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Experimental Behaviour of Sustainable Flush End Plate Beam-to-Column

Composite Joints with Deconstructable Bolted Shear Connectors

Conference Paper · May 2015

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 10th International Congress on Civil Engineering, 5-7 May 2015
University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Experimental Behaviour of Sustainable Flush End Plate Beam-

to-Column Composite Joints with Deconstructable Bolted Shear
Connectors

Abdolreza Ataei, Mark A. Bradford

Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
The University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

a.ataei@unsw.edu.au

Abstract
This paper presents the results of static tests conducted on four full-scale Flush End Plate Semi-Rigid
(FEPSR) beam-to-column joints in a novel deconstructable and sustainable structural system. In this
system, precast “Green Concrete” (GC) slabs having reduced CO2 emissions during their manufacture are
attached compositely to the steel beam using a novel method of shear connection that takes advantage of
Post-installed Friction-grip Bolted Shear Connectors (PFBSCs) and the composite steel beams are
connected to concrete-filled steel tubular columns (CFSTs) using flush end plates with blind bolts. The
proposed structural system can be deconstructed at the end of its service life that allow for minimising
demolition waste and maximising of component recycling. The test results show that these novel
composite joints have credible rotation and moment capacities according to EC3 and EC4, and fracture of
the joints occurs after the development of substantial rotation.
Keywords: Blind bolt; Bolted shear connectors; Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST); Semi-rigid
beam-to-column joint; Deconstructability.

1. Introduction

Traditional Flush End Plate Semi-Rigid (FEPSR) composite joints exhibit excellent structural performance
and provide for ease of construction and economical connections compared to rigid connections. Moreover,
the rigidity and ductility of FEPSR connections allows for adequate moment distribution in steel frames
subjected to overload and extreme loading scenarios. These FEPSR composite connections have higher initial
stiffnesses and moment capacities as well as rotational ductility compared to bare steel connections, owing to
beneficial effect of the reinforcing steel bars placed in the slab.
The use of concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns can reduce the construction time by eliminating
formwork and the need for tying of reinforcing steel cages. Furthermore, the application of CFST members
can improve the seismic performance of framed structures by retarding the local buckling of steel tubes and
providing high strength, ductility and energy absorption capacity [1, 2]. Accordingly, CFST members have
found increased usage over the past decades and using FEPSR composite joints in conjunction with CFST
columns appears to be a superior structural system that requires further in-depth investigation [3, 4].
However, within the current paradigms of lowering carbon emissions and enhancing the possibly of materials
recycling in the construction industry, traditional steel-concrete composite floors are problematic on a
number of fronts. Firstly, composite action between the conventional concrete slab and steel beam is
typically provided by stud shear connectors welded to the top flange of the steel beam, but demolition of such
composite members requires considerable amount of time and energy and also it is associated with much
construction waste. Secondly, construction of conventional steel-concrete composites is labour intensive,
time consuming and costly, because slabs are typically cast in-situ and reinforced with steel bars/meshes
placed in the formwork on site. Thirdly, existing composite systems mostly utilise conventional concrete
made from Portland cement whose production is attributed to a large portion of carbon emissions worldwide
[5].
Friction-grip bolted shear connectors can be installed through bolt holes placed in precast slabs and pre-
drilled in the flange of the steel beam. These bolted shear connectors can provide efficient composite action
between the precast slab and the steel beam by friction-grip and bearing mechanisms. Furthermore,

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 10th International Congress on Civil Engineering, 5-7 May 2015
University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

