• 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.44 no.1
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• pp.33-47
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• 2022

This paper presents a finite element model for predicting the monotonic behaviour of bolted endplate joints connecting steel-concrete composite walls and steel beams. The demountable Hollo-bolts are utilised to facilitate the quick installation and dismantling for replacement and reuse. In the developed model, material and geometric nonlinearities were included. The accuracy of the developed model was assessed by comparing the numerical results with previous experimental tests on hollow/composite column-to-steel beam joints that incorporated endplates and Hollo-bolts. In particular, the Hollo-bolts were modelled with the expanded sleeves involved, and different material properties of the Hollo-bolt shank and sleeves were considered based on the information provided by the manufacture. The developed models, therefore, can be applied in the present study to simulate the wall-to-beam joints with similar structural components and characteristics. Based on the validated model, the authors herein compared the behaviour of wall-to-beam joints of two commonly utilised composite walling systems (Case 1: flat steel plates with headed studs; Case 2: lipped channel section with partition plates). Considering the ease of manufacturing, onsite erection and the pertinent costs, composite walling system with flat steel plates and conventional headed studs (Case 1) was the focus of present study. Specifically, additional headed studs were pre-welded inside the front wall plates to enhance the joint performance. On this basis, a series of parametric studies were conducted to assess the influences of five design parameters on the behaviour of bolted endplate wall-to-beam joints. The initial stiffness, plastic moment capacity, as well as the rotational capacity of the composite wall-to-beam joints based on the numerical analysis were further compared with the current design provision.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.31-43
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• 2024

A very widely used analytical method (mathematical model), mentioned in Eurocode 3, to examine the connections' bending behavior is the component-based method that has certain weak points shown in the plastic behavior part of the moment-rotation curves. In the component method available in Eurocode 3, for simplicity, the effect of strain hardening is omitted, and the bending behavior of the connection is modeled with the help of a two-line diagram. To make the component method more efficient and reliable, this research proposed its advanced version, wherein the plastic part of the diagram was developed beyond the guidelines of the mentioned Regulation, implemented to connect the end plate, and verified with the moment-rotation curves found from the laboratory model and the finite element method in ABAQUS. The findings indicated that the advanced component method (the method developed in this research) could predict the plastic part of the moment-rotation curve as well as the conventional component-based method in Eurocode 3. The comparison between the laboratory model and the outputs of the conventional and advanced component methods, as well as the outputs of the finite elements approach using ABAQUS, revealed a different percentage in the ultimate moment for bolt-extended end-plate connections. Specifically, the difference percentages were -31.56%, 2.46%, and 9.84%, respectively. Another aim of this research was to determine the optimal dimensions of the end plate joint to reduce costs without letting the mechanical constraints related to the bending moment and the resulting initial stiffness, are not compromised as well as the safety and integrity of the connection. In this research, the thickness and dimensions of the end plate and the location and diameter of the bolts were the design variables, which were optimized using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Snake Optimization (SO), and Teaching Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO) to minimization the connection cost of the end plate connection. According to the results, the TLBO method yielded better solutions than others, reducing the connection costs from 43.97 to 17.45€ (60.3%), which shows the method's proper efficiency.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.765-770
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• 2014

This paper describes the study on a method for improving the structural durability of bolted joints applied to a composite bogie frame. In this study, three bolted joints with and without inserts and screw threads were selected for determining the effect of the inserts, using experiment and analysis. The structural performances of the proposed bolted joints were compared and evaluated using the test method prescribed by the ASTM D5961 standard. The results revealed that the bolted joint having an insert shape without the screw thread offered improved durability for application to a composite bogie frame. Furthermore, the structural integrity of the frame comprising the bolted joints was evaluated using finite element analysis according to the JIS E 4207 standard. The Tasi-Wu and Von-Mises failure criteria were used for determining the failure of the composite structure and bolted joints, respectively. A sub-modeling technique was introduced for investigating the performance of the bolted joints in greater detail. The analysis results demonstrated that the Tasi-Wu failure index of the composite structure near the bolted joints was reduced by approximately one-half after applying an insert without the screw thread. This implies that the structural durability of the bolted joints of a composite bogie frame could be improved by using a metal insert without the screw thread.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.635-642
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• 2014

In this paper, an efficient technique is developed to predict failure probability of three failure modes(case rupture, fracture and bolt breakage) related to solid rocket motor case due to the inner pressure during the mission flight. The overall procedure consists of the steps: 1) design parameters affecting the case failure are identified and their uncertainties are modelled by probability distribution, 2) combustion analysis in the interior of the case is carried out to obtain maximum expected operating pressure(MEOP), 3) stress and other structural performances are evaluated by finite element analysis(FEA), and 4) failure probabilities are calculated for the above mentioned failure modes. Axi-symmetric assumption for FEA is employed for simplification while contact between bolted joint is accounted for. Efficient procedure is developed to evaluate failure probability which consists of finding first an Most Probable Failure Point(MPP) using First-Order Reliability Method(FORM), next making a response surface model around the MPP using Latin Hypercube Sampling(LHS), and finally calculating failure probability by employing Importance Sampling.