Nonlinear FE Investigation on Behavior of Cold-Formed Stainless-Steel Columns Subject to Cyclic Loading

My undergraduate research addressed the limited understanding of the seismic behavior of cold-formed stainless-steel hollow structural section (HSS) columns subjected to combined axial compression and cyclic bending. To investigate this problem, I developed a three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model using ANSYS Mechanical APDL, incorporating both geometric and material nonlinearities together with the effects of cold-forming.

The numerical model employed advanced constitutive material modeling through the Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening and Voce isotropic hardening models and was rigorously validated against published experimental studies.

Following validation, an extensive parametric investigation involving 210 nonlinear finite element simulations was conducted to evaluate the influence of geometric and loading parameters on the cyclic behavior and seismic performance of cold-formed stainless-steel columns.

This research strengthened my interest in computational structural mechanics and demonstrated the effectiveness of advanced nonlinear finite element modeling for evaluating the cyclic response, strength, ductility, and failure mechanisms of thin-walled steel structures subjected to seismic loading.