composite floors that take advantage of Post-installed Friction-grip Bolted Shear connectors (PFBSCs) can
be easily deconstructed at the end of the service life of structure and this, in turn, can minimise wastage of the
construction materials (associated with demolition of structures) and maximise the possibility for future
recycling of the structural components [6-11]. Another advantage of this novel composite construction is that
the precast “Green Concrete (GC)” units as well as the steel frames can be fabricated off-site and this reduces
the construction time and improves the accuracy and quality of the construction.
Marshall et al. [12] appear to be the first researchers to have reported the use of bolted shear connectors, but
the context of application is not quite clear in the study conducted by Marshall et al. Twelve push tests using
high strength bolts as shear connectors were carried out and reported by Dallam [13]. In these sets of tests,
the bolts were embedded in the concrete slab and post-tensioned by the turn-of-nut method after the concrete
had reached its 28-day compressive strength. Dallam noted that high strength bolted connectors display a
higher load capacity (about twice) of that of stud shear connectors. Six full-scale simply supported composite
beams with high-strength bolted shear connectors were tested by Dallam and Harpster [14]; however, the
bolted shear connectors were again embedded in the concrete slabs. It was concluded that post-tensioned
friction-grip high strength bolts provide a very rigid connection (with high level of composite efficiency)
between the steel beam and concrete slab under service loads, and that a reserve capacity sufficient for
development of the ultimate moment capacity of the fully composite section is also attainable. A series of
tests was conducted on three types of 22-mm diameter post-installed shear connectors under static and
fatigue loading by Kwon et al. [15]. The results showed that bolted shear connectors exhibit significantly
higher fatigue strengths than those of stud shear connectors. In addition, five full-scale non-composite beams
were constructed and tested to investigate the possibility of using bolted shear connectors for retrofitting
composite bridge decks [16]. In this recent study, reinforced concrete slabs were attached compositely to the
steel girder using post-installed shear connectors in four of the beams/specimens. It was found that the
strength and stiffness of the non-composite bridge girder can be significantly improved by using the post-
installed bolted connectors. It should be noted that in all tests conducted by Kwon et al. [15, 16], the bolted
shear connectors were embedded in the concrete slab or grouted in the bolt holes. Lee and Bradford [11]
conducted two series of push-out tests to characterise the behaviour of the post-installed post-tensioned
bolted shear connectors. The first and the second series of this experimental study included five and four
push-out specimens, respectively. All specimens in the first series and two specimens in the second series
were constructed by using post-installed bolted shear connectors. However, it appears that no research has
reported the structural performance and behaviour of beam-to-CFST column joints in a framed structure that
takes advantage of deconstructable composite floors with PFBSCs.
This paper describes the experimental results of four full-scale FEPSR beam-to-CFST column joints in a
framed structure that take advantage of a novel steel-concrete composite floor with precast GC concrete slabs
and deconstructable PFBSCs. The main objective of this research is to determine the failure mode and to
characterise the moment and rotation capacity, moment-rotation relationship and ductility of this new
deconstructable composite system in conjunction with FEPSR beam-to-column joints. Moreover, EC3 [17]
and EC4 [18] provisions are employed to assess the structural performance of the FEPSR joints with
deconstructable composite beams and the influence of parameters such as the type of bolted shear
connectors, degree of shear connection and type of precast concrete slab on the structural behaviour of
deconstructable composite joints is investigated.

2. Test specimens

Four full-scale cruciform beam-to-column joints (three joints with a composite beam and one with no
concrete slab) were designed and constructed according to the EC3 [17] and EC4 [18] provisions to simulate
the behaviour of an internal joint in a semi rigid frame and to evaluate the stiffness, ductility and moment and
rotation capacity of these prototype joints. The geometry, dimensions and details of CJ2 and CJ3 with
composite beams and post-tensioned post-installed bolted shear connectors are illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In
these specimens, a novel method for mobilising composite action between the steel girders and precast
concrete slabs was adopted that takes advantage of PFBSCs. Furthermore, the fourth specimen (SJ) with no
slab (Steel Joint only) was designed and constructed as a control specimen to determine the influence of the
precast concrete slabs on the behaviour of joint.
All cruciform joints comprised of a 460UB82.1 steel beam and a concrete-filled tubular steel column of
250×250×12.5 mm. A 10 mm thick flush end plate was welded to the end of the steel girders and 6 M20
grade 8.8 hollow-bolt blind bolts were used for connecting the steel girders to the CFST columns. The bolted

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 10th International Congress on Civil Engineering, 5-7 May 2015
University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

shear connectors were installed in pairs (see Fig. 1) and to confirm the minimum post-tensioning force
induced in the bolts, an electric control torque with Squirter Direct Tension Indicating washers were used.
For further detail refer to [19].

Fig. 1 Schematic outline of the deconstructable composite beam-to-CFST column joint with flush end plate
connection.

East West
Elevation view Section A-A

Reinforcing bars
Fig. 2 Geometry and details of CJ2 and CJ3 joints (unit: mm).

