Journal of Applied Science and Engineering

Published by Tamkang University Press

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Structural Performance of Cold-Formed Rectangular

 2026

 Volume 34

Danping Chen, Han Zhou, and Xiaoli Lin

College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou 571126, Hainan, China

Received: October 08, 2025
Accepted: June 30, 2026
Publication Date: August 12, 2026

上傳圖片

Finite element model of the validated tube

 Copyright The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are cited.

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This research provides a numerical evaluation of the impact response of cold-formed rectangular hollow steel tubular (RHST) columns, using finite element models created and validated in ABAQUS/Explicit. A parametric analysis was carried out by varying three major parameters: cross-section properties (wall thickness and section size), impact angles (0◦, 45◦, and 90◦, where 0◦ corresponds to axial impact, 45◦ to oblique impact, and 90◦ to
transverse impact orientations), and impact locations (mid-span, L/2, and quarter-span, L/4), while maintaining an approximately consistent global slenderness level across all models. It is observed that the ultimate impact load increases substantially with increasing wall thickness and section size, while thicker, larger sections exhibit better deformation control. Impact orientation also affects the response mode, with 0◦ and 90◦ impacts resulting in higher impact loads and global deformations, whereas a 45◦ impact reduces global response but increases local instability. Impact location also affects impact response, with L/4 impacts generally resulting in higher ultimate impact loads but lower peak displacements than L/2 impacts. Failure modes change from local denting in thin-walled sections to a combination of global buckling and shear deformation in thicker-walled sections. This research can guide designers in designing RHST columns for accidental lateral impact, with consideration of ultimate impact capacity and deformation response.

Keywords: rectangular hollow steel tubes; lateral impact; finite element analysis; dynamic response; ABAQUS simulation.

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