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An innovative steel-concrete joint for integral abutment

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Article · June 2015
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtte.2015.05.001
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Accepted Manuscript
An innovative steel-concrete joint for integral abutment bridges
Bruno Briseghella, Tobia Zordan
PII: S2095-7564(15)00049-5
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtte.2015.05.001
Reference: JTTE 21
To appear in: Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English
Edition)
Please cite this article as: Briseghella, B., Zordan, T., An innovative steel-concrete joint for integral abutment
bridges, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2015), doi: 10.1016/j.jtte.2015.05.001.
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1 Original research paper 2
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13 a b Abstract Integral College Department abutment of Civil of Building Engineering, An bridges for
Engineering, innovative are integral Fuzhou Bruno becoming Tongji University, Briseghellaa,*, rather University,
E
abutment steel-concrete Fuzhou common, D Shanghai 350108, M Tobia due A to China 200092, Zordanb bridges N
the durability U China S

joint
problems C R

I of P T
14 bearings and expansion joints. At the same time, among short- and medium-span bridges, 15 multi-beam steel-
concrete composite deck with hot-rolled girder is an economical and 16 interesting alternative to traditional pre-
stressed concrete solutions. The two concepts can 17 be linked together to design integral steel-concrete composite
bridges with the benefits of 18

19
20
two deck and typologies. a and theoretical piers or The A
abutments. and most C
experimental C critical In E
this aspect P paper, study T for is an these introduced innovative bridges and beam-to-pier is usually discussed. the
joint joints The is proposed analyzed between 21 connection is aimed at combining general ease of construction with
a highly simplified 22 assembly procedure and a good transmission of hogging and sagging moment 23
24
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 591 22865375, fax: +86 591 22865375. E-mail addresses: bruno@fzu.edu.cn (B.
Briseghella), tobia.zordan@gmail.com (T. Zordan).
1
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25 at the supports in continuous beams. For this purpose, the traditional shear studs, used at 26 the interface between
steel beam and upper concrete slab, are also used at the ends of 27 steel profiles welded horizontally to the end
plates. To better understand the behaviour of 28

29
this kind of joints and the roles played by different components, three large-scale specimens were tested and an FE
model was implemented. The theoretical and T
30 experimental results confirmed the potential of the proposed connection for practical 31 applications and
indicated the way to improve its structural behaviour. 32
33 Keywords: 34 Integral abutment bridges; Steel-concrete bridges; Steel-concrete joints; FEM simulation; Shear 35
connection method 36 1 Introduction 37 The durability of bridge expansion joints and bearings has become an
important concern worldwide. It 38 leads the integral-abutment bridge (IAB) concept becoming rather popular in
recent years, not only in 39 the newly built bridges, but also in the retrofit of existing ones (Briseghella and Zordan,
2006; Dong et al., 40 2014; Yannotti et al., 2005; Zordan and Briseghella, 2007). The formulation of IAB dates back
at least to 41 the 1930s, and it has been used to address long-term structural problems which frequently occur with
42 conventional bridge designs (Burke, 1993). The original IAB concept was not very manageable at that 43 time. It
had several problems related to the post-construction life of the structure. Besides, the specific 44 design and soil-
structure interaction problems represent a challenge requiring synergy of both structural 45

46
47
and investigated among geotechnical bridge by engineers Zordan A
engineers. C et because C al. (2011a, E The of P the application T 2011b). enormous E D The of benefits IAB IAB
M concept based from A N the on has elimination U bridge’s received S C maximum of considerable expansive R I
P
length joints interest was and 48 the reduction of installation and maintenance costs. The superstructure of integral
abutment bridges can 49 be made continuously through a composite cast-in-place concrete deck slab over steel or
pre-stressed 50 concrete girders and sequential diaphragms. With this design, the system constituted by the sub- and
51 super-structure acts as a single structural unit. The monolithic connection between deck and 2
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52 sub-structure, such as piers and abutments, makes IABs different from other conventional bridges and 53 allows
for a remarkably increased redundancy for seismic loading and other extreme events (Xue et al., 54 2014; Zordan et
al., 2011). Furthermore, joints in deck are known to be a crucial part in existing bridges, 55

