Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

www.elsevier.com/locate/tws

Lateraltorsional buckling of cold-formed

zed-purlins partial-laterally restrained
by metal sheeting
Long-yuan Li

School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Received 15 April 2003; received in revised form 17 February 2004; accepted 19 March 2004

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical model for predicting the lateraltorsional buckling of
cold-formed zed-purlins partial-laterally restrained by metal sheeting for both down and
uplift loadings. The critical load is determined by using energy methods. The focus of the
study is to investigate the individual inuences of restraints provided by the sheeting and by
interval anti-sag bars, the variation of moment distribution along the longitudinal axis, and
boundary conditions on the lateraltorsional buckling behaviour of the purlin.
# 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Cold-formed; Purlin; Steel; Thin-walled beam; Lateraltorsional buckling

1. Introduction

Cold-formed steel sections are widely used as purlins or rails in farming and
industrial buildings, the intermediate members between the main structural frame
and the corrugated roof or wall sheeting. The most common shapes (cross-sections)
of the cold-formed steel members are those of zed, channel, and sigma. These types
of cross-sections are inherently sensitive to local, distorsional, and lateraltorsional
buckling. Historically, the load-bearing capacity of cold-formed steel members has
been determined by full-scale testing [16]. However, with the increasing use of
various new cladding systems, and the ever-increasing cost of testing, there is now
a real demand for the development of analytical design procedures.

Tel.: +44-121-359-3611; fax: +44-121-333-3389.
E-mail address: l.y.li@aston.ac.uk (L.-y. Li).

0263-8231/$ - see front matter # 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tws.2004.03.005
996 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

As dened in [7], for a thin-walled structure, the local buckling is a mode involv-
ing plate exure along without transverse deformation of a line or lines of inter-
section of adjoining plates which can be characterised by a relatively short
half-wavelength of the order of magnitude of individual plate elements. The distor-
tional buckling is a mode of buckling involving change in cross-sectional shape
excluding local buckling which is characterised by a half-wavelength typically
several times larger than the largest characteristic dimension of the section. The
lateraltorsional buckling is a mode in which individual cross-sections rotate and
translate but do not distort in shape and is characterised by rigid body movements
of the whole member. In design specications [811], the eect of local buckling on
the load carrying capacity of cold-formed steel members is taken into account by
using eective widths, the approach of which was originally developed by Winter
[12] from the postbuckling analysis of plates under compression. This concept has
now been extended to account for the eect of distorsional buckling of edge stif-
fened elements or stiened elements with an intermediate stiener [9,10]. Compared
to the local and distorsional buckling, the lateraltorsional buckling has been little
concerned. This is partly because cold-formed steel members are usually used
together with metal sheeting that restrains the lateral movement of the members
and thus reduces the possibility of occurring lateraltorsional buckling, and partly
because the lateraltorsional buckling is traditionally prevented by the use of less-
costing anti-sag bars.
It is well known that long beams with low lateral stiness and low torsional sti-
ness are very prone to buckle laterally. Because of the geometry of the cross-
section, which gives great exural rigidity about one axis at the expense of low
torsional rigidity and low exural rigidity about a perpendicular axis, cold-formed
members are particularly susceptible to lateraltorsional buckling. Very little
research has been performed on partially restrained members to determine their
lateraltorsional buckling capacity. In design specications such as BS5950-5 [8],
the lateraltorsional buckling of cold-formed members is calculated based on the
theory of a detached beam, the result of which is obviously too conservative as it
neglects the inuence of sheeting restraints. The recently developed nite strip
analysis packages are aimed to predict more accurate elastic buckling stresses
related to local, distorsional, and lateraltorsional buckling [7,13,14]. However, at
present, these packages can be only applied to the case where the member is sub-
jected to pure compression or/and pure bending. For local buckling, it may be
acceptable to assume constant stresses along the longitudinal axis because of its
relatively short half-wavelength. For distorsional buckling and particularly for
lateraltorsional buckling, however, the stress gradient along the longitudinal axis
should be considered if the result of the nite strip analysis is going to be used for
the design purpose.
In this paper, an analytical model for predicting the lateraltorsional buckling of
cold-formed steel members is presented. The model is constructed for the practical
case where the cold-formed member is subjected to transverse loads and is
restrained partial-laterally by sheeting and interval anti-sag bars. The focus of the
paper is to investigate the inuence of the restraints provided by the sheeting and
 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011 997

by the interval anti-sag bars, and the variation of moment along the longitudinal
axis on the lateraltorsional buckling behaviour of the cold-formed steel member.

