Post-necking and damage modelling of steel structural components: A comprehensive state of the art

Numerical simulations are widely used both for research purposes and in technical practice to address structural design of steel components. When dealing with damage and ductile fracture of such components, the reliability of obtained outcomes strongly depend on adopting appropriate modelling assumptions. Nevertheless, up to very recent times, only few normative prescriptions were available for designers around the world regarding this topic, i.e., in spite of its strong implications in limit-state design of fracture-governed components (e.g., bolted connections, plates weakened by holes, etc…). In light of new developments of prEN1993–1-14:2023, which allows expert designers to implement advanced damage models for structural steel modelling, in the present work a review about consolidated formulations to capture post-necking and damage behaviour of steel components is presented, i.e., with the aim to serve as a guideline for either researchers and designers. To this end, on the basis of pioneering works and recent research contributions, the following topics are addressed: (i) post-necking behaviour of ductile structural steels, (ii) ductile damage initiation criteria and (iii) damage evolution criteria. Each presented formulation is critically reviewed based on notable applications drawn from literature. Finally, some examples of comprehensive use of such models for safety assessment of structural steel details are introduced and thoroughly discussed.