Net section fracture of aluminium alloy angle-to-plate connections: testing, modelling and design

• Main Authors: Jiang, Ke, Li, Shuai, Guo, Tong, Liang, Yating, Zhao, Ou
• Other Authors: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2025
• Subjects: Engineering; Aluminium alloy; Angle-to-plate connections
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182572
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations into the net section fracture behaviour and resistances of aluminium alloy angle-to-plate connections. Twenty tension tests were conducted on aluminium alloy angle-to-plate connections, with each connection specimen consisting of an equal-leg or unequal-leg angle section member bolted to gusset plates by one leg at both ends. The test setup, procedures and key obtained results, including failure loads, load–elongation curves, failure modes and strain distributions at failure cross-sections were reported. The shear lag effect and influences of the out-of-plane eccentricity, in-plane eccentricity, connection length and type of the connected leg on the net section efficiency were discussed. Following experiments, numerical modelling was conducted, with a validation study, where finite element models were developed to simulate the connection test results, and a series of parametric studies, where additional numerical data were generated over a wide range of cross-section dimensions and connection lengths. All the test and numerical data were adopted to evaluate the design rules for aluminium alloy angle-to-plate connections failing by net section fracture, as specified in the European code, Aluminium Design Manual and Australian/New Zealand standard. The evaluation results revealed that the codified design rules provided inaccurate net section resistance predictions, owing to the lack of proper consideration of the key influencing factors including the out-of-plane and in-plane eccentricities, connection length and type of the connected leg. To address the shortcomings, a new design method was proposed and offered a higher level of design accuracy and consistency for aluminium alloy angle-to-plate connections than the codified design rules.