Response of beam-to-tubular column angle connections subjected to combined flexure and axial loading

In some design situations, such as those involving extreme loading conditions, steel connections can play a vital role in arresting structural disproportionate collapse, and therefore should be designed to resist significant moments, axial loads, shear forces, or a combination of these actions. While the moment-rotation behaviour of semi-rigid and fully-rigid connections has been studied comprehensively by previous investigators, there is a relative lack of information on the connection performance under other loading conditions, particularly in relation to semi-rigid connections to tubular columns. This paper is concerned with the behaviour of open beam-to-tubular column angle connections subjected to axial and combined axial/flexural actions. It focuses on two types of semi-rigid connections to tubular columns, including blind-bolted as well as reverse channel angle configurations. To this end, an experimental study on the full component characterization of angle connections to tubular columns under tension and compression actions is summarized. The main behavioural patterns are briefly discussed and the salient response characteristics such as stiffness, capacity and failure mechanisms are examined. Based on the experimental results, detailed component models are described with due account for flexural and axial load interactions.