An experimental study of I beam-RHS column demountable joints with welded studs

This paper presents the results of an extensive experimental investigation on the behaviour of a new type of joint between open structural steel beam and rectangular hollow section (RHS) column. The proposed joint is demountable: threaded studs are welded to the front face of the hollow section column and angle cleat legs are then bolted to the column by means of the welded studs and to the beam flanges by ordinary bolts. Twenty-one full-scale single side or double side bolted beam-column joints combining different sections have been tested under monotonic and cyclic loads. The test results confirm that these joints behave as semi rigid and partial strength ones which possess sufficient stiffness and moment resistance for use in the construction of low to medium-rise steel buildings as an alternative to other traditional solutions. The proposed joints also exhibit a moderate energy dissipation capacity under cyclic loads, suitable for construction in moderate seismic regions. This research work demonstrates that the proposed joint is easy to execute on site without specialized manpower or expensive facilities. •New joints are proposed that are cheap, easy to execute, and may be reused contributing to sustainable construction.•These new joints behave as semi-rigid in the frame analysis.•Monotonic and cyclic tests have been carried out on a set of joints to determine their static and dynamic behaviour.•Material properties of welded studs have been obtained.