In composite joints CJ2 and CJ3, the precast GC slab attached to the top flange of the steel girders was
continuous over the column (Fig. 2). The hardened precast concrete slabs are shown in Fig. 3a. The
longitudinal reinforcement ratio for these slabs was 0.73%. Four effective/continuous longitudinal N16 and
two N10 reinforcing bars were placed in the top layer of the precast slab and in the bottom layer, N10 bars
were distributed across the slab strip; however, the bottom bars were terminated near the column face to
prevent them from contributing to the bending moment resistance (Fig. 2). Two layers of N10 bars were also
used transversely (across the slab strip) to impede longitudinal splitting of the slab. The bolted shear
connectors in CJ2 and CJ3 were high strength steel Grade 8.8 M20 and M16 bolts, respectively. The
specimen CJ2, after assembling the continuous precast concrete slab, is shown in Fig. 3b.
Specimen CJ4 represents an alternative deconstructable system in which the precast concrete slabs are not
continuous as shown in Fig. 3(c). In this CJ4 specimen, two juxtaposed precast GC slabs were attached to the
top flange of the steel girders by means of bolted shear connectors. These precast slabs have a top layer of six
effective/continuous longitudinal N16 unbounded reinforcing steel bars which were post-tensioned after the

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University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

concrete slabs had attached to the steel girders. The N16 reinforcing steel bars were post-tensioned to
approximately 10% of their tensile ultimate load capacity using a hydraulic jack.

2.1. Experimental setup and loading procedure

The set-up for the composite joint tests is illustrated in Fig. 4. All specimens were loaded vertically under
displacement-control by using a hydraulic jack and a spreader beam. Before conducting each test, the set-up
and performance of the components and instrumentation were checked by applying a small load of about
10% of the predicted ultimate load capacity of the specimens. Then, the specimens were unloaded and
reloaded, and the load was increased monotonically until no further loading could be sustained by the
specimen (failure of the specimen occurred). Three displacement rates (viz. 0.3 mm/min, 0.6 mm/min and 1.2
mm/min) were used sequentially and application of the displacements was stopped when the load started to
fall significantly.

Post-tensioned bars
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 3 (a) Specimen CJ2 (with continuous precast slab and conventional reinforcing steel) and (b) Specimen CJ4
(with discontinuous precast slab and post-tensioned steel bars).

Fig. 4 Set up for the joint tests.

3. Test results

The FEPSR joints were tested under a monotonically increasing static load and the results are summarised in
Table 1. In general, all tested joints exhibited credible rotation and moment capacities according to EC3 and
EC4, and fracture of the composite joints was associated with substantial rotation. For specimens CJ2 and
CJ3, the first major cracks developed in the transverse direction and on the surface of the precast slab at
sections adjacent to the CFST column and at load of about 160 kN. In specimen CJ4, no transverse crack was
observed in the concrete slab at the early stages of loading; however, separation of juxtaposed precast slab
began at a load of around 70 kN and continued up to final stages of loading (Fig. 5(c)). At the final stage of
the loading, the gap between the two precast slabs was about 70 mm as shown in Fig. 5(c). Tests SJ1 and CJ4
failed due to bolt fracture, while CJ2 and CJ4 failed due to fracture of the reinforcement bars.

3.1. Moment-Rotation response

The moment-rotation responses of all four specimens are shown in Fig. 6(a). Moment capacities of 222.9,
524.7, 510.2 and 584.0 kNm with rotation capacities of 83.5, 52.34, 48.0 and 94.0 mrad were observed for
specimens SJ1, CJ2, CJ3 and CJ4, respectively, and all specimens exhibited significant non-linearly. The
moment acting on the connection was obtained by multiplying the applied load at the end of the composite

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 10th International Congress on Civil Engineering, 5-7 May 2015
University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

beam and the lever arm (i.e. the distance between the centre of the loading on composite beam and the
column face). The rotation of the connection was taken as the difference between rotation of the concrete-
filled column and the steel beam measured by inclinometers. The rotation capacity of the connection was also
calculated by subtracting the displacement measured by bottom LSCT from that measured by top LSCT and
dividing the result by the distance between these two LSCTs. In order to allow for plastic analysis and
design, the rotation capacity of a joint must be higher than 30 mrad according to EC4. The test results show
that FEPSR composite joints with PFBSCs can provide a higher rotation capacity of about 1.7 times that for
CJ2 and CJ3 and 3.13 times that for CJ4 when compared with the EC4 provisions.

70 mm
mm

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 5 Failure modes of tested specimens (a) SJ1, (b) CJ2 and (c) CJ4.

