EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAPACITY OF COLD-FORMED SCREWED STEEL STRAP BRACING CONNECTIONS

An experimental study on the behavior of cold formed steel (CFS) strap bracing connections is presented in this paper. 75 cold-formed steel strap bracing connections were examined. The connections maximum load capacity and the load-deformation behavior as well as the failure modes of the connections are investigated. The strap bracing connections included 0.55mm and 0.75mm cold-formed G550 steel and four different types of steel strap material. The connections behaviors are discussed and the design capacities calculated from different CFS design standards are compared to the experimental results of the connections. The results show that generally the monotonic tested connections capacities are lower than the cyclic capacities. Also, it is found that although the design provisions predict some of the behaviours of screwed connections, they are not fully suited to accurately predicting the ultimate behaviour of the strap bracing connections. Therefore, the recommended capacities for the strap bracing connections are based on the experimental results.