56
not corrosion only because damage of in their girders own and failure other and underlying maintenance
substructures problems, caused but also by of corrosive the significant de-icing amount T salts of in 57 run-off water
leaking through the joints to the deck (Arockiasamy and Sivakumar, 2005). Hence, the IAB 58 concept has proved
to be successful in eliminating a number of problems related to the management of 59 conventional bridges during
their service life, and turns out to be economical with reference to both 60 construction and maintenance costs
(Mahesh, 2005). The United States can boast the widest 61 experience of IABs, measured in number of application.
Nevertheless, a limited but meaningful number 62 of bridges within this family, with composite steel and concrete
structures, can be found in central 63 Europe, mainly in Luxembourg and France (Hever, 2001). As noted by some
studies (Zanon et al., 64 2014), among short- and medium-span bridges, multi-beam steel-concrete composite deck
consisting 65 of hot-rolled girders is an economical and interesting alternative to traditional pre-stressed concrete 66
solutions. 67 With this bridge type, continuity and hogging moment can be balanced at piers through slab 68
reinforcement, as well as by the connection of the steel beam to a concrete transverse diaphragm by 69 means of a
number of shear studs, which are mainly devoted to the shear transmission. Studies on this 70 topic started in 1970
in Australia (Kell et al., 1982) at the request of the Department of Main Roads of 71 Western Australia. In the same
period, several composite bridges were also built in the United States. 72 Regarding beam-to-beam connections for
composite bridges, an interesting study published by Dunai 73

74
75
et connection, connection al. (1996) resided focusing presented A
in C mainly an C
experimental on E its P rotational T study E stiffness on D an original M and A cyclic type N of deterioration. U
end-plate S C steel-to-concrete The R originality I P
mixed of the the layout of the joint, inspired by conventional column-base connections. In this 76 special kind of
connection, tensile forces were transmitted by bolts and/or studs, shear forces were 77 transmitted by headed studs
(or shear connectors in general) and compression forces were transmitted 78 directly to the concrete by the bearing
end plates. 79
Haensel (1998) presented results of a research program sponsored by steel fabricator ARBED, which 3
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80 built bridges with an innovative type of connection for composite steel and concrete girders, where the 81
bending moment of the supports at the top flange was transmitted across the bearings by the tensile 82 reinforcement
alone, while the bending moment in the bottom flange was transmitted by means of a 83

84
couple (1998) presented of compression the “Modular plates through Span Multi-Cell the concrete. Box
Girder Contemporarily System” for to short Haensel, span (from Svadbik 6 to and 30 T m) Strasky steel 85 bridge
structures. The bridge deck was composed of steel modules and a composite concrete deck slab. 86 Multi-span
continuous structures assembled from simple spans, joined by concrete cast-in-place 87 diaphragms, were studied.
The reactions were transferred from the bearings into the webs by the 88 concrete diaphragms. The webs with shear
studs and the diaphragms had reinforcing bars, which 89 resisted splitting forces. 90 In 2002, a design guide on
“Composite Bridge Design for Small and Medium Spans” was published by 91 the ECSC Steel RTD Programme
(EU, 2003). The publication, among other things, focused on using 92 shear connectors transfering forces to a
concrete diaphragm inside single and continuous composite 93 decks, with different levels of prefabrication for the
concrete slab. 94 A further meaningful example of hybrid composite bridges was the VFT construction method 95
proposed by Schmitt Stumpf Fruhauf and Partner (Weizenegger, 2003). A type of composite girder that 96 could be
almost completely prefabricated was developed, with the connection to the abutments using 97 shear connectors. 98
More recently, the nonlinear response of similar composite joint typologies to those studied in this 99 paper was
investigated by Zordan and Briseghella (2009), while Zanchettin et al. (2011) experimentally 100 studied five
different configurations of shear studs. 101

