Abstract
This paper presents the work carried out on a collaborative tripartite project between the USA, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to create and investigate the design, development and testing of a new class of intermeshed steel connections (ISCs) that do not rely on field welding and minimise bolting, thus targeting the facilitation of fast disassembly of steel structures and material reuse. This research took advantage of fully automated, precise, advanced manufacturing cutting technologies (e.g. laser, waterjet and high-definition plasma cutting) to achieve a connection method in steel that previously was only possible in materials such as timber, with the potential to revolutionise the steel construction industry. The paper outlines the ongoing research work by the collaborative team, focusing on the design, fabrication, finite-element analysis (FEA) and scaled experimental testing of side ISCs for the flanges of open sections, which included the use of state-of-the-art digital image correlation technology for non-contact measurements. A simplified connection design procedure is presented based on yielding of the side plates. This design procedure is refined based on the results of experimental testing and FEA of the local axial behaviour of the flange connection, addressing stress concentrations in the flange, fabrication tolerances and material overstrength.
Highlights
A new, universally applicable, structural steel connection mechanism has not been introduced in more than a century
This paper presents an overview of a collaborative tripartite research project, entitled Advanced manufacturing and assembly of steel structures (AMASS), which is the first of its kind to exploit fully automated, precise, advanced manufacturing cutting technologies (e.g. laser, waterjet and high-definition (HD) plasma cutting) in the creation of a new class of efficient intermeshed steel connections (ISCs) (Al-Sabah and Laefer, 2017a, 2017b; Al-Sabah et al, 2020) that eliminate the need for on-site welding and most on-site bolting
Recent decades have seen the proposal of alternatives to existing steel connections, a number of which were motivated by the brittle failure mechanism of steel moment-resisting connections during the 1994 Northridge earthquake (AISC, 2016a; FEMA, 2000; Hamburger et al, 2009; Han and Moon, 2007; Naimi et al, 2013; SAC JV, 1995; Stojadinovic et al, 2000)
Summary
The ISC method employs advanced manufacturing technologies to create precise geometries that snap together, with load transfer achieved through common bearing surfaces at multiple contact points. The fabrication of such geometries from both two- and three-dimensional steel sections is possible due to the introduction of computer numerical control technology and robotic arms in conjunction with advanced cutting technologies such as laser, waterjet and HD plasma cutting and wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) (Krar and Gill, 2003; Ramakrishnan and Rogozinski, 1997). Melt and blow 20 1.5–300 mm/s ± 0.025–0.08 1 400 000–1 000 000 Good–excellent 0.7–1.5 Small, can be controlled Better than plasma. Electric spark erosion 300 150–500 mm2/s 0.005 None 25 000–100 000 Excellent 0.021–0.41 None Small (a)
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