Study On The Behavior Of Bolted Endplate Connection In Steel Gable Frames

Recently, steel structures with gable frames have been widely used in industrial and civil structures with the development of our country's economy. Bolted end-plate connections are being widely used in steel moment-resisting frame construction, because of their advantages in design methods and fabrication techniques. The research on the behavior of bolted end-plate connection is becoming more and more popular. This paper, by means of experimental research and finite element analysis, investigates the behavior of bolted end-plate connections in steel gable frames. Loading behavior of the connections is analyzed and design recommendations are given. The main scope of this paper includes:1. Connection experiments. Four specimens with two types of connections are tested. A series of parameters representing connection behavior are discussed and compared between the four connections.2. FEM analysis. Finite element models are established to analyze the moment-resisting behavior and moment-rotation relationships for bolted end-plate connection considering some different factor of joint details. In the 3D model, the interface between end-plates is simulated, the bolt pretension load is applied and elasto-plastic analysis is conducted with the general-purpose finite element program ANSYS. The analysis results are compared with the experimental data.3. Effect of joint flexibility on structure. Using the initial connection stiffness, obtained from both experiment and FEM, the effect of joint flexibility on the gable frames and cantilever beam is analyzed. Furthermore, its rule and some advance on considering the joint flexibility in practical design are put forward.On the basis of calculation results, some amendment on the current design specification is proposed and some advice on design practice is given as well.