Design Recommendation for Two-Sided Bolted Rectangular HSS End-Plate Connections in Axial Tension

Abstract

Recent studies conducted on the design of bolted hollow structural section end-plate connections have demonstrated that the use of the plate ultimate stress in place of the plate yield stress provides an improved correlation to experimental data. This research applies this flexural strength model to two-sided bolted rectangular hollow section end-plate connections to achieve a heightened degree of consistency across North American end-plate connection design. An updated design approach is compared to historical databases, and a suitable resistance factor is computed using the numerical Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) technique. The MCS is compared against the reliability assessment method of AISI S100, as well as a recent reformulation of the separation factor approach, providing an opportunity for the evaluation of these approaches. A design example is then given to illustrate the recommended design procedure, in LRFD.