Experimental evaluation of moment-rotation response of an innovative modular beam-to-fabricated column connection

Fabricated columns are reliable choices for the growing demand for higher-capacity columns. Of the fabricated columns available at present, Hybrid-Fabricated Columns (HFCs) are a game changer. Although an innovative generation of these columns consisting of plates welded to corner tubes has been developed and investigated at Monash University, the connection to these columns still needs to be investigated. In this paper, the results of monotonic tests performed on a generation of connections developed for use with HFCs and I-beams are presented. The column corner tubes are made of mild and ultra-high strength steel materials and the tests were conducted to investigate the effect of their material properties on the connection’s performance. The moment-rotation curves of the tests demonstrated that this connection shows high moment capacity, ductility, and rotation. In comparison, the connection has more capacity, ductility, and stiffness when used with Ultra-High Strength Steel (UHSS) corner tubes.