Numerical Investigation of Adjustable Telescopic Steel Props

Abstract

Adjustable telescopic steel props are one of the most common temporary structural elements used in the construction industry, namely to support the formwork during the building, rehabilitation or retrofit of permanent structures. This paper presents different approaches concerning the numerical modelling of the structural response of axially compressed props  the advantages and disadvantages of each approach are assessed, on the basis of comparisons involving the results yielded by the various numerical analyses and experimental values previously carried out by the authors at LNEC (Portuguese National Laboratory for Civil Engineering). The paper also includes the results of a parametric/sensitivity study concerning the influence several geometric properties on the prop axial strength.