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The local and global buckling capacity of the thin-walled box-section members formed by cold bending of ten BS700 high-strength steel (HSS) specimens are experimentally determined through an axial compression test. The mechanical properties of the materials are evaluated through material performance test, and a material model suitable for finite element analysis is proposed. The initial geometric imperfection of the members is measured, and it is found that the maximum initial deflection can be 1/1000 of the length of the members, as specified in the Chinese code. Based on the test, the ultimate bearing capacity and failure modes of the component with local and global interactive buckling are obtained. Further, a finite element model is established, and the corresponding results are compared with the test results. Furthermore, the test results are compared with those obtained using the existing specifications. The results show that the failure modes of the specimens are primarily local and global buckling failure. The influence of residual stress and initial geometric imperfection is considered in the proposed finite element model. Comparing the ultimate bearing capacity and load-displacement curves with the corresponding test results, it is found that the finite element model can effectively reproduce the test results. By comparing the test results with those obtained based on the steel structure design codes of China, the United States, and Europe, it is found that the test results are all higher than the existing code results, and the Chinese and European codes are relatively conservative with a difference of more than 20%, while the difference between the test results and the American code results is nearly 10%. Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the calculation methods of local and global buckling capacity of thin-walled box-section members of BS700 HSS under axial compression.

Fillers can improve the tensile performance of ductile tubes. Mechanical analyses of tensile tubes with filler have generally focused on experimental and numerical studies on concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) components, while mechanical performance of tensile tubes with flexible supporting fillers has rarely been investigated. In the current research, we have proposed a “steel tube+pre-stressed flexible internal support” structure. Meanwhile, strengthening of tensile thin-walled tubes with internal supports was studied in terms of stress and deformation. The trends of yield strength and ultimate strength of tensile tubes were determined and calculation equations of yield strength and normal ultimate strength of tensile tubes with internal support were derived. Strengthening coefficient variations as functions of radius-thickness ratios of steel tubes and elastic moduli of internal supports as well the optimized internal support p corresponding to maximum increment of tensile performance of tubes were also determined. It was experimentally verified that the initial supporting pre-stress of internal support on steel tubes could be achieved by cold shrink fitting technique. Experimental results revealed that the developed composite structure significantly enhanced the mechanical performance, fracture toughness, and energy consumption characteristics of tensile tubes. Hence, the proposed structure was confirmed to have promising applications.