Stability Considerations of Laser Fused Unequal-Leg Angle Stainless Steel Columns

There is limited research on the stability behavior and design of stainless steel unequal leg anglesnin compression. As such, AISC 370: Specifcation for Structural Stainless Steel Buildings Chapter E is limited to equal-leg angle sections and requires the consideration of flexural-torsional stability in contrast to the previous Design Guide 27 recommendations from 2013. This paper reports on an experimental investigation on the stability considerations of laser-fused unequal-leg angle stainless steel columns to complement a related test series on hot-rolled unequal-leg angles. A series of unequal-leg angles with cross-sectional dimensions of 76.2 x 50.8 x 6.35 mm (3" x 2" x ¼") and lengths ranging from 254 mm (10") to 3759 mm (148") were tested in compression. From these tests, the ultimate loads were recorded in addition to displacements, twists, and failure modes through the use of strain gauges and an optical tracking system. A series of tensile coupon tests were conducted to obtain the material properties, and the residual stress distributions were measured by the sectioning method. The results obtained from this investigation will serve to expand the limited research on the stability behavior of unequal-leg angles in compression.

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