Global optimization of cold-formed steel channel sections

Cold-formed steel sections have an important advantage which is the great flexibility of cross-sectional profiles and sizes available to structural steel designers. However, this flexibility makes the selection of the most economical section difficult for a particular situation. This paper presents a global optimization method for designing the cross-section of channel beams subjected to uniformly distributed transverse loading. The optimization of the cross-section is performed using the trust-region method (TRM) based on the failure modes of yielding strength, deflection limitation, local buckling, distortional buckling and lateral–torsional buckling. Numerical examples include the comparisons of the optimized sections obtained based on the applications of BS 5950-5 standard and the recently developed ENV-1993-1-3.