Stiffness prediction for bolted moment-connections in cold-formed steel trusses

Authors

  • Apai Benchaphong Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Rattanasak Hongthong Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Sutera Benchanukrom Department of Industrial Construction Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology and Industrial Technology, Phetchabun Rajabhat University, Phetchabun, Thailand.
  • Nirut Konkong Department of research and development, P.A.I.R Engineering Co., Ltd, Bangkok, Thailand.

Keywords:

cold-formed steel, finite element analysis, elastic rotational stiffness, semi-rigid connection

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the behavior of cold-formed steel cantilever truss structures. A cantilever truss structure and bolt-moment connection were tested and verified by 3D-finite element model. The verification results showed a good correlation between an experimental test and finite element analysis. An analytical method for elastic rotational stiffness of bolt-moment connection was proposed. The equation proposed in the analytical method was used to approximate the elastic rotational stiffness of the bolt group connection, and was also applied to the Richard-Abbott model for generating the nonlinear moment-rotation curve which modelled the semi-rigid connection stiffness. 2D-finite element analysis was applied to study the behavior of the truss connection, caused by semi-rigid connection stiffness which caused a change of force to the truss elements. The results showed that the force in the structural members increased by between 12.76%-54.19% of the axial forces, and the bending moment decreased by between 39.59%-200%. These results strongly suggest that the semi-rigid connection between cold-formed steel cantilever truss structures should be considered in structural analysis to achieve optimum design, acknowledging this as the real behavior of the structure

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Published

2021-10-05