Abstract
This paper investigates the rotational behavior of bolted glulam beam-to-column connections reinforced by knee brace. Due to the low rotational stiffness of conventional glulam beam-to-column connections (i.e., bolted connection with slotted-in steel plate), diagonal braces are usually installed to increase the lateral load resisting capacity of the structure. However, the architectural space will be heavily impacted by such installation. Column and beam members combined with knee braces would be a compromise between the enhancement of connection mechanical performance and the flexibility of architectural layout. Sixteen specimens with different knee brace configurations were designed for a series of monotonic and reserved cyclic loading tests. The failure modes, moment-resisting capacity, stiffness degradation, and hysteretic moment-rotation responses of the specimens were tested and evaluated. Results showed that the installation of knee brace led to a more ductile failure mode. For the investigated connections with knee brace, the initial stiffness was 5.98 times that of the corresponding bolted connection without knee brace, and the moment-resisting capacity was 6.80 times that of the corresponding bolted connection without knee brace. Moreover, the influence of different knee brace configurations (e.g., section modulus of the knee brace, installation angle, installation end distance, etc.) on the rotational behavior of the connections were discussed. An optimized knee brace configuration was proposed to improve the rotational behavior of the connections and to decrease the damage accumulation in the glulam beam and column members. Nonlinear numerical models, including a detailed three-dimensional model and a simplified model, were further developed to comprehend the mechanical performance of such connections. The presented experimental and analytical results can be used as reference for the development of design guidelines for the glulam bolted connection with knee brace in practical projects.
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