Influence of Beam/Gusset Plate Thicknesses on the Moment-Rotation Capacity of Cold-Formed Steel Screwed Back-To Sections

Abstract

The influence of the moment-rotation characteristic on cold-formed steel (CFS) screwed back-to-back sections with varied beam and gusset plate thicknesses is investigated in this work. Twelve full-scale studies were used to determine their behavior. The results reveal that the moment resistance values increase in direct proportion to the thickness of the beam. In addition, the ratio of beam thickness ("t") to gusset plate thickness ("t(p)") is critical in calculating rotation capacity, energy dissipation values, and cost-effective design. The ductility of the joint values is also affected by the thickness of the gusset plates. Furthermore, the failure modes of the all-specimens tests show that the gusset plate thickness can be reduced to make the system more cost-effective.