Table 1 Test result of composite and non-composite FEPSR beam-to-CFST column joints.
Maximum Moment Rotation
Maximum Maximum
Specimen deflection capacity capacity Mode of failure
load (kN) slip (mm)
(mm) (kN.m) (mrad)
SJ1 159.21 90.00 222.90 83.50 N.A. Bolt fracture
CJ2 437.25 65.20 524.70 52.34 4.4 Bar fracture
CJ3 364.40 65.60 510.16 48.00 2.5 fracture
Bar fracture
CJ4 417.14 120.34 584.00 94.00 9.5 Bolt fracture

It can also be seen that composite action has a significant effect on the behaviour of the joints, with the
ultimate moment capacities of CJ2, CJ3 and CJ4 being 2.46, 2.43 and 2.62 times that of SJ1 respectively,
which means presence of precast concrete slabs can significantly improve the moment capacities of the
FEPSR joints. However, the rotation capacities for CJ2 and CJ3 are less than that of non-composite joint.

700 400

600 350
300
500
Load (KN)

250
Moment (kN.m)

400 SJ1 200

300 CJ2 150 CJ1
200 CJ3 100 CJ3
100 CJ4 50 CJ4
0 0
0 50 100 150 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Rotation (mRad) Strainn (µe)

(a) (b)

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 10th International Congress on Civil Engineering, 5-7 May 2015
University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Fig. 6 (a) Moment-Rotation response of the specimens; (b) Tensile strain in longitudinal reinforcing steel bars at
the mid-span.

The behaviour of specimen CJ4 is completely different to that of CJ2 and CJ3 due to the existing
discontinuous precast slab and post-tensioned steel bars. The trend of the moment-rotation curve of this
specimen is almost same as that of a push-out test [19]. It comprises three distinctive stages that involve a
region of full shear interaction, a region of almost zero shear interaction and a region of partial shear
interaction. The reason for this result is that only CJ4 experienced large amount of slip between the precast
slab and steel beam which is in the tired region. The rotation capacity of this specimen increased significantly
compared to other composite specimens (i.e. specimen CJ2 and CJ3).

3.2. Strain in longitudinal reinforcing bars

The tensile strains in the longitudinal reinforcing bars measured during the tests for all composite joints are
shown in Fig. 6(b). The sudden increase in tensile strain of steel bars at a load of about 100-170 kN is
associated with development of transverse cracks in the precast slabs. Also, it is observable that the average
strain in the reinforcing bar at the mid span for all composite specimens exceeded the yield strain at the
ultimate load capacity of the FEPSR joints.

3.3. Bolted shear connectors

The load versus slip at the free end of the composite beams for the specimens CJ2, CJ3 and CJ4 are shown in
Fig. 7. It is seen that the final slip between the steel beam and precast concrete slab is about 4.4 mm, 2.5 mm
and 8 mm for CJ2, CJ3 and CJ4, respectively. Also, it is observable that in the first stage of the response for
CJ2, CJ3 and CJ4 the slip is almost zero until a load around 250 kN, 220kN and 130 kN is attained
respectively. In this stage, near full-composite action is achieved by a friction-grip mechanism and post-
tensioning force induced in PFBSCs. With regard to the load-slip response of specimen CJ2 (see Fig. 7a), it
is seen that two major slips (between the precast concrete slab and the steel beam) has occurred at load of
about 250 kN and 331 kN. However, the slips in CJ3 and Cj4 started at load of around 230 kN and 130 kN
and increased gradually up to the ultimate load (Fig. 7b). It can be concluded that first slip with stronger
bolted shear connectors occur at higher level of load as expected. Moreover, partial shear connection leads to
more stable and ductile behaviour for composite joint without sudden slip between the precast concrete slab
and the steel beam (see Fig. 7). In addition, it can be seen in Fig. 7(c) that CJ4 which had smaller degree of
shear connection experienced the highest slip as expected. Importantly, the test results show that decreasing
the degree of shear connection leads to a decrease the initial strength of composite joint, which can increase
the deflection of the composite beam in service-load levels.