2. Analytical model

Consider a purlin that is partially restrained by the sheeting on its upper ange.
The restraint of the sheeting can be simplied by one translational spring and one
rotational spring, as shown in Fig. 1. Let the origin of the coordinate system
(x,y,z) be the centroid of the cross-section, with x axis being along the longitudinal
direction of the beam, and y and z axes taken in the plane of the cross-section. For
an arbitrary axis system, the relationship between bending moments and radii of
curvature can be expressed as:

  

My I Iyz 1=Rz
E y 1
Mz Iyz Iz 1=Ry

where My and Mz are the bending moments about y and z axes, E is Youngs
modulus, Iy and Iz are the second moments of the cross-section area about y and z
axes, Iyz is the product moment of the cross-section area, Ry and Rz are the radii of
curvature of the centroidal axis in the xz and xy planes, respectively. The moment
in Eq. (1) is dened as positive if it creates a tensile stress for positive y and z
values. Thus, My has the same direction as y axis, while Mz has an opposite direc-
tion to z axis.

Fig. 1. An analytical model for lateraltorsional buckling analysis.

998 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

Note that for small deections, the radii of curvature can be expressed in terms
of deections of the centroidal axis as follows:
1 d2 v 1 d2 w
 2;  2 2
Ry dx Rz dx
where v and w are the deections of the beam centroidal axis in y and z directions,
respectively. The strain energy of the beam due to deections and rotation can be
expressed as:
l      2
1 My Mz GJ l d/ 2 ECw l d2 /
Ubeam dx dx dx 3
2 o Rz Ry 2 o dx 2 o dx2
where G is the modulus of elasticity in shear, J is the torsion constant, Cw is the
warping constant, / is the angle of twist, and l is the span length of the beam. The
rst term in Eq. (3) represents the strain energy due to bending about y and z axes,
the second term represents the strain energy due to twisting, and the third term
represents the warping strain energy, respectively. The strain energy stored in the
two springs due to the deformation of the beam can be expressed by
l  
kz h/ 2 k/ l 2
Uspring w dx / dx 4
2 o 2 2 o
where kz and k/ are the per-unit-length stiness constants of the translational and
rotational springs, h is the depth of the section.
It is assumed that the purlin is subjected to the external loads of a vertical uni-
formly distributed load within the span and concentrated moments at its ends. The
work done by these external loads can be expressed by
l    
dw  dw 
Wo qy v  a/dx Myo  Myl 
o   dxx0 dx xl
dv  dv 
Mzo  Mzl  5
dx x0 dx xl
where qy is the density of uniformly distributed load, a is the distance between
loading line and web central line, Myo, Myl, Mzo, Mzl are the concentrated
moments about y and z axes, applied at the ends of the purlin. The deections, v(x)
and w(x), and the angle of twist, /(x) due to the externally applied loads can be
determined by employing the principle of the minimum potential energy as follows:

dP dU  Wo dUbeam Uspring  Wo 0 6
where P is the total potential of the system. After the deections and rotation are
determined, the pre-buckling moment distributions along the longitudinal axis can
then be calculated using Eq. (1).
The analysis of linear elastic buckling can be done using a similar energy
method. Let Moy and Moz be the pre-buckling moment distributions that are
obtained from the pre-buckling stress analysis. The pre-buckling longitudinal stress
 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011 999

due to Moy and Moz can be calculated by using the bending formula of the asym-
metric beam:

Moz Iy  Moy Iyz Moy Iz  Moz Iyz

rx x; y; z 2
y 2
z 7
Iy Iz  Iyz Iy Iz  Iyz

Note that rx is the function of y and z as well as of x. Now, let v(x) and w(x) be
the buckling deections of the beam centroidal axis in y and z directions and /(x)
as the buckling twisting about x axis. Thus, the strain energy generated by the
buckling displacements can be calculated using Eq. (3) for the purlin and Eq. (4)
for the springs.
The buckling deections of the beam at any point (x,y,z) during buckling can be
expressed in terms of the buckling displacements of the beam centroidal axis, v(x),
w(x) and /(x), as follows [16]:

1

vx; y; z v  zsin/ ycos/  1  v  z/  y/2
2 8
1

x; y; z w zcos/  1 ysin/  w y/  z/2
w
2

where
vx; y; z and w

x; y; z are the deections of the beam at point (x,y,z) during
the buckling. The longitudinal displacement at point (x,y,z) can be expressed as
follows:

dv dw d/

 zcos/ ysin/
ux; y; z u  ycos/  zsin/ by; z
dx dx dx
dv dw d/ dv dw
uy z b z/  y/ 9
dx dx dx dx dx

where b(y,z) is the warping function of St. Venant torsion,
ux; y; z and u(x) are
the longitudinal displacements of the beam at points (x,y,z) and (x,o,o), respect-
ively. The longitudinal strain and shear strains generated by the buckling displace-
ments can be calculated by
"    #
u 1
@
@
v 2
2
@w
ex x; y; z
@x 2 @x @x
u @
v @ w
@

@w
10
cxy x; y; z
@y @x @x @y
u @w
@

@
v @
v
cxz x; y; z
@z @x @x @z

Substituting Eqs. (8) and (9) into (10) and splitting them into linear and non-
linear terms in terms of the buckling displacements, it leads to the following
1000 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

second-order nonlinear strains:

"     2 #  2 
1 dv 2 dw 2 2 2 d/ d v d2 w
ex2 x; y; z y z / z 2 y 2
2 dx dx dx dx dx
cxy2 0
cxz2 0
11
The work done by the pre-buckling longitudinal stress through the second-order
strains is calculated by
l
W1  rx x; y; zex2 x; y; zdA dx 12
o A

The negative sign in Eq. (12) is because rx and Ex2 are in opposite direction. Sub-
stituting Eq. (11) into (12) and noting that for the zed purlin that is symmetric
about its centroid

rx x; y; zdA 0
A 13
rx x; y; zy2 z2 dA 0
A

the following equation is obtained

l  2 
dw d2 v
W1 rx x; y; z y 2  z 2 / dA dx
dx dx
ol A 
d2 w d2 v
/ Moz 2  Moy 2 dx 14
o dx dx
Note that W1 does not include the work caused due to the lowering of the dis-
tributed load during the rotation which is due to the load that is not acting at the
shear centre [17]. When this is considered, the work should be expressed by
l  
d2 w d2 v h l
W W1 W2 / Moz 2  Moy 2 dx qy /2 dx 15
o dx dx 4 o
It is known that for any innitesimal buckling displacements, if the strain energy
generated by the buckling displacements is less than the work done by the pre-
buckling stresses, then buckling will occur. Mathematically, this means that buck-
ling occurs at:
kW kW1 W2  U Uspring Ubeam 16
where k is the loading proportional factor and U is the total strain energy of the
system generated by the buckling displacements. The minimum buckling critical
load thus is calculated by

dU  kW 0 17
 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011 1001

3. Numerical implementation

Eqs. (6) and (17) can be applied to the general case where the purlin can have
any boundary conditions and subjected to any distribution loads and moments.
Variational Eq. (6) is equivalent to the pre-buckling equilibrium equation, whereas
variational Eq. (17) is equivalent to the secondary equilibrium of the system, that
is, so-called buckling equation. For a given problem, one can determine the pre-
buckling displacement functions v(x), w(x) and /(x) and thus the pre-buckling
moment distributions, Moy and Moz by solving the variational Eq. (6) and then
determine the critical load factor and corresponding buckling displacements v(x),
w(x) and /(x) by solving the variational Eq. (17). It should be mentioned here that
the strain energies, U, in Eqs. (6) and (17) have dierent meanings although they
have the same expression. In the former, the strain energy is generated by the pre-
buckling deections and rotation which are caused by the loads externally applied
to the purlin; while in the latter, the strain energy is the buckling strain energy gen-
erated by the buckling displacements, which are determined from the buckling
Eq. (17).
In the following numerical study, focus is on the purlin that is laterally
restrained in the translational direction but free in the rotational direction (that is,
kz 1, k/ 0), which is a case of most practical applications. For the purlin with
its upper ange being laterally restrained, the rotational displacement can be
expressed in terms of the deection in the horizontal direction as follows:

2
/x wx 18
h

For this particular case, the strain energy expression (3) and work expressions
(5) and (15) can be simplied into:
l "  2 2  2 2 #
E 4Cw d w d2 w d2 v d v
U Iy 2 2
2Iyz 2 2 Iz 2
dx
2 o h dx dx dx dx
 
2GJ l dw 2
2 dx 19
h o dx


l     
2aw dw  dw 
Wo q y v  dx Myo  Myl 
o h  dx x0 dx xl
dv  dv 
Mzo  Mzl  20
dx x0 dx xl

l  
2 d2 w d2 v 1 l
W w Moz 2  Moy 2 dx qy w2 dx 21
h o dx dx h o
1002 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

The horizontal and vertical deections of the purlin at the centroid can be con-
structed by using cubic spline interpolations as follows:
P
n
vx vi fi x; xi
i1
Pn 22
wx wi fi x; xi
i1

where vi and wi are the to-be-determined horizontal and vertical deections at interp-
olation points xi, fi(x,xi) is the spline interpolation function which is constructed
in terms of the function values at n internal interpolation points (x1, x2,. . ., xn)
and function and derivative values at two end points (xo, xn1 ). The function values
used for constructing fi(x,xi) are dened as:
fi x; xi 1 for x xi
23
fi x; xi 0 for x xj 6 xi j 0; 1; . . . ; n 1
The derivative values used at end points are dependent upon the real boundary
conditions of the member. For each end, it is divided into two cases:
dfi x; xi
 0 for a fixed boundary at end x xj 24
dx
d2 fi x; xi
 0 for a simply supported boundary at end x xj 25
dx2
Fig. 2 graphically shows the proles of the spline interpolation employed for two
dierent boundaries. It can be seen that the inuence of the boundary on the func-
tion distribution prole is mainly in the region close to the boundary. The superi-
ority of using spline functions over the traditional trigonometric series is obvious.
Firstly, it can easily t the required boundary conditions. Secondly, it is convenient
to simulate intermediate point restraints provided by the anti-sag bars.
Substituting Eq. (22) into Eqs. (19) and (21) and then into the variational
Eqs. (6) and (17), it yields two algebra equations,
    
Ao Bo fvi g ffyi g
26
Bo Co fwi g ffzi g
     
Ao Bo fvi g A1 B1 fvi g
k 27
Bo Co fwi g B1 C1 fwi g
where Ao, Bo and Co are the coecients obtained from the calculation of the strain
energy, fyi and fzi are the coecients obtained from the calculation of the work
done by the externally applied loads, A1, B1 and C1 are the coecients obtained
from the calculation of the work done by the pre-buckling stress. Eq. (26) is the
pre-buckling equilibrium equation and the corresponding solutions {vi} and {wi}
represent the deections of the purlin centroid at x xi . Whereas Eq. (27) is the
buckling equation and the corresponding solutions {vi}, {wi} and k represent the
buckling modes and corresponding critical load factors. The smallest eigenvalue of
Eq. (27) represents the buckling critical load factor of the member.
 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011 1003

Fig. 2. Proles of spline interpolations n 5.

4. Numerical examples

Consider a zed-purlin with the sectional dimensions of web depth h 202 mm,
ange width b 75 mm, lip length c 20 mm and thickness t 2:0 mm, and
material properties of Youngs modulus E 205 GPa, Poissons ratio m 0:3, and
yield stress ry 390 MPa. Four dierent cases, shown in Table 1 where the yield
moment is dened as Myield ry Iz =h=2, are discussed in the following numerical
studies. The external loads in each case are normalised using the factors dened in
Table 1. Hence, the eigenvalue obtained in buckling analysis represents the critical
load factor. Note that due to the sign convention used for the vertical uniformly
distributed load qy, the smallest positive eigenvalue represents the critical load cor-
responding to down loading case, whereas the smallest negative eigenvalue repre-
sents the critical load corresponding to uplift loading case. For the pure bending,
the smallest negative eigenvalue represents the critical load since it is in that case
the bottom ange is in compression. Also, to be close to practical, the loading
1004 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

