Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 265-276 (2025)
SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF SQUARE CORE TUBE SQUARE
STEEL TUBE COLUMN FULLY BOLTED CONNECTION JOINTS
Hai-Ling Bao 1, Pei-Bao Xu 2, Kai Li 2 and Zi-Qing Yuan 3, *
1 Anhui Technical College of Water Resources and Hydroelectric Power, Hefei, Anhui 231603,China
2 Department of Civil Engineering Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, Anhui 230601,China
3 School of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China
*(Corresponding author: E-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Received: 28 September 2024; Revised: 6 January 2025; Accepted: 8 January 2025
DOI:10.18057/IJASC.2025.21.3.8
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ABSTRACT
Traditional steel structures often use full penetration welding for square steel tube column-to-column connections, which is labor-intensive and challenging to quality control. Prefabricated connections using high-strength bolts reduce welding but require drilling holes in the columns, potentially compromising stiffness and load-bearing capacity. To mitigate these issues, this paper introduces a novel fully bolted connection joint for square core tube square steel tube columns. This joint comprises outer extension end plates for both the column and the core tube, which are secured together using high-strength bolts. No holes needed in the steel tube wall, which ensures the stiffness and load-bearing capacity of the connection area, and allows for fully prefabrication. To reveal the working mechanism of proposed joint, finite element models were established using ABAQUS software. The entire stress process of the joint under low-cycle reciprocating loads was analyzed. The analysis examined how parameters like core tube strength, thickness, square steel tube column strength, axial compression ratio, and bolt pre-tension affected key mechanical performance indicators such as plastic deformation, failure modes, hysteresis, and energy dissipation. The results indicate that the core tube can increase the stiffness at the connection location, causing the plastic development region to be far from the connection area, achieving the seismic design goal of ‘strong joints, weak members’. Meanwhile, the joint’s hysteresis curves exhibit fullness without evident pinching, with ductility coefficients ranging from 2.66 to 3.79, inter-story displacement angles fall ranging from 1/98 to 1/71, which meets the GB50011-2010 specifications. Optimal design suggests a square steel tube to core tube strength ratio of 1.5-1.78, core tube to column strength ratio of 0.22-0.66, and axial compression ratio of 0.3-0.5. The core tube to column thickness ratio and bolt type should be selected based on structural needs. The research confirms the joint’s feasibility and provides design guidance.
KEYWORDS
Prefabrication, Square steel tube column connection joint, High-strength bolt connection, Seismic performance, Finite element analysis
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