4. Conclusions

In this paper, the results of four full-scale sustainable flush end plate semi-rigid beam-to-column joints with
deconstructable PPBSCs were reported. In this system, precast GC slabs having reduced CO2 emissions
during their manufacture are attached compositely to the steel beam via PPBSCs. The test parameters varied
involved bolted shear connector types, degrees of shear connection, and types of precast concrete slab. Based
on the experimental results, the structural behaviour of these new novel systems that used precast slabs and
bolted shear connection were assessed and investigated. The significant findings from these full-scale tests
underpinned the following conclusions:
 In order to allow for plastic analysis and design, the rotation capacity of the joint must be higher
than 30 mrad according to EC4. Test results show that a FEPSR composite joint with PPBSCs can
provide a higher rotation (about 1.7 times) than that specified by the design code.
 The rotation capacities of the composite joints were lower than that of the non-composite joint.
 Small slips at different levels of loads occurred when small bolted shear connectors are used.
 Composite action by using precast concrete slab and PPBSCs has a significant effect on the
behaviour of the joints.

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 10th International Congress on Civil Engineering, 5-7 May 2015
University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

 Decreasing the degree of shear connection leads to a decrease the initial strength of composite joint
which can increase the deflection of the composite beam in service-load levels.

5. Acknowledgements

The work reported in this paper was undertaken with the financial support of the Australian Research Council
through an Australian Laureate Fellowship (FL100100063) awarded to the second author. The assistance of
the technical staff at the UNSW Heavy Structures Research Laboratory is also acknowledged with thanks.

400 400
350 350
300 300
250 250
Load (kN)

Load (kN)
200 200 Small slips

150 Second slip-331 kN 150

100 CJ2-West 100 First slip-220 kN CJ3-East
First slip-250 kN 50
50 CJ2-East CJ3-West
0 0
0 2 4 6 0 1 2 3
Slip (mm) Slip (mm)

(a) (b)
450
400
350 First bearing
300
Load (kN)

250
200
150
100 CJ4-West
First slip-140 kN
50 CJ4-East
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Slip (mm)

(c)

Fig. 7 Load-slip response of the steel-precast concrete composite beams with bolted shear connectors for
specimens (a) CJ2, (b) CJ3 and (c) CJ4.

6. References

1. Shams, M. & Saadeghvaziri, M. A., State of the art of concrete-filled steel tubular columns. ACI
Structural Journal 1997; 94 (5): 558-571.
2. Han, L.-H., Liao, F.-Y., Tao, Z. & Hong, Z., Performance of concrete filled steel tube reinforced
concrete columns subjected to cyclic bending. Journal of Constructional Steel Research 2009; 65 (8-9):
1607-1616.
3. Wang JF, Han LH, Uy B. Behaviour of flush end plate joints to concrete-filled steel tubular columns.
Journal of Constructional Steel Research; 2009; 65: 925-939. .
4. Wang JF, Han LH, Uy B. Hysteretic behaviour of flush end plate joints to concrete-filled steel tubular
columns. Journal of Constructional Steel Research; 2009; 65: 1644-1663.

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 10th International Congress on Civil Engineering, 5-7 May 2015
University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

5. Davidovits J. (1994) “High-alkali cements for 21st century concretes. In: Concrete Technology, Past
Present and Future”, P. Kumar Metha (ed.), ACI SP-144, pp. 383-397.
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bolted shear connectors. Conference on Numerical Modeling Strategies for Sustainable Concrete
Structures, Aix-en-Provence, France, II-2, 1-8.
8. Bradford M.A. and Pi Y.-L. (2012b) Numerical modelling of composite steel-concrete beams for life-
cycle deconstructability. 1st International Conference on Performance-Based and Life-Cycle Structural
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9. Bradford M.A. and Pi Y.-L. (2013) Nonlinear elastic-plastic analysis of composite members of high-
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Economy of Welded Structures, Miskolc, Hungary, 585-590.
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Town, South Africa.
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strength friction-grip bolts as shear connectors in composite beams. The Structural Engineer 49: 171-
178.
13. Dallam L.N. (1968) Push out tests with high strength bolt shear connectors. Report for Missouri State
Highway Department, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Missouri.
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15. Kwon G., Engelhardt, M.D. and Klinger, R.E. (2010) Behavior of post-installed shear connectors under
static and fatigue loading. Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66: 532-541.
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with post-installed shear connectors. Journal of Bridge Engineering, ASCE 16: 536-545.
17. CEN. “Eurocode 3: Design of Steel Structures. Part 1.8: Design of joints (prEN 1993-1-8:2003),
CEN;2003.
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Rules for Buildings (prEN 1994-11:2004)”.
19. Ataei A. and Bradford M.A. Behaviour of Sustainable Flush End Plate Beam-to-Column Composite
Joints with Deconstructable Bolted Shear Connectors, under review.

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