Arizu Sulaiman

Experimental and analytical study of various shear connectors used for cold-formed steel-ferrocement composite beam

This work presents the experimental tests carried out to evaluate the behaviour of different types of shear connectors proposed for cold formed steel (CFS) section integrated with ferrocement slab as potential used for composite beam. Ten push-out test specimens of cold-formed steel lipped channel sections connected with ferrocement slab were tested. Three types of shear connectors were studied comprised of bolts, self-drilling-screw and bar angle. The connection behavior is analysed in terms of its load-slip relationship and the failure mode. The parametric studies were performed to investigate the effect on the shear connector’s capacity by varying the number of layers of wire mesh used in ferrocement slab and types of shear connector used. A theoretical analysis (Eurocode 4) was carried out to verify the experiment results. The results show that the experimental and theoretical proved to have good agreement with each other.

Comparison of component method with experimental tests for flush end-plate connections using hot-rolled perwaja steel sections

A component method has been introduced by Steel Construction Institute to predict the moment resistance of partial strength connection. The design philosophy is taken directly from Eurocode 3 with strength checks on bolts, welds, and steel which have been modified to comply with BS 5950-1:2000. The accuracy of the method however needs to be validated with the experimental tests especially for hot-rolled sections other than typical British Section (BS). Six experimental tests on beam-to-column connections have been carried out for Flush End-Plate (FEP) connections consisting of variable parameters such as thickness of end-plate, size and number of bolts, size of columns, and beams. The tests were set-up using local hot-rolled steel sections known as Perwaja Section (PS) for beams and columns instead of typical British Section (BS). The strength of materials for end-plate, column and beam sections were tested for tensile strength and used in predicting the moment resistance for component method. The moment versus rotation of the test results were plotted and compared with the moment resistance derived from component method. The study concluded that the moment resistance of the tested flush end-plate connections was higher than the predicted moment resistance from component method which showed good agreement between the two moments. The study also concluded that the tested FEP connections met the requirements and criteria of partial strength connections.

Numerical Simulation for Predicting Fire Behavior of Axially Loaded Circular Concrete Filled Steel Tubular Columns

The present study investigates the behavior of axial loaded circular concrete filled hollow steel section (CFHSS) columns. A nonlinear finite element model using ABAQUS program was developed to investigate the fire behavior of the inspected columns from previous fire tests. The study variables include column dimensions, steel section wall thickness, concrete strength, concrete types (plain or reinforced), and fire protection thickness. The comparison indicated that the results obtained from the model were within acceptable limit of accuracy of 15%. A sensitivity study was carried out to investigate the influence of the output of the numerical model including the Poisson’s ratio of concrete, thermal conductance at the steel-concrete interface, frictional contact at steel-concrete interface, and imperfection buckling of columns. Based on the sensitivity analysis, several modelling suggestions were given in this paper which will be beneficial for further study.

Economic aspects of interlocking hollow brick system designed for industrialized building system

Construction industry has moved forward into a technology driven where a transition is in progress from conventional method to a more advanced and mechanised system known as the Industrialised Building System (IBS). However, the need to implement the IBS should be well understood by all construction players such as designer, architect, contraction, erectors and construction workers. Therefore, there is a need to educate all these construction players which should be spearheaded by authorities such as Construction Industrial Development Board where enforcement trough building by laws as well as initiative to those that adopt the IBS in their construction. This paper reports on economic aspects of using interlocking hollow brick system in construction as an alternative method offered for Industrialized Building System. The main objective is to address the economic aspects of using interlocking block system in terms of time, costs, and utilization of manpower and to present some of the experimental tests res...

Experimental investigation of retrofitted extended end plate connections

A series of retrofitted extended end-plate connections have been tested experimentally and evaluated using the component method specified in Eurocode 3. The component method decomposed the end-plate connection into several components, including the tension zone, compression zone, vertical and horizontal shear zone that occurred at the bolt, end-plate, beam and column. Based on the theoretical model, the moment resistance and the initial stiffness of a connection can be predicted. Four experimental tests on the retrofitted extended end-plate connections have been conducted to verify the proposed design method. From the experiment tests, all moment resistance of the connections showed good agreement with theoretical predictions, which establish a reliable foundation to predict the moment resistance of the retrofitted end-plate connection. All initial stiffnesses calculated from theoretical predictions do not represent the actual behaviour of tested connection. All tested connections can be classified as partial strength based on EC 3: Part 1.8, in condition the welding capacity is at least 50% higher than the capacity calculated from the component method.