Shear behaviour of open beam-to-tubular column angle connections

Whilst the moment-rotation behaviour of typical connection configurations has been extensively examined in previous studies, there is a relative lack of information on the performance under more generalised loading conditions, particularly in relation to semi-rigid connections to tubular columns under shear loads. To this end, this paper deals with the shear behaviour of open beam-to-tubular column angle connections by means of experimental and numerical investigations. The experimental set-up, connection configurations and material properties are first introduced, followed by an overview of the results and observations from the tests on both blind-bolted angle connections and combined channel/angle details. The main behavioural patterns are identified and their effect on the connection performance is discussed. Subsequently, detailed three-dimensional finite element models are constructed by means of the nonlinear program ABAQUS, and their results are validated against the experimental data. It is shown that the FE model can accurately and efficiently simulate the overall behaviour of bolted angle connections. The experimental and numerical results presented in this paper highlight the main inelastic response characteristics of these forms of connection under shear loading conditions.