102
103
simulation Somja The above et based al. studies (2012) A
on experimental mostly C studied C
regarded E the tests. P influence monotonic T E of D loads key parameters M and hogging A N governing moment,
U S joint while C behaviour R in integral I P
abutment using FE 104 bridges, a full connection between girders and piers and/or abutments with sagging and
hogging 105 moment resistance could be required. 106 This paper presents the results of an experimental and
theoretical study on an innovative 107 beam-to-pier joint. The proposed connection is introduced with a start of a
previous connection studied 4
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108 by the same authors (Zordan and Briseghella, 2007). An experimental campaign on three full-scale 109
specimens is introduced, and the main results are discussed in Section 3. Global and local FE models 110 used in the
research are described in Section 4. Based on the obtained results, an improvement to the 111 connection is
proposed and analyzed in Section 5. Finally, the conclusions are drawn. 112
2 Joint T
113 The increasing ratio of labour cost to construction materials cost is urging the development of 114 construction
techniques. The smallest number of skilled workers, and the optimisation of building 115 schedules are required to
minimise the overall building yard time. 116 Composite decks and floors are becoming increasingly widespread for
their structural effectiveness, 117 which allows for the optimisation of the mechanical properties of the coupled
materials. It also allows for 118 the possibility of achieving a simplified design, with a limited number of structural
elements involved in 119 the structural response. 120 The search for a high global stiffness in the frame response
must inevitably consider the achievement 121 of a satisfying joint stiffness in continuous decks. Moment-resisting
joint is therefore the key component 122 of the modern conception of composite constructions. 123 The basis for
this work on an innovative typology of composite joints consists of the following 124 requirements: 125 1.
Achievement of the connection between a composite steel and continuous concrete beam (part of a 126 composite
deck or floor) or a concrete pier (or column); 127 2. Minimisation of the joint components; 128

129
130
3. 4. 5. Minimisation Minimisation Appropriate stiffness of of A
installation tolerance C under C problems time; hogging E P due and T to sagging E the D connection moment M A
between conditions. N U steel S and C concrete; R I P
131 Recently, the increased utilisations of headed studs (for their weldability and limited costs) as 132 connector
devices at the interface between steel beams and concrete slabs in composite structures 133 have suggested their
possible use at the interface between steel profile and concrete column too. This 134 ensures the transmission of
shear forces. The hogging moment is borne in compression by the steel 5
end plate in contact with the concrete pier, and in tension by the steel rebar in the slab. The sagging 135
moment is borne in compression by the concrete slab, and in tension by a number of specifically 136
designed headed studs. 137
In this way, the same connection system acting between slab and beam is used at the interface 138
between a steel end plate welded to the steel profile and the adjacent concrete column. With this system, 139
the realisation of composite joint is limited by the assembly of an extremely limited number of parts, for 140
the achievement of the composite action in the steel and concrete beam. Furthermore, the elimination of 141
on-site welding could help to minimise the construction time and cost because the connection between 142
horizontal composite members and vertical columns can be achieved simply through concreting. 143
Finally, the tolerance problems can be limited or totally eliminated because of the final concreting. The 144
proposed system is shown in Fig. 1. The first phase of this research has focused on the hogging 145
moment behaviour of the joint (Zordan and Briseghella, 2009). An experimental test was performed at 146
the laboratory of the University of Trento (Italy) to investigate the joint response under monotonic and 147
symmetric loads until failure. The test results, along with the implementation and calibration of a finite 148
element model, led to an understanding of the behaviour of each element in the final response of joint 149
and the development of a mechanical model according to the component method. Finally, some 150
simplified relations were proposed to use in the global structural analysis. 151

152 153
Fig. 1 Joint studied in previous researches

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Similar joints, for their simplicity and relatively easy installation, can potentially be used for bridges, 154
particularly the integral abutment bridges, or for the frames of civil buildings. This kind of connection has 155
recently been applied in real cases, with satisfied results in terms of construction time and cost. As an 156
example, the Differdange town centre bypass road is shown here (EU, 2003). The three span lengths of 157
this heavily skewed and curved bridge are 25, 40 and 25 m, respectively, with a deck width of 12.5 m 158
(Fig. 2). 159
Fig. 2 Three-span bridge in Differdange (South Luxembourg)
During the second phase of this research, which is the subject of this paper, the response of 160
connection was investigated under sagging and hogging moment conditions until failure. This is 161
particularly important not only for buildings, but also for integral abutment bridges, where a full 162
connection is frequently realised between the piers and abutments. 163
In order to obtain a better response under this type of load, the joint was modified (Fig. 3), adding 164
some horizontal shear studs welded to the end plates. Fig. 4 illustrates the assembly phases of the 165
considered joints, showing the easy and fast procedure. 166 167
Fig. 3 Joint studied in this paper 168

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170 171
(c) (d)

172 173
Fig. 4 Assembly phases. (a) Concrete column. (b) Steel beam. 174
(c) Concrete joint. (d) Concrete slab.

