Experimental behaviour of high-strength steel web shear panels

Current European standard EN 1993 restricts the design of joints (web panel in shear and connection(s)) within the semi-continuous/partially-restrained philosophy to steel grades up to S460. This type of structural modelling can be adopted as long as the joint develops rotation capacity and has ductile behaviour. With the recent developments of high strength steel the need for these restrictions should be revisited. This paper presents an experimental study of web shear panels fabricated by welding S690 and S960 steel plates (specified yield stress 690 N/mm² and 960 N/mm², respectively). The panels were designed to EN 1993-1-8, neglecting current restrictions related to the use of high-strength steel. The panels were tested to failure under four-point bending, which simulated the shear force from beam moment carried by beam–column joints. Several results of this test programme are reported and compared with the code predictions. The strength and stiffness of the panels are compared with the values anticipated by the EN 1993-1-8 for conventional mild steels. The deformation capacity and the ductility of the panels are also evaluated.