New Interaction Formulae for Plastic Resistances of Z-Sections under Combinations of Bending Moments M_y,Ed, M_z,Ed and Bimoment B_Ed

Exact interaction formulae for the plastic resistances of Z-sections under a combination of three internal forces, i.e., the bending moment about the strong axis M_y,Ed, bending moment about the weak axis M_z,Ed and bimoment B_Ed, were created and analyzed. The exact interaction curves obtained by linear programming have enabled us to create and verify the proposed approximate interaction formulae. An interaction formula that takes into account these three internal forces is missing in the Eurocodes. A large parametric study was performed for rolled Z profiles. The differences between the values of the approximate interaction formulae and exact interaction curves were analyzed and summarized. The importance of correct analyses of Z-sections in Part 3 is described and examples of incorrect calculations in many publications are collected and corrected. Several researchers have analyzed plastic resistances of I-, H-, T- and U-sections under the combination of internal forces, but nobody has studied Z-sections which are frequently used as purlins. Another motivation is to show how to calculate the properties and normal stresses in the sections without axes of symmetry, which are frequently calculated in incorrect ways, when using non-principal axes of the section.