Experimental Study of Grouted Sleeve Connections under Bending for Steel Modular Buildings

Abstract

In steel modular buildings, both inter- and intra-module connections can attract bending moment under the action of lateral loads. The moment is distributed in accordance with the relative stiffness ratios among the structural components and hence the connections should have sufficient flexural resistance and stiffness relative to the connecting members to be classified as a rigid connection. Typically, intra-module connections (beam-column joints within a module) are designed as full-strength rigid connections, while the inter-module connections are normally designed as pin-connected for fast-track construction. This paper proposes the use of grouted sleeve connection which does not require bolting or welding to achieve fast-track construction of modular buildings. An experimental programme is carried to investigate two types of inter-module connections, shear-keyed grouted sleeve versus slot-hole grouted sleeve, under flexural loading to evaluate their structural performance in terms of strength, stiffness, and ductility. The results showed that both connections have adequate moment resistance and ductility to resist bending and they can be classified as partial strength rigid connection for use in braced steel modular buildings. An analytical model, based on EN1992-1-1, is proposed to predict the moment resistance of the connection for the purpose of design.