Improving the T-stub component behavior tied to a rigid base

Abstract

An improvement in the behavior of the T-stub component as the vital element in the bolted connections is significant. Therefore, the present research aims to enhance the T-stub behavior by refining the bolt pattern under static load. In order to observe the effect of the bolt pattern resulting in suitable T-stub behavior, both experimental and numerical studies were performed on the specimens including one-row and two-row bolts with rectangular and trapezoidal patterns. The major aim of the experimental study was to monitor the failure mode of the specimens besides their load–displacement curves. Then, after verifying experimental results with ABAQUS software, numerical study on not only the mechanical behavior of the specimens but also the bolt behavior were conducted. Based on the results, a novel failure mode in the subgroup of failure mode 1 was observed. Furthermore, the bolt type had direct effect on the kind of the bolt rupture in failure mode 2. The last but not least, modifying just the bolt pattern without varying the remaining parameters enhanced the T-stub and bolt behavior in each of the failure modes. Therefore, without increasing the weight and cost of the connection considerably, an appropriate behavior can be reached.