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176 This research was organised into the following three interconnected steps: 177 1. Experimental study on full-
scale specimens of joints, whose layouts represent the natural evolution of 178 the case study for monotonic hogging
moment; 179 2. Implementation and calibration of a finite element model of the tested joint; 180 3. Creation and
calibration of a simplified mechanical model of the tested joint. 181 In the following sections, the first two steps are
introduced and explained in detail. 182 3 Experimental tests 183 The assessment of the real response to sagging
moment and cyclic loads of the proposed joint, in 184 terms of characterising parameters such as moment resistance,
rotation capacity and initial stiffness, 185 was carried out through a number of lab tests. The response of joints to
hogging bending was expected 186 to match that previously found during the first experimental campaign (Zordan
and Briseghella, 2009). 187 In order to achieve this, a set of three identical, full-scale specimens of the joints and
parts of the 188 connected composite beams and concrete column was assembled. The main features of the
specimens
(a) (b)

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are shown in Fig. 5. 189
The steel-to-concrete connection is ensured by the presence of a number of 5/8’’ headed studs, both 190
at the connection between the upper flange of HEA260 and the concrete slab, and the connection 191
between the concrete column and the steel end plate of beam. For each upper flange of steel beam, 192
couples of 5/8’’ headed studs with an overall height of 100 mm were welded at a wheelbase of 120 mm, 193
with the first row having a distance of 48 mm from the steel end plate. In total, 26 studs were welded to 194
each flange of the steel profile. 12 studs were welded to each of the two steel end plates, with the layout 195
shown in Fig. 5. The reinforcement used in specimens is indicated in Fig. 6. 196

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Fig. 5 Joint steelwork

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Fig. 6 Main dimensions of specimens and reinforcements used

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The materials adopted for different parts (components) of joints are shown in Table 1.

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202
203
Table 1 Construction materials used for the specimens Component of the joint (Fig. 3) Concrete Steel

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1–Steel beam S 355-EN10025 2–Concrete slab C 35 (EC2, Table 3.1) 3–Concrete column C 35 (EC2, Table 3.1)
4–Steel end plates S 355-EN10025 5–Shear studs SJ2G3+C450-EN10025 6–Headed shear studs SJ2G3+C450-
EN10025 7–Reinforcement fyk ≥ 430 8–Stirrups fyk ≥ 430 The design shear resistance of the headed studs used
following EC4, Section 6.3.2 as in the following P rd

= min(P
rd
(1)

,P
rd
(2) ) in the N
beam U
S to MPa MPa pier C
(EC2, (EC2, joints R (EC3, (EC3, I was Table Table P Table Table (St (St calculated T 3.1.5.2) 3.1.5.2) 37-3K) 37-
3K)
3.1)
3.1)

(1)
P
rd

(1) = 0.8x f
u,St

x(px d2 / 4) / γ
n

P
rd

(2) = 0.29x1xd2x(f
ck
xE
cm
)1/2 M

A
(2)
where d is diameter of the shank A
10 /γ of n

studs (d 三 D

25 mm) and its value is 15.87 mm, f

ck

(3)
cylinder concrete strength of concrete at T
the E
considered is age and its value is 30 N/mm
2
,
characteristic

f
u,St is ultimate
value of tensile the concrete strength and of its the value material E
is P
32000 of stud N/mm and 2
its , γ
n value is a safety is 450 factor N/mm
for 2
,E
connectors cm
is short secant and its specified modulus
value is
1.25 (considered as 1 in the following).

Therefore
P
rd

C
C
(1) = 0.8x450x(px15.872 / 4) /1 = 71.21 kN
P
rd
(2)

= 0.29x1x15.87
2

x(30x32000)
1/2

/1 = 71.56 kN
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f
ck

and E
cm

values come from EC2, Table 3.2.

P
rd

= min(P
rd
(1)

,P
rd
(2)

) = 71.21 kN
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213
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3.1 Three IUAV 1. 2. 3. Test setup full-scale specimens were tested at the Laboratory of Venice (Italy). The
following test setup was used A rigid reaction frame restrained to the reaction floor of A hydraulic jack used to
apply vertical force to specimen Two hydraulic jacks, with P max
of Structures and (Fig. 7). the and laboratory; restrain U it S to Materials C R of I the P University T
the reaction frame; 215 used to apply cyclic forces. 216