Table 1
The load and end moments used for pre-buckling analysis
Cases Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4
Boundaries Pinnedpinned Pinnedpinned Pinnedxed Fixedxed
UDL, qy 0 8Myield =l 2 8Myield =l 2 12Myield =l 2
Moments, Myield 0 0 0
Mzo Mzl
Moments, Iyz =Iz Myield 0 0 0
Myo Myl
Critical load kMyield 8kMyield =l 2 8kMyield =l 2 12kMyield =l 2

point is assumed as that for uplift loading a b=2 whereas for down loading
a 0. The boundary conditions for the lateral displacement are assumed to be
simply supported for all of the cases, whereas for the vertical displacement they are
specied in each of the cases.
Fig. 3 shows the critical loads of the simply-supported zed-purlin under the
action of pure bending. The results are compared with those obtained from the
nite strip method [13] for the purlin with and without the lateral restraints. As is
expected, the present solution provides exactly the same results as the nite strip
method. It is noticed from the gure that, for the pure bending, the lateral dis-
placement restraint seems to have almost no inuence on the lateraltorsional
buckling. The reason for this is because for the assumed pure bending case the
beam is deected only in the xy plane before it buckles and therefore the lateral
restraint does not provide any inuence on the pre-buckling moment distributions.
As is demonstrated in [15], the inuence of the lateral displacement restraint on the
lateraltorsional buckling is mainly due to its inuence on the pre-buckling stress
distribution rather than on the buckling modes. The slight dierence between the
two sets of critical loads as shown in Fig. 3 for shorter beams reects the inuence
of the lateral restrains on the buckling modes.
Fig. 4 shows the critical loads of the laterally restrained purlin with both ends
simply supported, subjected to an uplift uniformly distributed transverse load. In
order to investigate the inuence of the moment gradient on the buckling critical
load, the critical loads with respect to a pure bending are also superimposed in this
gure. It is evident from this gure that the critical load for the pure bending case
is signicantly lower than that for the uniformly distributed load case. The dier-
ence between the two cases decreases with the increase of span length. This demon-
strates that, as far as the lateraltorsional buckling is concerned the design load
based on the pure bending is over conservative.
For purlins with interval anti-sag bars, the lateral displacement w(x) is assumed
to be zero at the point where the anti-sag bar is placed. According to Eq. (22), this
is to constrain the lateral deection degree w(x) at the position of anti-sag bars.
This can be easily implemented in the spline interpolation as one can use the coor-
dinate points of anti-sag bars as the interpolation points and then eliminate corre-
sponding rows and columns in the matrix Eqs. (26) and (27).
 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011 1005

Fig. 3. Comparisons of critical loads for the purlin with and without lateral restraints, subjected to a
pure bending.

The inuence of anti-sag bars on the lateraltorsional buckling of the simply

supported zed-purlin is also shown in Fig. 4, in which the anti-sag bar is assumed
to be at the middle (for one bar) or at the places of 3/8 and 5/8 of the span length
(for two bars). The results demonstrate the eectiveness in using anti-sag bars to
prevent the lateraltorsional buckling since a signicant increase in critical load
can be achieved by using anti-sag bars.

Fig. 4. Critical loads of the laterally restrained purlin with simply supported ends.
1006 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

Fig. 5 plots the pre-buckling moment distributions for the simply supported pur-
lin with and without lateral restraints, subjected to a uniformly distributed trans-
verse load. The results show that the lateral restraint does not have inuence on
the bending moment about z axis but does aect the moment about y axis. It is the
restraint that generates the moment Moy which increases with the distance from the
loading point to the web central line. From the sign convention used for Moy and
Moz, it is recognised that Moy will result in an increase in longitudinal stresses and
therefore decreases the critical load. This indicates that, for a simply supported
zed-purlin, the lateral restraint provided by the sheeting actually has a diverse
inuence on uplift loading.
Fig. 6 shows the critical load of a laterally restrained purlin with one end simply
supported and other end xed. In order to see the inuence of the boundary con-
ditions on the buckling critical load, the curve shown in Fig. 4 for the purlin with
both ends simply supported is also superimposed in this gure. It can be seen that

Fig. 5. Pre-buckling moment diagrams for the simply supported purlin with and without lateral
restraints (dash lines for purlin without restraints).
 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011 1007

Fig. 6. Critical loads of the laterally restrained purlin with one end pinned and the other end xed
(uplift loading).

