BEHAVIOUR OF BOLTED CIRCULAR FLANGE JOINTS SUBJECTED TO A BENDING MOMENT AND AN AXIAL FORCE

Mal Couchaux CTICM, France mcouchaux@cticm.com Mohammed Hjiaj INSA of Rennes, France mohammed.hjiaj@insa-rennes.fr Ivor Ryan Consultant, France ivorryan@gmail.com ABSTRACT Bolted circular flange connections are used for tubular members in buildings as well as in structures such as chimneys and pylons for lighting, communication, wind turbines and ski-lift installations. In this paper, a model is proposed for the determination of the global behaviour (elastic and elasto-plastic) of bolted circular flange connections subjected to a bending moment combined with an axial tensile or compressive force. Particularly, a model, based on the component method and quite similar to that of Eurocode 3 part 1-8, is proposed to determine the rotational stiffness. A parametric study was performed based on a 3D finite element model considering elasto-plastic material behaviour and using contact elements. The results obtained from the proposed analytical model are in good agreement with those obtained from the finite element model. 1. INTRODUCTION Most of the existing models permit to determine the tensile capacity of bolted circular flange joint connections (Igarashi et al, 1985, Couchaux et al, 2010). Stamatopoulos & Ermopoulos (2008) proposed to evaluate the plastic bending resistance of these joints using an incremental procedure. The possible occurrence of a non ductile failure mode or the development of an elasto-plastic regime has been considered by Couchaux et al (2011). The strength of a joint plays an important in design. However, its stiffness can have an important impact on the global behaviour of the structure. A model has been proposed by Kozlowski & Wojnar (2008) to determine the rotational stiffness of these joints but the calculation method involves an iterative procedure and is not easy to directly apply. The objective of this paper is to propose a model which allows a full characterization of the complete behaviour of this type of joints, and particularly the moment rotation curve. As suggested in EN 1993-1-8, the moment rotation curve is evaluated via two essential characteristics of the joint; the bending resistance and the initial rotational stiffness. The bending resistance of joint is evaluated considering the possibility of the development of a fully plastic mechanism or an elasto-plastic regime (Couchaux et al, 2011). The initial rotational stiffness is determined considering the component method. The results obtained via this analytical model are compared with those of numerical analyses.

2. ANALYTICAL MODEL: MOMENT-ROTATION CURVE 2.1 Initial rotation stiffness of the joint

2.1.1. General hypothesis The cross-section located at the junction between the tube-wall and the flange is supposed to remain plane after loading (see Figure 1). This cross-section is subjected to a rotation j. The interaction between the flange and the tube-wall is modeled considering springs positioned along the circumference of the tube. Their stiffness is different in compression and in tension. The distribution of the forces applied by the tube-wall to the flange is linear in both compression and tension.
y

Rb

Rf

N Mj

N
ft

j
kt

Mj

z
fc Compressive zone Tensile zone

kc

Compressive zone

Tensile zone

Figure 1. Deformation of the joint with a dominant bending moment Considering the plane cross-section assumption, the displacement of the flange at the junction with the tube-wall (see Figure 1) can be expressed as follows: cos cos c when 0 1 cos ( ) = (1) cos cos when t cos + 1 where c is the maximum displacement in the compressive zone ( = 0), the angle defining the position of the neutral axis and t the maximum displacement in the tensile zone ( = ). The displacement t and c can be expressed as function of the rotation j of the joint: t = R (1 + cos ) j (2) c = R (1 cos ) j (3) The relation between the force per unit length and the displacement is: f ( ) = k ( ) (4)

where k is stiffness coefficient per unit length; equal to kt in the tensile zone and kc in the compressive zone, respectively. Therefore, the force applied by the tube-wall to the flange is given by: cos cos when 0 f c 1 cos f ( ) = (5) f cos cos when t cos + 1 Finally, two of behavior modes are possible for the joint: The bending moment is dominant and both a compressive and tensile zone develops at the junction between the tube-wall and the flange. It is therefore necessary to determine the position of the neutral axis, which depends on the loading and the relative rigidity of the tensile and compressive parts of the joint, The axial force is dominant and the joint is completely in compression or in tension. The initial rotational stiffness, Sj,ini, is defined as the ratio of the bending moment divided by the rotation:
S j,ini = Mj

