In this paper, collapse behavior of simple and reinforced thin-walled channel- section beams, subjected to three- point bending, is investigated. Many simple channel- section beams of different geometry and some reinforced ones were tested, and their strengths after collapse were obtained thoroughly. Since the available theories in this area are complicated and little attention has been paid to the case of reinforced thin-walled beams, simple models were used and further developed to give an account of the collapse load and the deformation energy of such beams. The method proposed in this paper is valuable both to the further studies of the symmetric thin-walled beams with arbitrary cross-section and to its practical application of such beams as energy absorbers.

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