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Analytical and Numerical Analysis on a New Type of Bolted Connection for Modular Steel Construction

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Abstract

Modular steel construction (MSC) has exhibited widespread applications in civil engineering. The inter-module connection is a key issue for the seismic performance of MSC. A detailed finite element model (FEM) of a new type of bolted connection was firstly developed. Its accuracy was validated by comparing numerical results with previous experimental results in terms of hysteretic curve and failure mode. A theoretical mechanical model was developed and its capabilities on predictions of initial rotational stiffness and ultimate moment resistance of the connection were checked through validations against test results. Further, a parametric study on several specimens with different axial load ratios, boundary conditions and section of the beams was conducted. The prediction capability of the theoretical model on seismic behavior of the connection with different beam sections was checked by comparing the skeleton curves of FEA results with theoretical ones. Subsequently, a simplified FEM was established and validated to accelerate the numerical simulation of the seismic performance of the connection.

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Acknowledgements

The reported research work was sponsored by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51908511), Young Talent Lifting Project of Henan Province (No. 2023HYTP015), Program for Innovative Research Team (in Science and Technology) in University of Henan Province (No. 23IRTSTHN006), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. ZR2020QE247) and Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Projects of Shandong Province (No. 2021XCGC011204).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    En-Feng Deng, Jun-Yi Lian & Zhe Zhang

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan, 250101, Shandong, China

    Zhe Liu

  3. The Architectural Design and Research Institute of Henan Province CO., Ltd, Zhengzhou, 450014, China

    Ji-Jian Zhou & Shi-Quan Wang

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  1. En-Feng Deng
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  3. Zhe Zhang
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  4. Zhe Liu
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  5. Ji-Jian Zhou
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  6. Shi-Quan Wang
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Contributions

E-FD: Conceptualization, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition; J-YL: methodology, software, data curation, writing—original draft; ZZ: supervision, writing—review and editing; ZL: software, validation; J-JZ: data curation, visualization; S-QW: methodology, investigation.

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Correspondence to Zhe Liu.

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Deng, EF., Lian, JY., Zhang, Z. et al. Analytical and Numerical Analysis on a New Type of Bolted Connection for Modular Steel Construction. Int J Steel Struct 23, 1046–1062 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13296-023-00749-9

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