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General question about HSS vs. structurals in transverse compression

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mod231

Industrial
Jul 20, 2009
24
Hello,
I was wondering if it is generally bad practice to intentionally put HSS (square) into transverse compression, and by this I mean laying the tube on its side and putting a "crush" load on it. Just for a little background, I need to create a base for a large metal tub to sit on that has a relatively low height, and was considering either supporting it with several rolled structural section beams or hss laid on its side, when I realized that I had never seen hss being used in a non-axial situation. Intuitively, I would think that HSS of a similar wall thickness and height has more vertical webs than a similar beam of the same web thickness and height and would be more resistant to compressive buckling. But then again the forces have to first be transferred as bending at the corners of the square tube to get into the vertical walls of the tube, and perhaps this is the limiting factor. Can anyone give me some insight on this?

Best Regards.
 
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