• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.115-130
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• 2017

A new type of moment-resisting bolted connection was developed for use in composite steel- concrete construction to connect composite open section steel beams to concrete filled steel square tubular columns. The connection was made possible using anchored blind bolts along with two through bolts. It was designed to act compositely with the in-situ reinforced concrete slab to achieve an enhanced stiffness and strength. The developed connection was incorporated in the design of a medium rise (five storey) commercial building which was located in low to medium seismicity regions. The lateral load resisting system for the design building consisted of moment resisting frames in two directions. A major full scale test on a sub-assembly of a perimeter moment-resisting frame of the model building was conducted to study the system behaviour incorporating the proposed connection. The behaviour of the proposed connection and its interaction with the floor slab under cyclic loading representing the earthquake events with return periods of 500 years and 2500 years was investigated. The proposed connection was categorized as semi rigid for unbraced frames based on the classification method presented in Eurocode 3. Furthermore, the proposed connection, composite with the floor slab, successfully provided adequate lateral load resistance for the model building.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.291-306
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• 2006

In order to improve the constructability and meanwhile ensure excellent seismic behavior, several innovative composite connection details were conceived and studied by the authors. This paper reports experimental results and observations on seismic behavior of steel beam bolted to reinforced concrete column connections (bolted RCS or BRCS). The proposed composite connection details involve post tensioning the end plates of the steel beams to the reinforced concrete or precast concrete columns using high-strength steel rods. A rational design procedure was proposed to assure a ductile behavior of the composite structure. Strut-and-tie model analysis indicates that a bolted composite connection has a favorable stress transfer mechanism. The excellent capacity and behavior were then validated through five full-scale beam to column connection model tests.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.47-64
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• 2003

In a nonlinear finite element study on the mechanical behavior of simple beam connections to continuous concrete-filled steel tube columns, two principally different connection types were analyzed: one with plates attached to the outside of the tube wall, relying on shear transfer, and one with an extended plate inserted through the steel section to ensure bearing on the concrete core. The load was applied partly at the connection within the column length and partly at the top, representing the load from upper stories of a multistory building. The primary focus was on the increased demand for load transfer to ensure composite action when concrete with higher compressive strength is used. The results obtained from the analyses showed that the design bond strength derived from push tests is very conservative, mainly due to the high frictional shear resistance offered by pinching and contraction effects caused by connection rotation. However, with higher concrete strength the demand for load transfer increases, and is hard to fulfill for higher loads when connections are attached only to the steel section. Instead, the connection should penetrate into the concrete core to distribute load to the concrete by direct bearing.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.315-330
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• 2002

This paper proposes a model for analysing the non-linear behaviour of steel concrete composite beams prestressed by external slipping cables, taking into account the deformability of the interface shear connection. By assuming a suitable admissible displacement field for the composite beam, the balance condition is obtained by the virtual work principle. The solution is numerically achieved by approximating the unknown displacement functions as series of shape functions according to the Ritz method. The model is applied to real cases by showing the consequences of different connection levels between the concrete slab and the steel beam. Particular attention is focused on the limited ductility of the shear connection that may be the cause of premature failure of the composite girder.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.183-202
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• 2006

The behavior of steel-concrete composite beams is strongly influenced by the type of shear connection between the steel beam and the concrete slab. For accurate analytical predictions, the structural model must account for the interlayer slip between these two components. This paper focuses on a procedure for response sensitivity analysis using state-of-the-art finite elements for composite beams with deformable shear connection. Monotonic and cyclic loading cases are considered. Realistic cyclic uniaxial constitutive laws are adopted for the steel and concrete materials as well as for the shear connection. The finite element response sensitivity analysis is performed according to the Direct Differentiation Method (DDM); its analytical derivation and computer implementation are validated through Forward Finite Difference (FFD) analysis. Sensitivity analysis results are used to gain insight into the effect and relative importance of the various material parameters in regards to the nonlinear monotonic and cyclic response of continuous composite beams, which are commonly used in bridge construction.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.573-599
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• 2014

