Tests on block shear of coped beams with a welded end connection

An experimental study of block shear of coped beams with a welded clip angle connection is presented in this paper. Twelve full-scale coped steel I-beam tests were conducted. The test parameters included the web block aspect ratio (height to width ratio of the web block connected to the clip angle) and the connection rotational stiffness. Out of the 12 test specimens, eight test specimens failed in block shear of the connection, namely, tensile fracture of the block width (the web underneath the clip angle) and shear yielding of the block height (the web along the vertical side of the clip angle). Two test specimens failed by local web buckling at the cope, one test specimen failed in the welds and the remaining one did not fail due to the limited capacity of the loading jack. The test results showed that in general the block shear capacity of the test specimens increased with increasing web block aspect ratio and increasing connection rotational stiffness. The current design specifications (AISC-LRFD, CAN/CSA-S16-09, CAN/CSA-S16-01, BS EN 1993-1-8-2005, BS5950-1:2000, and AIJ-1990) provide conservative estimates of the block shear capacity of the test specimens except for the specimen that had the smallest connection rotational stiffness. It should be noted that none of the design equations evaluated in this programme consider the influence of the web block aspect ratio and the connection rotational stiffness.