The assistant director of Academic Affairs and Teaching Staff at the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, Pedro Casariego, recently published two articles in the journal Thin Walled Structures, ranked in the first quartile by Journal Citation Report (JCR), entitled “Analytical study of flat and curved trapezoidal cold formed steel sheets by means of the Yield Line Theory. Part 1: Flat sheets without transverse corrugations” and “Part 2: Curved sheets with transverse corrugations”. 

The object of study are self-supporting arches made by press-forming cold formed steel trapezoidal sheeting, also the title of his PhD, which he completed at the Technical School of Industrial Engineering of Barcelona (ETSEIB). These arches, which are self-supporting, are produced by press-forming commercial steel deck profiles into curved panels, creating a structural arch. Once the panel has been produced, it is brought to the construction site, where it is installed directly onto the structure’s main beams. These arches are highly competitive, as they are thin, with a thickness of between 0.6 and 1.2 mm, yet can span distances of up to 9 metres without the need for joists.

According to Dr Casariego, “the problem with this type of structure lies in the fact that, at present, it is unclear how press-forming may affect the behaviour of the sheets. There are no standardised tests for measuring strength and virtually no research focused on this subject”. 

The research has been approached through experimental tests, by using the Finite Element Method to analyse the sheets and lastly with analytical calculations, applying the Yield Line Theory to the pattern formed on the sheet following collapse. The results of the three approaches comprise and are addressed in the body of the articles, which have achieved satisfactory results regarding the influence of press-forming on steel sheets.