signicant increase in critical load can be achieved by changing the boundary con-
dition from a pinned support to a xed support.
It is known from the moment distribution diagram that for a pinnedxed beam,
there are two dierent regions in terms of the compression or tension of the bot-
tom ange. For uplift loading, the dominant region is one in which the bottom
ange is in compression, while for down loading, the region in which the bottom
ange is in compression is only less than one-third of the span length. However,
the occurrence of lateraltorsional buckling is dependent on not only the length of
the compression zone but also the magnitude of the compressive stresses. As far as
the magnitude of the compressive stress is concerned, the worst case is in the short
zone where the stress is the highest. Therefore, unlike the pinnedpinned purlin
for which buckling occurs only when the load is upwards, the pinnedxed purlin
can buckle under either an uplift loading or a down loading. Fig. 7 shows the
critical load of the lateraltorsional buckling of the pinnedxed purlin under
down loading. It can be seen that the lateraltorsional buckling for down loading
should be considered, when the span length is greater than 6 m, although, the
buckling critical load for the down loading is generally greater than that for the
uplift loading.
Fig. 8 shows the similar results for the purlin with both ends xed. As is expec-
ted, more signicant increase in critical loads can be seen when both ends are xed.
Fig. 9 shows the critical load of the xedxed purlin under a down loading. The
results show that, when the purlin is xed on its both ends, the buckling critical
1008 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

Fig. 7. Critical loads of the laterally restrained purlin with one end pinned and the other end xed
(down loading).

load for the down loading is actually less than that for the uplift loading. This can
be explained from the pre-buckling bending moment distribution diagram. Com-
pared to the pinnedxed beam, the xedxed beam has short compression zone
and therefore the buckling critical load is high for the uplift loading. On the other

Fig. 8. Critical loads of the laterally restrained purlin with both ends xed (uplift loading).
 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011 1009

Fig. 9. Critical loads of the laterally restrained purlin with both ends xed (down loading).

hand, when the loading is downwards, the xedxed beam has two compression
zones located in the two ends, which makes the beam easier to buckle. Another
eect on the lateraltorsional buckling of the purlin, which contributes to all
boundary conditions, is the position of the loading point. Since the loading point is
not at the shear centre but at the upper ange, this results in an increase of uplift
critical load but a decrease of downward critical load.

5. Design load

The critical load shown in preceding section is the perfectly elastic critical load
that does not include the interaction between buckling and yield of materials. It
also does not include the inuence of geometrical imperfection of the member. For
design purpose, however, these factors may have to be considered. Various empiri-
cal design formulae for cold-formed steel members have been developed which are
based on the critical load, yield stress and the geometrical properties of the mem-
ber. The present calculation method for the critical load of lateraltorsional buck-
ling can be easily incorporated into existing empirical formulae for calculating
loading tables. Details can be found, for example, in [811].

6. Conclusions

The lateraltorsional buckling of cold-formed steel purlin partially restrained by

steel sheeting under both uplift and down loadings has been investigated using
1010 L.-y. Li / Thin-Walled Structures 42 (2004) 9951011

energy methods. The analytical model presented herein traces the eects of bound-
ary conditions, lateral restraints provided by interval anti-sag bars, and the vari-
ation of pre-buckling moments on the buckling critical load of the purlin. From
the numerical results obtained in this study, the following conclusions can be
drawn:

. For the purlin subjected to pure bending, the lateral restraint provided by the
sheeting has almost no eect on the lateraltorsional buckling of the member.
. For the purlin subjected to a uniformly distributed load, the lateral restraint pro-
vided by the sheeting has a diverse inuence on the lateraltorsional buckling of
the member.
. The variation of moment gradient has signicant inuence on the buckling criti-
cal load of the member. The critical load related to the pure bending is the worst
case among the four cases discussed.
. The boundary conditions of the vertical displacement have signicant inuence
on the lateraltorsional buckling of the member. For pinnedxed and xed
xed purlins, the lateraltorsional buckling due to down loading should be con-
sidered.
. Interval anti-sag bars can be the very eective way to increase the resistance of
the member to the lateraltorsional buckling.

References
[1] Moore DB, Sims PAC. Load tests on full-scale cold formed steel roofs. Building Research Estab-
lishment Report, part 1: sigma purlin system, part 2: zed purlin system and part 3: zeta purlin sys-
tem. Department of the Environment, Building Research Station, Garston, Watford WD2 7JR,
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