217

A
11 The the beams’ hydraulic extremities. jacks were anchored C E = 220 to P reaction T kN (push), E floor. D P
Loads max M = 120 were A
kN N applied (pull) and at a a stroke of distance of 660 mm, 1860 mm were from C
218 219 220
Fig. 7 Setup scheme
221 At the joint locations, as well as along the whole specimen, a specific instrumentation (Fig. 8) was 222 installed
in order to assess the local and global structural response during testing. For this assessment, 223 a number of
displacement transducers were installed, both at the joint location and the beams’ 224 extremities. Additionally, a
series of strain gauges were welded and glued to the structural steel and to 225 the rebar. The types of instruments
are listed in Table 2. 226

227
Table 2 Types of instruments Abbreviation Type of instrument No. SGb Strain gauge applied on the rebar 13 SGt
Strain gauge applied on the steel beam 2 DT Displacement transducer 10 228

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Fig. 8 Layout of instrumentation
231 3.2 Test results 232 The test load applied to specimens is presented in Fig. 9 in terms of moments applied in the
joint section 233 and cycle number. 234 235

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236 237 238
Fig. 9 Test load history (sagging and hogging moments applied)
239 The concrete strength of the column near the horizontal shear studs determined the response of the 240 joint for
sagging moment. This sequence is shown in Fig. 10 with the rotation of joint calculated starting 241
from the data recorded by transducers DT5 and DT9 for specimen S3.

242 243 244

Fig. 10 M-Φ curve (recorded by DT5-DT9) for specimen S3
245 According to the curve in the previous figure, the following property characterised the specimen: the 246
moment resistance of the joint M
j,Rd is 74.40 kN·m. 247 The strain gauges welded to the reinforcement
bars confirmed the identified failure mechanism. In Fig. 248 11, the curves related to readings supplied by the strain
gauges welded to vertical stirrups of the column 249
are shown.

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250 251
Fig. 11 Strain level recorded by rebar strain gauges SGb10-11-12-13
252 The main cracking pattern in the concrete zone between two studs in pier (transparent area in Fig. 253
12) is shown below.
Fig. 12 Vertical main cracks in the specimens
4 Finite element analysis 254

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255 An accurate simulation of the response of composite joints should include a three dimensional (3D) 256
analysis, but two-dimensional (2D) models can be used to reduce the computation difficulties 257 associated with
large 3D meshes. In the case of a 2D representation, the contribution of uncracked slab 258

259
generally defined. requires a preliminary 3D elastic analysis, which allows the relevant effective slab T
width 260 Due to the complex interaction between main nodal components and their key features, FE joint 261
models should consider both geometrical and material non-linearity. As far as the material laws for steel 262
components (beam, column, steel connection details, studs and rebars) are concerned, a good 263 agreement with
the actual behaviour is usually provided by the sole uniaxial multilinear stress-strain 264 relationship, which can be
correlated to a more complex and representative loading state via the 265 selection of suitable yielding criteria. 266
For the slab modelling, concrete constitutive laws provided by general-purpose FE packages are 267 based on a
smeared cracked approach, which assumes an equivalent isotropic continuum with 268 smeared cracks for
simulation of the slab after attainment of the concrete tensile resistance. Due to the 269 presence of longitudinal bars
in concrete slab, two modelling techniques can be used for simulation of 270 the slab reinforcements: 271 1. A
discrete rebar approach: rebars are modelled using truss or beam non-linear elements, which 272 satisfy the
displacement compatibility with concrete elements; 273 2. A smeared rebar approach, in which rebar-concrete
interaction in tension can be modelled by 274 appropriate modifications of the concrete constitutive relationship.
275 Moreover, an accurate simulation of interaction (contact/separation) between concrete slab and steel 276