A new type of connection for steel-concrete composite bridges was developed by the Steel Structures Laboratory of Ecole Poytechinque $F{\acute{e}}d{\acute{e}}rale$ de Lausanne. Resistance to longitudinal shear is based on the development of shear stresses in the confined interfaces which form the connection. Confinement is provided by the reinforced concrete slab which encloses the connection and restrains the uplift (lateral separation) of the interfaces by developing normal stresses. The experimental investigation of the interfaces, under static and cyclic loading, enabled the development of the laws describing the structural behaviour of each interface. Those laws were presented by the authors in previous papers. The current paper focuses on the continuity of the research. It presents the experimental investigation on the new connection by means of push-out tests on specimens submitted to static and cyclic shear loading. Investigation revealed that the damage in the connection, due to cyclic loading, is expressed by the accumulation of a residual slip. A safe fatigue failure criterion is proposed for the connection which enabled the verification of the connection for the fatigue limit state with respect to the limit of fatigue. A numerical model is developed which takes into account the laws describing the interface behaviour and the analytical expressions for the confinement effect, the latter obtained by performing finite element analysis. This numerical model predicts the shear resistance of the connection and enables to assess its fatigue limit which is necessary for the fatigue design proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.183-190
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• 2006

Generally, application of steel pile as deep foundation member needs specials requirement for the connection method between steel pipe and concrete footing. To investigate real compressive behavior of connection member between steel pipe pile and concrete footing, three specimens were tested with carefully designed experimental system. Main test variable is the connection method between steel pipe pile and concrete footing. The bolted bonding method and hook bonding method was considered as the connection method in this study. From the test results gained from experiment, it was conformed that two types of connection method have the almost same compressive resistance capacity. Therefore, we can conclude that these two connection methods can be used as the strengthening method to verify the compressive composite action of concrete and steel pipe pile.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.281-298
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• 2013

Composite special moment frame is one of the systems that are utilized in areas with low to high seismicity to deal with earthquake forces. Composite moment frames are composed of reinforced concrete columns (RC) and steel beams (S); therefore, the connection region is a combination of steel and concrete materials. In current study, a three dimensional finite element model of composite connections is developed. These connections are used in special composite moment frame, between reinforced concrete columns and steel beams (RCS). Finite element model is discussed as a most reliable and low cost method versus experimental procedures. Based on a tested connection model by Cheng and Chen (2005), the finite element model has been developed under cyclic loading and is verified with experimental results. A good agreement between finite element model and experimental results was observed. The connection configuration contains Face Bearing Plates (FBPs), Steel Band Plates (SBPs) enveloping around the RC column just above and below the steel beam. Longitudinal column bars pass through the connection with square ties around them. The finite element model represented a stable response up to the first cycles equal to 4.0% drift, with moderately pinched hysteresis loops and then showed a significant buckling in upper flange of beam, as the in test model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1217-1238
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• 2016

Mega composite structure systems have been widely used in high rise buildings in China. Compared to other structures, this type of composite structure systems has a larger cross-section with less weight. Concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) laced column to box-beam connections are gaining popularity, in particular for the mega composite structure system in high rise buildings. To enable a better understanding of the destruction characteristics and aseismic performance of these connections, three different connection types of specimens including single-limb bracing, cross bracing and diaphragms for core area of connections were tested under low cyclic and reciprocating loading. Hysteresis curves and skeleton curves were obtained from cyclic loading tests under axial loading. Based on these tested curves, a new trilinear hysteretic restoring force model considering rigidity degradation is proposed for CFST laced column to box-beam connections in a mega composite structure system, including a trilinear skeleton model based on calculation, law of stiffness degradation and hysteresis rules. The trilinear hysteretic restoring force model is compared with the experimental results. The experimental data shows that the new hysteretic restoring force model tallies with the test curves well and can be referenced for elastic-plastic seismic analysis of CFST laced column to composite box-beam connection in a mega composite structure system.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.169-185
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• 2010

The present work describes the experimental tests on steel and lightweight concrete composite beams performed at University of Minho, Portugal. The study involves tests on simply supported composite beams of 4.5 m span, with the same geometrical disposition, supports and materials. The geometrical configuration for the cross section and supports is identical for every beam, varying the shear connectors' distribution and the loading conditions. Headed studs are used to provide the connection between the steel profile and the concrete slab. The parameters in study are the stud disposition and the load distribution. The main objective is to describe the composite beams behaviour, focused on its connection, and to analyse the contribution of the different components to the beams load and deformation capacity. All the tests explored the beams maximum load and deformation capacity and different types of failure were observed.