BOLTED RIGID CONNECTIONS OF STEEL I-BEAM TO SQUARE TUBE COLUMNS

Abstract

A comprehensive parametric numerical analysis is performed using the Finite Element Method (FEM) utilizing (ANSYS WORKBENCH) to study several parameters about the rigid connection between steel I-beam and steel square hollow section column using blind bolts. The thesis is divided into two main parts, the first part is studying the effect of concrete filling in the steel hollow section column on the connection behavior. The second part is studying the effect of stiffeners attached to the steel column on the connection behavior and if stiffeners will be a suitable replacement for the concrete filling to get an extremely rigid connection. The thesis contains a lot of charts and curves to illustrate the pre-mentioned studies effects on the connection through many parameters. The thickness of the steel hollow section, endplate and stiffeners were among the studied parameters. Also bolt grade, bolt diameter, bolt edge distance, stiffener location and other parameters were taken into consideration to get an obvious image of the connection behavior. The main aim of the thesis is to get the best performance of the connection between steel I-beam and steel square hollow section column and how to improve its performance by either filling the hollow section column with concrete or using stiffeners.