• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.325-340
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• 2005

This paper presents a thorough investigation into the structural performance of cold-formed steel column bases using double lipped C sections with bolted moment connections. A total of four column base tests with different connection configurations were carried out, and it was found that section failure under combined bending and shear was always critical. Moreover, the proposed column bases were demonstrated to be structurally efficient attaining moment resistances close to those of the connected sections. In order to examine the structural behaviour of the column base connections, a finite element model was established using shell and spring elements to model the sections and the bolted fastenings respectively. Both material and geometrical non-linearities were incorporated, and comparison between the test and the numerical results was presented in details. The design rules originally developed for bolted moment connections between lapped Z sections were adopted and re-formulated for the design of column base connections after careful calibration against the test data. Comparison on co-existing moments and shear forces at the critical cross-sections of the column bases was fully presented. It was shown that the proposed design and analysis method was structurally adequate to predict the failure loads under combined bending and shear for column bases with similar connection configurations.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.289-304
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• 2005

This paper presents a thorough investigation into the structural performance of cold-formed steel column bases using double lipped C sections with bolted moment connections. A total of four column base tests with different connection configurations were carried out, and it was found that section failure under combined bending and shear was always critical. Moreover, the proposed column bases were demonstrated to be structurally efficient attaining moment resistances close to those of the connected sections. In order to examine the structural behaviour of the column base connections, a finite element model was established using shell and spring elements to model the sections and the bolted fastenings respectively. Both material and geometrical non-linearities were incorporated, and comparison between the test and the numerical results was presented in details. The design rules originally developed for bolted moment connections between lapped Z sections were adopted and re-formulated for the design of column base connections after careful calibration against the test data. Comparison on co-existing moments and shear forces at the critical cross-sections of the column bases was fully presented. It was shown that the proposed design and analysis method was structurally adequate to predict the failure loads under combined bending and shear for column bases with similar connection configurations.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.353-370
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• 2020

This paper describes a new type of replaceable fuse for moment resisting frames. Column-tree connections with beam splice connections are frequently preferred in the moment resisting frames since they eliminate field welding and provide good quality. In the column-tree connections, a part of the beam is welded to the column in the shop and the rest of the beam is bolted with the splice connection in the field. In this study, a replaceable reduced beam section (R-RBS) connection is proposed in order to eliminate welding process and facilitate assembly at the site. In the proposed R-RBS connection, one end is connected by a beam splice connection to the beam and the other end is connected by a bolted end-plate connection to the column. More importantly is that the proposed R-RBS connection allows the replacement of the damaged R-RBS easily right after an earthquake. Pursuant to this goal, experimental and numerical studies have been undertaken to investigate the performance of the R-RBS connection. An experimental study on the RBS connection was used to substantiate the numerical model using ABAQUS, a commercially available finite element software. Additionally, five different finite element models were developed to conduct a parametric study. The results of the analysis were compared in terms of the moment and energy absorption capacities, PEEQ, rupture and tri-axiality indexes. The design process as well as the optimum dimensions of the R-RBS connections are presented. It was also demonstrated that the proposed R-RBS connection satisfies AISC criteria based on the nonlinear finite element analysis results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.33-53
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• 2006

The rotational behaviour of bolted extended end plate beam-to-column connections is evaluated in the context of the component method. The full moment-rotation response is characterized from the force-deformation curve of the individual joint components. The deformability of end plate connections is mostly governed by the bending of the column flange and/or end plate and tension elongation of the bolts. These components form the tension zone of the joint that can be modelled by means of "equivalent T-stubs". A systematic analytical procedure for characterization of the monotonic force-deformation behaviour of individual T-stub connections is proposed. In the framework of the component method, the T-stub is then inserted in the joint spring model to generate the moment-rotation response of the joint. The procedures are validated with the results from an experimental investigation of eight statically loaded extended end plate bolted moment connections carried out at the Delft University of Technology. Because ductility is such an important property in terms of joint performance, particularly in the partial strength joint scenario, special attention is given to this issue.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1251-1264
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• 2016

After observing relatively poor performance of bolted web-welded flange beam-to-column connections during 1994 Northridge earthquake, various types of connections based on two concepts of: (i) strengthening the connection; and (ii) weakening the beam ends were proposed. Among these modified or newly proposed connections, bolted T-stub connection follows the concept of strengthening. One of the connections with the idea of weakening the beam ends is reduced beam section (RBS). In this paper, finite element simulation is used to study the cyclic behavior of a new proposed connection developed by using a combination of both mentioned concepts. Investigated connections are exterior beam-to-column connections designed to comply with AISC provisions. The results show that moment capacity and dissipated energy of the new proposed connection is almost the same as those computed for a T-stub connection and higher than corresponding values for an RBS connection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.203-216
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• 2023

