Structural Behavior of All-FRP Beam-Column Plate-Bolted Joints
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 20, Issue 4
Abstract
Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) material is very interesting for its use as the sole material in the construction of structures because of its remarkable lightness, which reduces seismic forces; its ease of assembly; and its durability. All-FRP structures use bolted connections to form nodes between columns and beams, particularly steel bolts. This research focuses on the use of FRP pultruded plates instead of web and flange cleats for bolted beam-to-column joints. Currently, angles and bolts between columns and beams are widely employed, whereas bolted plates are still a novelty. Both experimental and numerical studies of two different configurations of bolted connections made by pultruded plates and C-shape FRP profiles demonstrated that the plates have considerable influence on the moment-rotation response of joints so that the joint’s failure mode involves mainly the bolted plate. The experimental program in this paper determined the initial stiffness of each connection, the ultimate moment capacity, and the rotation associated with the ultimate strength. These results were then compared against numerical predictions obtained using a commercial code for finite-element analysis.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their gratitude and sincere appreciation to TopGlass (Top Glass S.p.A., Osnago, Italy) for providing the material used in the experimental tests. Special thanks go to the staff of LabSCo for their crucial help and special suggestions regarding this research work.
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Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 20 • Issue 4 • August 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 16, 2015
Accepted: Oct 30, 2015
Published online: Jan 8, 2016
Discussion open until: Jun 8, 2016
Published in print: Aug 1, 2016
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