Adhered web-lapped semi-rigid pultruded FRP beam-to-column framing connections: Part 1 – Experimental study

The structural pultruded fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) industry is a fast-growing structural design and construction sector. Due to its rapid shipping and installation, non-corrosive properties, and lightweight, the use of pultruded FRP is currently widespread in mission-critical and time-critical constructions all over the United States, with a predominant deployment in lightly and moderately loaded structures such as maintenance platforms and cable bus supports. However, the current state-of-the-art structural framing solutions available to professional engineers are limited, and the design tools currently adopted in ASCE 74–23 for LRFD design of structural FRP provide guidance only for bolted connections deployed in braced frame configurations. The current research is part one of a two-part paper in which five series of adhered lapped semi-rigid pultruded FRP beam-to-column framing connections, corresponding to 51 specimens, were tested. The research intent was to develop a novel cost-efficient connection to be used in lateral resisting systems for structures in pultruded FRP composite. In the work herein, the experimental study results in terms of rotational stiffness, strength, and predominant limit states were presented. Finally, considerations were offered regarding the dissipative characteristic of the connections undergoing cyclic loading.