Experimental investigation of welded I-beam to RHS column connections

Abstract The combination of RHS columns, I-beams, and welding offers an aesthetically pleasing appearance while providing excellent load transfer capabilities, expanding their potential use in multi-story buildings. Existing standards, such as NBR 16239 (2013), ISO 14346 (2013), and prEN 1993-1-8 (2021), provide limited design guidelines for welded connections. The validity of the design equations depends on geometric and non-dimensional parameters. Herein, this article presents an experimental study of I-beams welded to rectangular hollow sections (RHS) with the column connection under monotonic in-plane bending moments, with column face plastification. Six prototypes with geometrical and non-dimensional characteristics within and outside the validity ranges of established design standards are investigated. The behavior, failure mode, strength, and stiffness of the connection are evaluated and discussed. The geometric and material properties, the experimental setup and methodology, and the instrumentation details are described. In the experimental results, the failure mode characterized by column face plastification is observed. The deformed shape, beam displacement, column and I-beam strain, and moment-rotation curves are presented. The experimental moment resistance results were compared with the design equation predictions and the suitability of the equation for prototypes outside its current validity range are assessed.