Experimental and analytical studies on the cyclic behavior of end-plate joints of composite structural elements

The subject of this paper is the analysis of end-plate joints under cyclic and monotonic loading conditions by experimental and analytical studies. The experimental programs are performed on bolted end-plate type joints of composite members under cyclic loading conditions with the purpose to study the seismic response of the considered connection type. The performed experimental research is the second and third steps of an international research project started in 1999 between the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), Hungary and the Technical University of Lisbon (IST), Portugal. The monotonic behavior of the tested joints is followed by the Eurocode standard design method to evaluate the moment resistance and rotational stiffness of the joint. The comparison of the design and the experimental results are performed by the envelope moment-rotation relationships of the hysteretic curves and the design moment-rotation diagram. On the basis of the comparison the modification of the design model is proposed. The monotonic moment-rotation diagram is extended to large rotation regions with the purpose of covering the whole cyclic diagrams until the final failure of the specimen. A semi-empirical method is proposed to approximate the cyclic hysteretic behavior of the studied joints, based on the knowledge of the monotonic moment-rotation curve. This prediction method is based on all the available test results for each behavior mode type (6 tests on steel and 12 tests on composite specimens). The calculated hysteretic curve follows the cycles by polygonal lines taking into consideration the experimental observations. The proposed method establishes the absorbed energy of the consecutive cycles in the case of the studied joint arrangement using standard loading history. The proposed method is applied and verified in the case of each observed failure mode type. By these experimental and analytical investigations the favorable seismic behavior can be derived for the studied joint type.