• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.419-429
• /
• 2022

In response to the sustainability requirements set in the EU Commission's "Green Deal" towards reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions, it is estimated that the structural design for deconstruction is going to contribute considerably to the sustainable development of the built environment. The demountability of multi-material structural systems basically depends on the shear connectors used in the structural system. This paper focuses on a type of demountable injected shear connector with an injected steel-reinforced resin (iSRR) which consists of spherical steel particles embedded in a resin. Its application to steel-to-concrete and steel-to-Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) decks is presented along with its benefits. In parallel, an overview of the experimental and numerical research on the evaluation of the mechanical properties of the demountable bolted connectors with iSRR is discussed. Last, detailed finite element (FE) models and a parametric study are performed to quantify the confinement level of the SRR material influenced by the oversized hole diameter.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.49-57
• /
• 2022

This paper presents a study on the behavior of a bolted T-stub to square tube connection using Thread-fixed One-side Bolts (TOBs) through tests and numerical simulations. It outlines a research work of four connections with focus on the failure modes and strengths of the connection under tensile load. It was observed that the thread anchor failure caused by shear failure of hole threads controlled the final failure of the connection in the tests. Meanwhile, the out-of-plane deformation of tube wall resulted in the contact separation between hole threads and bolt threads, which in turn reduced the shear strength of hole threads. Finite element models (FEMs) allowing for the configuration details of the TOBs fixed connection are then developed and compared with the test results. Subsequently, the failure mechanism of hole threads and stress distribution of each component are analyzed based on FEM results. It was concluded that the ultimate strength of connection was not only concerned with the shear strength of hole threads, but also was influenced by the plastic out-of-plane deformation of tube wall. These studies lay a foundation for the establishment of suitable design methods of this type of connection.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.88 no.2
• /
• pp.129-140
• /
• 2023

To increase the stiffness and strength of a reinforced concrete shear wall, steel plates are bolted to the sides of the wall. The general behavior of a composite concrete-steel shear wall is dependent on the buckling of the steel plates that should be prevented. In this paper, the unilateral buckling of steel plates of a composite shear wall is studied using the Rayleigh-Ritz method. To model the unilateral buckling of steel plate, the restraining concrete wall is described as an elastic foundation with high stiffness in compression and zero stiffness in tension. To consider the effect of bolt connections on the plate's buckling, a constrained optimization problem is solved by using Lagrange multipliers method. This process is used to obtain the critical elastic local buckling coefficients of unilaterally-restrained steel plates with various numbers of bolts, subjected to pure compression, bending and shear loading, and the interaction between them. Using these results, the spacing between shear bolts in composite steel plate shear walls is estimated and compared with the results of the AISC seismic provisions (2016). The results show that the AISC seismic provisions(2016) are overly conservative in obtaining the spacing between shear bolts.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.75-84
• /
• 2010

In current seismic design provisions, a reduced beam section with bolted web (RBS-B) connections is only permitted for intermediate moment frames (IMF). This study evaluated the seismic performance of steel moment resisting frame systems having RBS-B connections designed according to current seismic design provisions. For this purpose, 12 archetypal IMF systems having two different span lengths (9m, 6m) were designed considering two design load levels (SDC $C_{max}$, SDC $C_{min}$). A nonlinear analytical model that can simulate hysteretic behavior of an RBS-B connection was also developed in this study. The procedures specified in ATC 63 are used to conduct a seismic performance evaluation. Moreover, this study conducts the seismic performance evaluation of IMF systems designed according to a new design method proposed by the authors in the previous study. It was observed that several model frames designed according to current seismic design provisions did not provide satisfactory collapse margin ratios (ACMR). This study also showed that the model frames designed according to the new design procedures had a sufficient ACMR.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.37-48
• /
• 2018

Cyclic loading tests for shear dominant hybrid steel link beams with circular web openings were performed to evaluate the seismic performance. Four half-scaled specimens with bolted connections were tested. The test parameter is a diameter of the web opening, i.e., shear strength ratio ($V_{pw}/V_p$) of the link beam and presence of top-seat angles. Using test results, adequate design shear strength of link beam was finally suggested. Test results showed that when the shear capacity is less than half of the plastic shear strength, seismic performance was improved due to mitigation of pinching under reversed cyclic inelastic deformations.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.233-242
• /
• 2013

This paper reports a new beam-to-column connection that is suitable for use in the weak axis of a column. The proposed system mainly uses bolts, and it minimizes the use of welding, which is generally difficult to perform onsite. In this system, a H-shape steel beam is joined to a H-shape steel column by bolted splices at the top flange and without a scallop at the web. The structural performance of the proposed connection was verified through full-scale tests of nine specimens, taking into account the effects of the geometry and arrangement of the plate.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.95-103
• /
• 2020

