Cabrera, M., Theofanous, M. and Bock, Marina (2025). Behaviour and design of bolted aluminium flange cleats. Thin-Walled Structures, 215 ,
Abstract
Equivalent T-stubs are traditionally employed to model the structural behaviour of the tension zone of moment resisting connections. The design model for the equivalent T-stub considers only the bending moments acting on the equivalent T-stub without considering the co-existing tensile force acting on the T-stub web. However, for flange cleats in bending, the horizontal cleat leg (i.e. the T-stub web) at the junction with the vertical leg is subjected to a co-existing tensile force in addition to the bending moment which limits its moment resistance. This is not considered in current design specifications which made them potentially unsafe. This paper reports 5 experimental tests on bolted aluminium angle cleats in grade 6082 T6 that were used to develop and validate a finite element model. Subsequently, parametric studies were conducted over a wider range of flange cleat geometries covering all types of failure modes considered in EN 1999-1-1. The design specifications for equivalent T-stubs in tension set out in EN 1999-1-1 were assessed and cases where the specifications are inaccurate or potentially unsafe were highlighted. A simple modification of the existing design model is proposed, which offers more consistent and safe ultimate capacity predictions.
Publication DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2025.113447 |
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Divisions: | College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > School of Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering > Civil Engineering College of Engineering & Physical Sciences College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > School of Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering Aston University (General) |
Funding Information: | The research presented in this article has received funding from the Smart Concept Fund of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) from the European Union (EU). |
Additional Information: | Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | Aluminium,Connections,EN 1999,Equivalent T-stub,Flange cleats,Civil and Structural Engineering,Building and Construction,Mechanical Engineering |
Publication ISSN: | 1879-3223 |
Last Modified: | 30 Jun 2025 16:41 |
Date Deposited: | 14 May 2025 09:02 |
Full Text Link: | |
Related URLs: |
https://www.sci ... 5403?via%3Dihub
(Publisher URL) http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL) |
PURE Output Type: | Article |
Published Date: | 2025-10 |
Published Online Date: | 2025-05-13 |
Accepted Date: | 2025-05-12 |
Authors: |
Cabrera, M.
Theofanous, M. Bock, Marina ( ![]() |
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