EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON INITIALLY IMPERFECT RIGID CONNECTIONS

Bolted steel end-plate rigid connections are common structural element in almost all steel structures. Due to various construction conditions, connections with initial imperfections are not uncommon and a thorough investigation is required to evaluate the imperfection effect on connection capacity. This paper investigates experimentally the effect of initial imperfections on the ultimate capacity of extended end plate rigid connection subjected to bending moment and shearing force. The ultimate capacity of three different initially imperfect connections is compared to that of ideally perfect connections. All four connections are located in beam specimens to induce bending moment and shear force on them. The values of initial imperfection angle between the two end plates comprising the connections are taken as 2, 4 and 6 degrees. The effect of initial imperfections on connection capacity and beam stiffens is presented in this paper.