The structural connection design for lightweight structure application is presented in this paper. Modeling of the welding zone and the bolted connection are suggested. For reliability verification of the established models, nonlinear analysis is performed and comparisons are made with the experimental data showing good agreement. Through comparison study, suitable welding method for structure materials is investigated. Also, stability analysis is performed by fracture load simulation for different number and position of bolts. Finally, based on the structural connection models, the lightweight structure is modeled and structural analysis was performed. Stability analysis of structural connection for lightweight structure design, through combination of welding and bolting process, showed a 31.4% decrease in the maximum stress compared to the structure without the structural connections. Importance of structural connection design is highlighted for lightweight structure stability analysis.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.727-745
• /
• 2018

The design criteria and the corresponding performance levels characterize the response of extended stiffened end-plate beam-to-column joints. In order to guarantee a ductile behavior, hierarchy criteria should be adopted to enforce the plastic deformations in the ductile components of the joint. However, the effectiveness of thesecriteria can be impaired if the actual resistance of the end-plate material largely differs from the design value due to the potential activation of brittle failure modes of the bolt rows (e.g., occurrence of failure mode 3 in the place of mode 1 per bolt row). Also the number and the position of bolt rows directly affect the joint response. The presence of a bolt row in the center of the connection does not improve the strength of the joint under both gravity, wind and seismic loading, but it can modify the damage pattern of ductile connections, reducing the gap opening between the end-plate and the column face. On the other hand, the presence of a central bolt row can influence the capacity of the joint to resist the catenary actions developing under a column loss scenario, thus improving the joint robustness. Aiming at investigating the influence of these features on both the cyclic behavior and the response under column loss, a wide range of finite element analyses (FEAs) were performed and the main results are described and discussed in this paper.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.99-112
• /
• 2019

Semi-rigid joints have been widely studied in literature in recent decades because they affect greatly the structural response of frames. In literature, the behavior of semi-rigid joints is commonly assumed to be identical under positive and negative moments which are obviously incorrect in many cases where joint details such as bolt arrangement or placement of haunch are vertically asymmetrical. This paper evaluates two common types of steel frames with asymmetrical beam-to-column joints by Direct Analysis allowing for plasticity. A refined design method of steel frames using a proposed simple forth order curved-quartic element with an integrated joint model allowing for asymmetrical geometric joint properties is presented. Furthermore, the ultimate behavior of six types of asymmetrical end-plate connections under positive and negative moment is examined by the Finite Element Method (FEM). The FEM results are further applied to the proposed design method with the curved-quartic element for Direct Analysis of two types of steel frames under dominant gravity or wind load. The ultimate frame behavior under the two different scenarios are examined with respect to their failure modes and considerably different structural performances of the frames were observed when compared with the identical frames designed with the traditional method where symmetrical joints characteristics were assumed. The finding of this research contributes to the design of steel frames as their asymmetrical beam-to-column joints lead to different frame behavior when under positive and negative moment and this aspect should be incorporated in the design and analysis of steel frames. This consideration of asymmetrical joint behavior is recommended to be highlighted in future design codes.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.73-80
• /
• 2022

In this study, details of NRC beam-column connections were developed in which beam and columns pre-assembled in factories using steel angles were bolted on site. The developed joint details are NRC-J type and NRC-JD type. NRC-J type is a method of tensile joining with TS bolts to the side and lower surfaces of the side plate of the NRC column and the end plate of the NRC beam. NRC-JD type has a rigid joint with high-strength bolts between the NRC beam and the side of the NRC column for shear, and with lap splices of reinforcing bar penetrating the joint and the beam main reinforcement for bending. For the seismic performance evaluation of the joint, three specimens were tested: an NRC-J specimen and NRC-JD specimen with NRC beam-column joint details, and an RC-J specimen with RC beam-column joint detail. As a result of the repeated lateral load test, the final failure mode of all specimens was the bending fracture of the beam at the beam-column interface. Compared to the RC-J specimen, the maximum strength of the specimen by the positive force was 10.1% and 29.6% higher in the NRC-J specimen and the NRC-JD specimen, respectively. Both NRC joint details were evaluated to secure ductility of 0.03 rad or more, the minimum total inter-story displacement angle required for the composite intermediate moment frame according to the KDS standard (KDS 41 31 00). At the slope by relative storey displacemet of 5.7%, the NRC-J specimen and the NRC-JD specimen had about 34.8% and 61.1% greater cumulative energy dissipation capacity than the RC specimen. The experimental strength of the NRC beam-column connection was evaluated to be 30% to 53% greater than the theoretical strength according to the KDS standard formula, and the standard formula evaluated the joint performance as a safety side.