Estudio del comportamiento de estructuras fabricadas con metal expandido sometidas a compresión axial

a sheet of expanded metal is conventionally fabricated from sheet metal that is slit and stretched (expanded) to form a structure with interstices. (mulder, 2005). when expanding the metal a diamond like cell pattern is formed which is characterised by two geometrical axes. this product can be used for catwalks, electrical applications, safety fences, decorative purposes and also as reinforcement for concrete. currently expanded metal is used for structural application, however little information can be found regarding the behavior of structural elements made of expanded metal. the aim of this paper is to study the axial collapse of square and round tubes made of expanded metal sheet under compressive loading to describe the global behavior of these structures. quasi-static compression tests were performed at room temperature in a mts machine in order to investigate the influence of the angle formed between the major axis of the expanded metal and the load direction. from the results, three types of collapse response were observed depending on the orientation of the axes: (1) mode 1 characterized by a plastic collapse mechanism; (2) mode 2 local buckling of the individual cells; and (3) mode 3 global buckling of the tube walls.