Experimental study on seismic performance of modular steel construction beam-to-beam combined side column joint with blind bolted connection

Abstract

With the increase in the construction height of modular structures, the challenge of structural seismic resistance is increasing, and the performance of joints between modules is the key to the seismic performance of modular structures. This paper proposed a modular steel construction beam-to-beam combined joint with blind bolted connection. To study its seismic performance, quasi-static tests on four full-scale T-shaped joints with different construction forms were conducted, and the failure mode, strength, stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation of the joints were obtained. The results showed that the joint had good seismic performance, and the performance of the enhanced joint was significantly improved after blind bolts and stiffening plates were used. Furthermore, based on the test results, the simplified mechanical model of the joint was established. The calculation method of joint stiffness and bearing capacity was obtained by theoretical derivation, and the design method of the joint was proposed. The analysis showed that the calculated results were close to the experimental results, and the proposed enhanced joint could meet the requirements of rigid connection and full-strength connection joint.