(6)

This stiffness will be determined respectively in paragraph 2.1.3 and 2.1.4 for both cases described above. 2.1.2. Position of the neutral axis for a dominant bending moment If the bending moment is dominant, the stress distribution comprises a compressive zone and a tensile zone as indicated in Figure 1. Considering relation (5), the axial forces generated by the compressive and the tensile stresses are given by:
Ft,tot = 2Rft

(9) The bending moments generated by the compressive and tensile stresses, respectively, are given by: 2R 2fc cos sin M j,c = (10) R cos Fc,tot 1 cos 2
M j,t = 2R 2ft + cos sin + R cos Ft,tot 1 + cos 2

sin cos 1 cos The equilibrium along the tube axis gives: Fc,tot = N + Ft,tot Fc,tot = 2Rfc

sin + ( ) cos 1 + cos

(7) (8)

(11) (12) (13)

The total bending moment Mj reads: M j = M j,t + M j,c + NR cos Finally, the bending moment has the following expression: R cos N + R 2 [fc (1 + cos ) + ft (1 cos )( )] Mj =
2

The previous expression depends on the angle , which can be determined (Couchaux, 2010) via the following equation:
1

= cos +

sin cos mk ( sin + ( ) cos )

sin 2 [ + mk ( )]

(14)

where =

k NR , mk = t . 2M j kc

Due to the fact that is comprised between 0 and , the relation (13) is valid when the absolute value of is less than 1. For other value of , the flange is completely in tension ( -1), or completely in compression ( 1). 2.1.3. Initial Rotational stiffness: dominant bending moment When the bending moment is dominant, combining (2), (3), (4) and (5) yields to: ft = k t R (1 + cos ) j (15) fc = kc R (1 cos ) j (16) Considering relations (13), (15) and (16), the bending moment applied by the tube to the flange is: sin 2 M j = jR 3 ( k t k c ) + k t (17)
2

Thus the initial rotational rigidity of the joint is: sin 2 S j,ini = R 3 (k t k c ) + k t
2

(18)

This formulation depends on the angle , which is obtained from equation (14) and is comprised between 0 and . Outside this range, the axial force is dominant and the joint is completely in tension or completely in compression. 2.1.4. Initial Rotational stiffness : dominant axial force When the axial force is dominant, the stiffness is the same along the circumference of the joint and is equal to kt or kc. The rotation is directly related to the displacement of the flange due to the bending moment. Considering the plane cross-section assumption, the displacement is given by (see Figure 2):
( ) = jd ( ) = jR cos

(19)

Thus, the bending moment can be obtained via relations (4) and (19):
/2

Mj = 4

f ( )d ( )Rd = kR 3 j

(20)

The initial rotational stiffness is:

S j,ini = kR 3

(21)

Deformation of the flange near the tube-wall

Mj

f j

Figure 2. Deformation of the flange due to the bending moment 2.2 Rigidity of the compressive part

The stiffness of the compressive component corresponds to the ratio of the force applied by the tube-wall to the flange, fc, and the displacement of the flange c. Kozlowski & Wojnar (2006) proposed a formulation based on a parametrical study for three type of welds. A theoretical solution is proposed here for full penetration butt welds (see Figure 3.a).

