Experiment and bearing capacity analyses of dual-lintel column joints in Chinese traditional style buildings

This paper presents experiment and bearing capacity analyses of steel dual-lintel column (SDC) joints in Chinese traditional style buildings. Two SDC interior joints and two SDC exterior joints, which consisted of dual box-section lintels, circular column and square column, were designed and tested under low cyclic loading. The force transferring mechanisms at the panel zone of SDC joints were proposed. And also, the load-strain curves at the panel zone, failure modes, hysteretic loops and skeleton curves of the joints were analyzed. It is shown that the typical failure modes of the joints are shear buckling at bottom panel zone, bending failure at middle panel zone, welds fracturing at the panel zone, and tension failure of base metal in the heat-affected zone of the joints. The ultimate bearing capacity of SDC joints appears to decrease with the increment of axial compression ratio. However, the bearing capacities of exterior joints are lower than those of interior joints at the same axial compression ratio. In order to predict the formulas of the bending capacity at the middle panel zone and the shear capacity at the bottom panel zone, the calculation model and the stress state of the element at the panel zone of SDC joints were studied. As the calculated values showed good agreements with the test results, the proposed formulas can be reliably applied to the analysis and design of SDC joints in Chinese traditional style buildings.