• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.339-351
• /
• 2022

A mortar-filled rectangular hollow structural section (RHS) can increase a structural section property as well as a compressive buckling capacity of a RHS member. In this study, the tensile performance of newly developed mortar-filled RHS members was experimentally evaluated with various connection details. The major test parameters were the type of end connections, the thickness of cap plates and shear plates, the use of stud bolts, and penetrating bars. The test results showed that the welded T-end connection experienced a brittle weld fracture at the welded connection, whereas the tensile performance of the T-end connection was improved by additional stud bolts inserted into the mortar within the RHS tube. For the end connection using shear plates and penetrating stud bolts, ductile behavior of the RHS tube was achieved after yielding. The penetrating bars increased load carrying capacity of the RHS. Based on the analysis of the load transfer mechanism, the current design code and test results were compared to evaluate the tensile capacity of the RHS tube according to the connection details. Design considerations for the connections of the mortar-filled RHS tubes were also recommended.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.63 no.3
• /
• pp.385-400
• /
• 2017

This paper presents an experimental study on the behavior of axially-loaded steel RHS (rectangular hollow section) compression members that are partially reinforced along their lengths with welded steel plates. 28 slender column tests were carried out to investigate the effects of the slenderness ratio of the unreinforced member and the ratio of the reinforced length of the member to its entire length. In addition to the slender column tests, 14 stub-column tests were conducted to determine the basic mechanical properties of the test specimens under uniform compression. Test results show that both the compressive strength and stiffness of an RHS member can be increased significantly compared to its unreinforced counterpart even when only the central quarter of the member is reinforced. Based on the limited test data, it can be concluded that partial reinforcement is, in general, more effective in members with larger slenderness ratios. A simple design expression is also proposed to predict the compressive strength of RHS columns partially reinforced along their length with welded steel plates by modifying the provisions of AISC 360-10 to account for the partial reinforcement.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.207-214
• /
• 2003

The fatigue behaviour of six different hollow section T-joints subjected to out-of-plane bending moment was investigated experimentally using scaled steel models. The joints had circular brace members and rectangular chord members. Hot spot stresses and the stress concentration factors. (SCFs) were determined experimentally. Fatigue testing was carried out under constant amplitude loading in air. The test results have been statistically evaluated, and show that the experimental SCF values for circular-to-rectangular (CHS-to-RHS) hollow section joints were found to be below those of circular-to-circular (CHS-to-CHS) hollow section joints. The fatigue strength, referred to experimental hot spot stress, was in reasonably good agreement with referred fatigue design codes for tubular joints.

• International journal of steel structures
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.1761-1771
• /
• 2018

In this paper, a hysteretic model of rectangular hollow section (RHS) columns that includes the deteriorating range caused by local buckling is proposed. The proposed model consists of the skeleton curve, the Bauschinger part that appears before reaching the maximum strength, the strength increasing part of the deteriorating range, and the unloading part. Of these, the skeleton curve, including the deterioration range caused by local buckling, which is considered to be equivalent to the load-deformation relationship under monotonic loading, is obtained through an analytical method. Bi-linear hysteretic models based on experimental results are applied to the Bauschinger part and the strength increasing part. The elastic stiffness is applied to the unloading part. The proposed model is verified by comparing with experimental results of RHS columns under monotonic and cyclic loading.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.10 no.6
• /
• pp.489-500
• /
• 2010

The rigid connections of I-beams to Rectangular Hollow Sections (RHS) in steel structures usually behave as semi-rigid connection. This behavior is directly related to the column face deformation. The deformation in the wall of RHS column in the connection zone causes a relative rotation between beam end and column axis, which consequently reduces the rigidity of beam-column connection. In the present paper, the percentages of connection rigidity reduction for serviceability conditions are evaluated by using the finite element analysis. Such percentages for RHS columns without internal stiffeners are considerable, and can be calculated from presented graphs.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.141-159
• /
• 2016

