Comparison of Codes for Axial Compression Capacity of Eccentrically Loaded Single Angles

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the behavior of single angle compression members connected through one leg only as a part of lattice steel truss. Non-linear finite element simulation has been done and results are compared with tests conducted by other researchers. Comparison is also made with the strength predicted by eight major code provisions. FE simulation of both single and double bolted angles satisfactorily predicted the capacity compared to the experimental results except that for single bolted angles, some over-prediction were observed. For single bolted angles, provisions of AISC, ASCE, AASHTO, SSRC, AS and Eurocode over-predicted the capacities by 118% to 140% of the test results. Predictions of BS and IS provisions were on the conservative side at 75% and 90% of the experimental values respectively. For single bolted angles, only the ASCE and IS provisions showed very good correlation with the experimental values. For double bolted angles, all provisions conservatively predicted the capacities at 66% to 97% of test values. Very good correlation of 0.94 was observed for IS provisions with capacity prediction at 88% of test results. Overall, provisions IS-800 may be considered preferable as a single code provision for its ability to reasonably predict the compression capacity of both single and double bolted single angles in a conservative manner. In general, it is found that axial compression capacity of single angle members predicted by different code provisions vary widely that warrants the necessity of further research in this area.