Global stability performance of corroded H–shaped steel members under axial compression

Steel members exposed to natural environments are susceptible to corrosion, leading to degradation of their load–carrying capacity. As typical axial compression members, H–shaped steel members demonstrate rapid failure characteristics during global buckling, nearly leaving no time for effective remedial intervention. Current design codes lack explicit formulas for calculating the axial compression stability of corroded H–shaped members. This study conducted electrolytic accelerated corrosion and axial compression tests on 10 H–shaped specimens, obtaining load–lateral displacement curves and quantifying the degradation patterns of ultimate load–carrying capacity with increasing corrosion rates. An equivalent thickness method was proposed based on the reduction in the yield load of corroded tensile specimens, which indirectly accounts for stress concentration induced by pitting corrosion. Validated finite element models were employed for parametric analysis. Then, a novel theoretical formula was derived for calculating the ultimate load–carrying capacity, which is in the form of a continuous function. The proposed formula demonstrates applicability to corroded H–shaped members, achieving a maximum error of 7.28% compared to experimental results.