Numerical Investigation on Column Flange Thickness for Cold-Formed Steel Top-Seat Flange Cleat Connection

<jats:p>The large deformation of cold-formed steel bolted connection has become a significant research interest in order to construct a reliable and safe light steel frame. This paper presents a study on the influence of column flange thickness for cold-formed steel top-seat flange cleat joint using finite element method. The verified and validated modelling technique for cold-formed steel top-seat flange cleat connection is applied to the column component study. The failure of the joint is fixed at column component and the bolt pull-out from column was observed at the top tension bolt row. The increment of the thickness of column flange has improved the load-carrying characteristic by the best representation of polynomial equations at both elastic and plastic regions. The cubic polynomial equation has a good representation of initial and secant rotation stiffness in the function of the column flange thickness for cold-formed steel top-seat flange cleat joint. For relative thin cold-formed column, the thickness of open section for column flange is an important variable in the design of bolted joint in light steel framing.</jats:p>