PSI - Issue 70

Umeshkumar T. Mourya et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 70 (2025) 35–42

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stability, lateral restraints are installed at the loading point to restrict any sideways deflection of the beam. The displacement of the end-connector is recorded using linear variable differential transducers (LVDTs) placed at the top and bottom. Throughout the experiment, a load cell is used to record the applied load at the beam end.

Fig. 3. Bending test setup for connection: (a) Schematic; (b) Actual

2.3. Test Procedure Initially a small load of 50 kg is applied in the gravity direction to allow the seating of the connection. The load is slowly increased at a rate of 10 kg/second not exceeding 30% of the connection moment capacity. The loading direction is then reversed to unload the connection and the connection is allowed to return to the initial unloaded position. The direction of the loading is reversed and the same value of the load is applied in the upward direction to create hogging bending at the connection. The connection is then unloaded and this cycle is repeated two times. During the testing, it is ensured that there is no damage to the tab of the end-connector or the upright. Three cycles of loading were repeated for each configuration in the looseness test. 3. Results and discussion The loads and deflections recorded during the experiment are used to obtain the moment and relative rotations of the connection with the following equations: M Fl = (1)

1 2 d d h −

=



(2