimate resistance of I-steel concrete composite beams under a variable axial force.