The composite beam connections often encountered fracture failure in the welded bottom flange joint, and a bottom flange bolted connection has been proposed to increase the deformation ability of the bottom flange joint. The seismic performance of the bottom flange bolted composite beam connection was suffered from both the composite action of concrete slab and the asymmetric load transfer mechanisms between top and bottom beam flange joints. Thus, this paper presents a comprehensive numerical study on the working mechanism of the bottom flange bolted composite beam connections. Three available modelling methods and a new modelling method on the flange-stud-slab interactions were compared. The efficient numerical modeling method was selected and then applied to the parametric study. The influence of the composite slab, the bottom flange bolts, the shear composite ratio and the web hole shape on the seismic performance of the bottom flange bolted composite beam connections were investigated. A hogging strength calculation method was then proposed based on numerical results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.603-622
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• 2018

Precast concrete structures are erected from individual prefabricated components, which are assembled on-site using different types of connections. In the present design of these structures, beam-to-column connections are assumed pin jointed. Bolted billet beam to-column connections have been used in the precast concrete industry for many years. They have many advantages over other jointing methods in component production, quality control, transportation and assembly. However, there is currently limited information concerning their detailed structural behaviour under vertical loadings. The experimental work has involved the determination of moment-relative rotation relationships for semi-rigid precast concrete connections in full-scale connection tests. The study reported in this paper was undertaken to clarify the behaviour of such connections under symmetrical vertical loadings. A series of full-scale tests was performed on sample column for which the column geometry and bolt arrangements conformed to successful commercial practice. Proprietary hollow core floor slabs were tied to the beams by 2T25 tensile reinforcing bars, which also provide the in-plane continuity across the connections. The contribution of the floor strength and stiffness to the flexural capacity of the joint is currently neglected in the design process for precast concrete frames. The flexural strength of the connections in the double-sided tests was at least 0.93 times the predicted moment of resistance of the composite beam and slab. The secant stiffness of the connections ranged from 0.94 to 1.94 times the flexural stiffness of the attached beam. In general, the double-sided connections were found to be more suited to a semi-rigid design approach than the single sided ones. The behaviour of double sided bolted billet connection test results are presented in this paper. The behaviour of single sided bolted billet connection test results is the subject of another paper.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.473-486
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• 2023

A through-railway bridge with an inclined girder has recently been applied to optimize the cross-section of a slender bridge structure in railway bridges. To achieve the additional cross-section optimization effect by the bolted end-plate connection, it is necessary to investigate the application of the bolted end-plate tension connection between the inclined girder and the crossbeam. This basic study was conducted on the application of the bolted end-plate moment connection of crossbeams to half-through girders with inclined webs. The combined behavior of vertical deflection and rotational behavior was observed due to the effect of the web inclination in the inclined girder where the steel crossbeam was connected to the girder by the bolted end-plate moment connection. Therefore, in the experiment, the deflection of the inclined girder was 1.77-2.93 times greater than that of the vertical girder but the lateral deflection of the inclined girder was 0.4 times less than that of the vertical girder. Moreover, the tensile stress of the upper bolts in the inclined girder with low crossbeams was clearly 0.81 times lower than that of the vertical girder. According to the results, the design formula for vertical girders does not reflect the influence of the web inclination. Therefore, this study proposed the design procedures for the inclined girder to apply the bolted end-plate moment connection of the crossbeam to the inclined girder by reflecting the design change factors according to the effect of the web inclination.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.139-146
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• 1994

In this study, the finite element analysis using joint elements, bolt elements, and shell elements is presented to investigate the behavior of bolted connections. The contact of plates and the high-strength, pretensioned bolts are simply idealized by joint elements and bolt elements, respectively. The initial stiffness is determined through the presented method and the non-linear analysis is archived by a constant-arc-length method based on Newton-Raphson method. The analysis results of a semi-rigid connection(web & flange angles) and a moment connection (shear & moment plates) demonstrate the exactness and applicability of the presented method. And the results indicates that the consideration of slip and 3-dimensional deformation is needed for an accurate prediction of bolted connections.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.221-231
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cyclic behavior of steel column-tree moment connections used in steel moment resisting frames. These connections are composed of shop-welded stub beam-to-column connection and field bolted beam-to-beam splice. In this study, the effects of beam splice length on the seismic performance of column-tree connections were experimentally investigated. The change of the beam splice location alters the bending moment and shear force at the splice, and this may affect the seismic performance of column-tree connections. Three full-scale test specimens of column-tree connections with the splice lengths of 900 mm, 1,100 mm, and 1,300 mm were fabricated and tested. The splice lengths were roughly 1/6, 1/7, 1/8 of the beam span length of 7,500 mm, respectively. The test results showed that all the specimens successfully developed ductile behavior without brittle fracture until 5% radians story drift angle. The maximum moment resisting capacity of the specimens showed little differences. The specimen with the splice length of 1,300 mm showed better bolt slip resistance than the other specimens due to the smallest bending moment at the beam splice.