Double⁃Shear Experiments of Cold⁃Formed Steel Stud⁃to⁃Sheathing Connections at Elevated Temperatures

The behavior of cold⁃formed steel(CFS)stud⁃to⁃sheathing connections at elevated temperatures is an important parameter for the fire resistance design and modeling of mid⁃rise CFS structures.In this paper,three kinds of sheathings,namely,medium⁃and low⁃density calcium⁃silicate boards and oriented strand board,were selected for double⁃shear experiments on the mechanical properties of 253 screw connections at ambient and elevated temperatures.The effects of the shear direction,screw edge distance and the number of screws on the behavior of the connections were studied.The results showed that the shear direction and the screw edge distance more significantly influenced the peak deformation,while their impacts on the peak load varied with the type of sheathings.Compared with the single⁃screw connections,the peak loads of the specimens with double⁃screw connections obviously increased but did not double.Finally,a simplified load⁃displacement curve model of stud⁃to⁃sheathing connections at elevated temperature was generated first by establishing the prediction formula for characteristic parameters,such as the peak load,the peak deformation and the elastic stiffness,and then by considering whether the curves corresponded to stiffness increase phenomena.The present investigation provides basic data for future studies on the numerical modeling of CFS structures under fire conditions.

Effect of fatigue load on the bending tribo-corrosion-fatigue behaviors between the main cable wires

The main cable bent around the saddle of the suspension bridge is subjected to the wind,the vehicle,the bridge’s own weight and the corrosive media.The coupling of the three loads and the environments causes the friction,the corrosion,and the fatigue(tribo-corrosion-fatigue)among the wires inside the main cable.In this paper,a wire bending tribo-corrosion-fatigue test rig was designed and developed.The effect of fatigue load on the bending friction behaviors between the cable wires in ultrapure water and 3.5%NaCl solution was explored.The tribological properties and electrochemical corrosion behaviors under different fatigue loading ranges were investigated.The tribo-corrosion-fatigue interaction between the cable wires was quantitatively characterized,and the mechanism of the interaction was analyzed.The results demonstrate that the increasing fatigue load exacerbates the coupling damage of the cable wires attributed to the enhanced interaction.The findings carry theoretical importance when assessing the main cable’s deterioration and the load-bearing safety of a suspension bridge.