The importance of allowing for the many different types of structural interaction that have an effect on the performance of light gauge members when used in practical situations is emphasized. A distinction is drawn between internal interactions involving the various plate elements of the steel profiles and external interactions involving the other components in the system. Although full-scale testing of representative systems can capture this behavior, the costs involved make this an impractical general basis for design; codified methods generally consider only isolated plates within members and isolated members within systems, thereby neglecting the potentially beneficial effects of both forms of interaction. Properly used, modern methods of numerical analysis offer the potential to systematically allow for both forms of interaction — provided the numerical models used have been adequately validated against suitable tests. The use of such an approach is explained and illustrated for three commonly used structural systems: roof purlins, floor beams, and columns in stud walls. In each case, it is shown that, provided sufficient care is taken, the numerical approach can yield accurate predictions of the observed test behavior. The subsequently generated large portfolio of numerical results can then provide clear insights into the exact nature of the various interactions and, thus, form the basis for more realistic design approaches that are both more accurate in their predictions and which lead to more economic designs. Building on this, modifying existing arrangements so as to yield superior performance through specific modifications is now possible. Two such examples, one in which improved interconnection between the components in a system is investigated and a second in which prestressing is shown to provide substantial enhancement for relatively small and simple changes, are presented.

中文翻译：

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轻钢系统设计的发展基础

强调了允许在实际情况下使用时对轻型构件的性能产生影响的许多不同类型的结构相互作用的重要性。在涉及钢型材的各种板元素的内部相互作用和涉及系统中其他组件的外部相互作用之间进行了区分。尽管对代表性系统的全面测试可以捕捉到这种行为，但所涉及的成本使其成为不切实际的一般设计基础；编纂的方法通常只考虑构件内的孤立板和系统内的孤立构件，从而忽略了这两种相互作用形式的潜在有益影响。使用得当，现代数值分析方法提供了系统地允许两种形式的相互作用的潜力——前提是所使用的数值模型已经通过适当的测试得到充分验证。对三种常用结构系统的这种方法的使用进行了解释和说明：屋顶檩条、地板梁和立柱墙中的柱。在每种情况下，都表明，只要采取足够的措施，数值方法可以对观察到的测试行为产生准确的预测。随后生成的大量数值结果可以为各种相互作用的确切性质提供清晰的见解，从而形成更现实的设计方法的基础，这些方法的预测更准确，并导致更经济的设计。以此为基础，现在可以通过特定的修改来修改现有的安排以产生卓越的性能。两个这样的例子，一个是研究系统中组件之间改进的互连，另一个是显示预应力为相对较小和简单的变化提供显着增强的第二个例子。