(a) Full penetration butt weld

(b) Fillet welds

Figure 3. Welds configurations The opposite flanges in contact are modeled via the beam model proposed by Couchaux et al (2009). Stamatopoulos & Ermopoulos (2008) studied a flange subjected to a compression when the yield strength is reached at the tube-wall and proposed a form of the contact pressure base on numerical analysis:
p( x ) = p1 when t t 2 x t t 2

p( x ) = p1

c + tt 2 - x when t t 2 x c + t t 2 c

These expressions of the contact pressure will be considered to simplify the analytical expressions and c (0,98tf) will be considered equal to tf.

fc

tt z
c

pt w u x tf

p1 tf

Figure 4. L-stub in compression Hence, if the flange in contact with a rigid support is modeled via the mechanical model of Couchaux et al (2009), its transversal displacement, w, is:
w ( x, z ) = 1 z2 z 4 ( pt p1 ) pt z 6 M ( x )z 2 2 z 3 2 + + w0 ( x ) 4 tf E E tf3 Et f3

where M(x) is the bending moment per unit length in the flange, w0(x) the transversal displacement at z = 0 and: tf 3
w0 (x ) =
fc

32E
=

[13 p1 + 3 pt ] + 2Et

M(x)

Hence the stiffness is:

kc =

fc (2t + 1) =E t w (0, t f / 2) 2t + 1/ 2

(22)

where t =

tt . tf

The application of the present model to fillet welds (see Figure 3.b) is not possible because the compression is transmitted by the two fillet welds. A formulation based on the numerical results of Kozlowski & Wojnar (2006) is proposed: kc = 100 [ln t + 6] (23) Stiffness of the tensile part The stiffness of the tensile component corresponds to the ratio of the force applied by the tube-wall to the flange, ft, and the displacement of the flange t. Two type of component can be considered depending on the flanges: Half a T-stub model for one bolt in presence of blank flange, the formulation of EN 1993-1-8 can be used, An L-stub model in presence of a ring flange. The flange is modelled via beam and is either in contact with the adjacent flange over a certain distance, e2, or simply in contact at the free edge (see Figure 5). 2.3

It has been proposed by Couchaux et al (2010) to directly determine this separation length:
= e2 R,0 e2 R

(24)

where Lb is the tensile bolt length, calculated via EN 1993-1-8, nb the number of bolts, As the cross section area of one bolt.
R = 4
e1 As e e +1 2 R , pb = , R,0 = 2 1 3 . t L p n (e2 e1 ) b f b b
3

e2

e1

FT

tf

FT

Q n
(a) Ponctual contact, = e2
(b) Surface contact, e2

Figure 5. Contact configurations for L-stub When obtained via relation (24) is less than e2, the flange is clamped at the end of the contact zone and the stiffness per unit length is:
kt = 1
3

l eff ( + e1 ) 2 (2 + 3e1 ) 3EIf 6EIf

(25)

where leff is the effective length calculated via EN 1993-1-8.

=
l t3 n + e1 , If = eff f . 12 n

On the contrary, when the length is equal to e2 the flange is simply in contact with his free edge and the stiffness is thus:
kt = 1 l eff Lb 2EAs 1
2 e1 e1 (e1 + e2 ) 1 + + e 3EIf 2 2

(26)

2.4

Moment rotation curve The moment-rotation curve is defined as proposed in EN 1993-1-8 via the bending resistance and the initial rotational stiffness. The initial rotational stiffness is determined via expressions (18) and (21) given in paragraph 2.1. The bending resistance is determined via the model of Couchaux et al (2011) which consider two failure modes, ductile and non-ductile. The constitutive law of the moment-rotation curve is: when 0 M j 2M j,pl /3 S j,ini j Mj = 1 (27) S j,ini j (2M j,pl 3) +1 when 2 M /3 M M j,pl j j,pl

Mj

Mj,pl

2Mj,pl/3

Experimental/Numerical Analytical
Sj,ini

Figure 6. Analytical and experimental curve In EN 1993-1-8, the value of is equal to 2,7 for bolted flange joints. The bolted circular flange joints can be classified in this category. However this formulations lead to an overestimation of the rotation capacity when the failure mode is non ductile (buckling just after the elastic range). Thus a value of equal to 1 is considered for non ductile failure modes. 3. Confrontation to experimental and numerical results

3.1. Numerical model A numerical model has been developed (Couchaux et al 2011) to carry out a parametric study and to complete the available experimental results (Yamaguchi 1996, and Jakubowski, 2003). The numerical model was built using the Finite element code ANSYS V11.0 with contact and brick elements. Due to symmetry, just an half of the connection is studied. A symmetry plane cut the joint and a rotation is applied.

