Generalised Slenderness-based Resistance Method
In metal constructions, particularly thin-walled cross-sections of higher and high-strength materials are increasingly being used. An optimal, economical and resource-saving use of materials can be achieved by a targeted shaping corresponding to the real stress condition. Current design rules, however, do not allow these advantages to be used to a sufficient extent, since for the determining failure state of the cross-sectional or component instability there are not sufficiently precise rules for more general cases.
Therefore, the Chair of Steel Structures and Composite Structures is researching alternative design methods that combine the advantages of numerical state analysis with finite elements with the requirements for a reliable and safe design: the Generalised Slenderness-based Resistance Method (GSRM).
This innovative design method replaces traditional methods of cross-section and component classification and design with a holistic approach that considers the cross-section or component and the underlying stress state as a whole. A generalised slenderness is calculated with the help of FEM tools and, depending on this slenderness, a global load capacity value is determined. The latter is based on extensive experimental and numerical research.
After the GSRM methodology has been tested and validated in a project for closed sections financed by the EU - Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS), equivalent approaches for more general cross-sectional shapes are being developed at the chair. The aim is a broad approach of the methodology in steel building and bridge constructions.