Commonly in steel frames, steel beam and concrete slab are connected together by shear keys to work as a unit member which is called composite beam. When a composite beam is subjected to positive bending, flexural strength and stiffness of the beam can be increased due to "composite action". At the same time despite these advantages, composite action increases the strain at the beam bottom flange and it might affect beam plastic rotation capacity. This paper presents results of study on the rotation capacity of composite beam connected to Rectangular Hollow Section (RHS) column in the steel moment resisting frame buildings. Due to out-of-plane deformation of column flange, moment transfer efficiency of web connection is reduced and this results in reduction of beam plastic rotation capacity. In order to investigate the effects of width-to-thickness ratio (B/t) of RHS column on the rotation capacity of composite beam, cyclic loading tests were conducted on three full scale beam-to-column subassemblies. Detailed study on the different steel beam damages and concrete slab damages are presented. Experimental data showed the importance of this parameter of RHS column on the seismic behavior of composite beams. It is found that occurrence of severe concrete bearing crush at the face of RHS column of specimen with smaller width-to-thickness ratio resulted in considerable reduction on the rate of strain increase in the bottom flange. This behavior resulted in considerable improvement of rotation capacity of this specimen compared with composite and even bare steel beam connected to the RHS column with larger width-to-thickness ratio.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.637-656
• /
• 2021

The component-based method is widely used to analyze the initial stiffness of joint in steel structures. In this study, an analytical component model for determining the column face stiffness of square or rectangular hollow section (SHS/RHS) subjected to tension was established, focusing on endplate connections. Equations for calculating the stiffness of the SHS/RHS column face in bending were derived through regression analysis using numerical results obtained from a finite element model database. Because the presence of bolt holes decreased the bending stiffness of the column face, this effect was calculated using a novel plate-spring-based model through numerical analysis. The developed component model was first applied to predict the bending stiffness of the SHS column face determined through tests. Furthermore, this model was incorporated into the component-based method with other effective components, e.g., bolts under tension, to determine the tensile stiffness of the T-stub connections, which connects the SHS column, and the initial rotational stiffness of the joints. A comparison between the model predictions, test data, and numerical results confirms that the proposed model shows satisfactory accuracy in evaluating the bending stiffness of SHS column faces.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.353-366
• /
• 2023

This paper presents a finite-element analysis (FEA) of aluminum alloy rectangular hollow sections (RHSs) and square hollow sections (SHSs) with circular through-openings under three-point and four-point bending. First, a finite-element model (FEM) was developed and validated against the corresponding test results available in the literature. Next, using the validated FE models, a parametric study comprising 180 FE models was conducted. The cross-section width-to-thickness ratio (b/t) ranged from 2 to 5, the hole size ratio (d/h) ranged from 0.2 to 0.8 and the quantity of holes (n) ranged from 2 to 6, respectively. Third, results obtained from laboratory test and FEA were compared with current design strengths calculated in accordance with the North American Specifications (NAS), the modified direct strength method (DSM) and the modified Continuous strength method (CSM). The comparison shows that the modified CSM are conservative by 15% on average for aluminum alloy RHSs and SHSs with circular through-openings subject to bending. Finally, a new design equation is proposed based on the modified CSM after being validated with results obtained from laboratory test and FEA. The proposed design equation can provide accurate predictions of flexural capacities for aluminum alloy RHSs and SHSs with circular through-openings.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.10 no.2 s.35
• /
• pp.153-160
• /
• 1998

The sectional dimensions and initial crookedness of the RHS(rectangular hollow section, ${\boxe}-75{\times}75{\times}3.2,\;{\boxe}-100{\times}100{\times}4.2,\;{\boxe}-125{\times}125{\times}6.0$) were measured. The axial compressive strength tests for columns with slenderness $46{\sim}84$ were performed as well as stub tests and tensile tests. FEM analysis was also used. The measurement shows that the errors of sectional dimensions are negligible. For the column length corresponding to ${\lambda}=100$, the initial crookedness with the 2.5% probability estimated from the measured results is 1/490, 1/1121 1/1395 for each section respectively. The yield strengths obtained from tensile test are higher than the specified minimum value by more than 30%. The column test shows that the maximum axial resistances are almost same as, or a little higher than the FEM results and the specified strength curves of AISC Specification and Eurocode, when the maximum strengths from the stub tests are used as the yield strength of the steel. But the test results show much higher column strength than those specified in the Standard and Code, when the specified minimum yield strength of the steel is used.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.717-727
• /
• 2020

The homotopy perturbation method (HPM) to predict the pre- and post-buckling behaviour of simply supported steel beams with rectangular hollow section (RHS) is presented in this paper. The non-linear differential equations solved by HPM derive from a kinematics where large twist and cross-sections distortions are considered. The results (linear and non-linear paths) given by the present HPM are compared to those provided by the Newton-Raphson algorithm with arc length and by the commercial FEM code Abaqus. To investigate the effect of cross-sectional distortion of beams, some numerical examples are presented.