Resistance of Steel Sections (Classes 1 to 4) Including Bimoment Effects

This article investigates the structural resistance of thin-walled steel sections classified as Classes 1 to 4 under Eurocode 3. The study focuses on flexural capacity, and takes into consideration the effects of local buckling and the bimoment. Although Class 1 and 2 sections can develop complete plastic resistance, Class 3 sections are limited to elastic behavior prior to local instability. For Class 4 sections, effective width methods are employed to account for the reduction in strength due to early local buckling. Based on Eurocode formulations, these approaches are extended to incorporate the influence of the bimoment, which is significant in thin-walled open sections under non-uniform torsion. A comparative analysis between analytical models and numerical simulations is presented, with an emphasis on how the bimoment alters stress distributions and reduces the effective widths of slender plates. The results underscore the necessity of including these effects in the structural design of thin-walled members, particularly for open profiles subjected to bending and warping.