277
278
beam, non-linear proposals as well available spring as steel A
elements, in C
literature. connection C the E constitutive and P member T non-linear E (beam D and laws M column), of A which
N requires can U be S defined the C use R in of accordance interface I P
and/or with 279 As recommended by Ahmed et al. (1996) and many other authors, for a successful numerical 280
modelling of composite connections, great attention and care must be devoted to: 281 1. Reinforcement in the slab,
with a careful representation of bond between concrete and steel; 282
2. Shear studs, considering the slip between upper beam flange and concrete slab deriving from the 16
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283 percentage of shear interaction provided; 284 3. Steel beams and columns, including eventual buckling
phenomena and plasticity. 285 For both low and high load levels, the tensile non-linear behaviour of the concrete
also plays a 286 fundamental role in the overall structural response. 287 In this paper, a finite element model of the
full-scale specimen was implemented using the software 288 Atena 2D Ver. 2.02 (Cervenka et al., 2013) to create a
tool able to interpret non-linear response of the 289 connection and role played by different components of the joint.
The model was validated against the 290 test results. 291 Atena is capable of conducting finite element analysis,
which considers the nonlinearities deriving 292 from tensile response of concrete, and of modelling the crack
propagation phenomenon. Two models of 293 the specimens were implemented, one global (model A) and one local
(model B), considering only the 294 interaction between horizontal shear studs and concrete pier (Fig. 13). 295 A
smeared approach was used to model concrete material properties, such as cracks or stirrup 296 distribution, with an
equivalent uniaxial stress-strain law for concrete in tension and compression 297 (ascending branch: MC90;
softening branch: Van Meier, 1986). In model A, a discrete approach was 298 used to simulate the longitudinal
reinforcements, and a smeared approach was used for rebar; while in 299 model B, the rebar in piers was modelled
using a discrete approach. An interface material model based 300 on the Mohr-Coulomb criterion with a tension cut-
off was used to simulate the contact between two 301 materials. After stress exceeds this condition, dry friction
between the two materials in contact is 302 simulated. 303 In model B a fixed connection is applied to the end of the
lower flange of one steel beam (Fig. 13), 304 while the force is applied to the other. The load history is the same
used for the experimental tests 305 considering all the tensile force due to the positive moment absorbed by lower
flange of the steel beam. 306
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Fig. 13 Two finite element models of the specimens

308
Figs. 14 and 15 show the main cracking pattern and the detachment of steel beam end plate, obtained 309
from the FEM analysis and experimental tests. Fig.16 shows the force-horizontal displacement curves. 310
311
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Fig. 15 Detachment of the end plates

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Fig. A 14 C Propagation C E
P of T main E
cracks D
in M
the A
specimens N U
(M S =74.40 C

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315 316
Fig. 16 Force-horizontal displacement curves
317 5 Discussion 318 Due to the joints layout used, structural response was mainly influenced by the tensile
resistance of 319 pier’s concrete; this is apparently ascribable to the location of headed studs welded to vertical
plates 320 within the concrete column, and to the position of stirrups. In fact: the limited embedment of studs 321
welded to the vertical steel plates within the concrete column, together with the direct contact between 322
studs and stirrups, had hindered the formation of a “strut and tie” resistance mechanism (Fig. 17).

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welded The beneficial to vertical role steel C
of the plates C
stirrups E started P Fig. in 323 324 325

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connecting two end plates of steel beams through the studs for states of strain not compatible with overall integrity
of 331 connection. In order to improve the joint behaviour, a joint update, with stirrups close to the base of the 332
studs, as recommended by Klingner and Mendonca (1982), was also proposed (Fig. 18). Using the 333 previously
introduced FE model B (Section 4), the study performed a good response from the 334
connection, with failure due to the shear studs (Fig. 19).

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Fig. 18 Joint update 338

339 340
Fig. 19 Force-horizontal displacement curves for solutions A and B

341
6 Conclusions

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342 The following conclusions can be drawn within the limitations of the research presented in this paper: 343 1.
The proposed joint seems to be a good solution for beam-to-pier connections in integral abutment 344 bridges. Its
construction method aimed to require the smallest number of skilled workers and to 345 minimise the overall
construction yard time, for a general limitation of costs. Furthermore, the layout 346 proposed allows, as much as
possible, the reduction of tolerance problems due to the connection 347 between steel and concrete. 348 2. The
experimental tests showed a satisfied joint response under cyclic load conditions, when 349 considering the joint’s
use in integral abutment bridges. The joint response was mainly influenced 350 by the degradation of the concrete in
the pier. 351 3. The role of stirrups in connecting two end plates of the steel beams through studs welded to the 352
vertical steel plates was also investigated. In order to improve the structural behaviour, a joint 353 update, with
stirrups close to the base of the studs, was proposed and analysed using an FE model. 354
355 Acknowledgments 356 The authors would like to thank the technical personnel of the IUAV Laboratory of
Structures and 357 Materials for their valuable help in conducting the experimental tests. The help of Metralab and
its 358 director Dr. Ezio Giuffre was also appreciated. 359
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