Buckling Effective Length Factor of Columns in Fast-Disassembling Recycle-Use Steel Container Modular Houses

To serve important construction projects and scientific explorations in inaccessible areas, the fast-disassembling recycle-use steel container modular house has been proposed. It is a kind of particular frame or braced frame in which beams and columns are connected to corner joints. Connections between columns and corner joints are mostly partially rigid. Sometimes, connections between beams and corner joints are also partially rigid. To provide a calculation method for the buckling effective length factor of columns in container modular houses, 37469 column models have been analyzed. It can be observed that the buckling effective length factor of columns in container modular houses can be calculated by equations of sidesway uninhibited frame column or sidesway inhibited frame that considers the flexural stiffness released of column ends if corner-joints are rigid. Impacts of stiffness of corner-joint are simplified. The corner-joint’s stiffness requirements are found if the corner-joint can be treated as rigid. Furthermore, an equivalent beam stiffness is proposed when beam ends are partially connected with corner-joints.