Prediction of cyclic large plasticity for prestrained structural steel using only tensile coupon tests

Cold-formed steel members, which experience complicated prestrain histories, are frequently applied in structural engineering. This paper aims to predict cyclic plasticity of structural steels with tensile and compressive prestrain. Monotonic and cyclic tests on hourglass specimens with tensile and compressive prestrain are conducted, and compared with numerical simulations using the Chaboche model. Two approaches are taken in the simulation. The first requires only the monotonic tensile test data from the prestrained steels, and the second requires both the monotonic tensile test data from the virgin steel and the prestrain histories. The first approach slightly overestimates the compressive stress for specimens with tensile prestrain, while the second approach is able to accurately predict the cyclic plasticity in specimens with tensile and compressive prestrain.