Figure 7. Finite element model

3.2. Comparison of analytical and numerical results The curve calculated by the analytical model for joint M1, M8, M9 and INSA (joint tested in INSA of Rennes) are compared against those obtained by numerical or experimental tests. The initial rotational stiffness is well approach by the analytical model.

M1

M8

M9

INSA

Figure 8. Moment-rotation curves For joint M9, the initial rotational stiffness is clearly underestimated. The thickness of the flange is thin and equal to 10 mm in this case. The stiffness of the tensile area, kt, is evaluated without the consideration of the influence of the tube-wall which have a certain influence for thinner flanges. Furthermore, the hypothesis of planar motion of the flange is not so adequate when the flange is thin. 4. CONCLUSION An analytical model has been proposed in the present paper to derive the moment-rotation curve of a bolted circular flange joint which can be calculated via the initial rotational stiffness and the bending resistance (Couchaux et al, 2011). A model, based on the component method, is proposed to determine the initial rotational stiffness. A coefficient of rigidity is evaluated for the compression area which could be used for different joint configurations. The results are compared with those of the numerical and experimental tests and quite good agreements are obtain. The rotational stiffness is underestimated in presence of thin flange. Finally, the present

model could be applied to determine the initial rotation stiffness of circular base plate joint. REFERENCES Bourrier, M., Lefeuvre, M., (1976), anchorage of chimney, Revue Construction Mtallique, Vol. 13 (3), (pp. 66-70), (in french). Couchaux, M., Hjiaj, M., Ryan, I., Bureau, A., (2009), Effect of contact on the elastic behaviour of bolted flange connections, 11th Nordic Steel Construction Conference, Malm, Sweden. Couchaux, M., (2010),Behaviour of bolted circular flange joints, PhD Thesis, INSA of Rennes, (in French). Couchaux, M., Hjiaj, M., Ryan, I., (2010) Static Resistance of bolted circular flange joints under tensile force, Proc. 13st International Symposium on tubular structures, Hong-Kong, Vol. 1, (pp. 27-35). Couchaux, M., Hjiaj, M., Ryan, I., Bureau, A., (2011) Resistance of bolted circular flange joint subjected to bending moment and axial force, Eurosteel 2011, 6th conference on steel and composite structures, Budapest, Hungary, (pp. 219224). EN 1993-1-8-2005. European Committee for Standardization CEN. Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures. Part 1.8: Design of joints, Brussels. Igarashi, S., Wakiyama, K., Inoue, K., Matsumoto, T., Murase, Y. (1985), Limit design of high strength bolted tube flange joints: Part 1. Joint without rib-plates and ring-stiffeners, Journal of structural and construction engineering, Transactions of AIJ, Vol. 354, (pp. 52-66), (in Japanese). Jakubowski, A., Schmidt, H., (2003), Experimentelle Untersuchungen an vorgespannten Ringflanschstssen mit Imperfektionen, Stahlbau, Vol. 72 (3), (pp. 188-197), (in German). Kozlowski, A., Wojnar, A. (2006), Mechanical model for assessment of the stiffness of bolted flange joint, Proceedings of the XIth International Conference on metal Structures, Rzeszow, Poland. Kozlowski, A., Wojnar, A., (2008), Initial stiffness of flange bolted joints and their influence on the behaviour of steel chimneys, Eurosteel 2008, 5th conference on steel and composite structures, Graz, Austria, (pp. 663-668). Stamatopoulos, G., Ermopoulos, J., (2008), Interaction curve for non-preloaded bolted connections in tubular members, Eurosteel 2008, 5th conference on steel and composite structures, Graz, Austria, (pp. 657-662). Yamaguchi, T., (1996), Fundamental study on high strength bolted tensile joints, Dissertation of the Faculty of Engineering of Kyoto University.