©Civil-Comp Press, 2006.

Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference

Paper 119 on Computational Structures Technology,
B.H.V. Topping, G. Montero and R. Montenegro,
(Editors), Civil-Comp Press, Stirlingshire, Scotland.

Three-Dimensional Finite Element Modelling of

Flush End Plate Connections with High Strength Steel
S. Taufik and R.Y. Xiao
Civil and Computational Engineering Centre
School of Engineering
University of Wales Swansea, United Kingdom

Abstract
This paper presents a three dimensional (3D) finite element methodology to predict
the behaviour of high strength bolted steel beam-column connections. Non-linear 3D
continuum solid elements are used for all parts of the connection to investigate the
structural performance of flush end plate connections between mild carbon steel and
high strength steel. The analysis results of the moment- rotation relationship and
behaviour characteristic of the connection with mild carbon steel and high strength
steel are compared and discussed. It is found that stress–strain curve is very
important parameter for accurate prediction of bolted beam-column connection
behaviour with high strength steel. The proposed model has shown accurate
prediction of overall connection behaviour.

Keywords: bolted connection, beam-column, high strength steel, semi-rigid, three-

dimensional, non-linear, finite element, stress-strain, moment-rotation.

1 Introduction
There are several other papers that consider topics dealing with three dimensional
finite element modelling of moment end-plate connections. The ANSYS finite
element program has been used to develop a three-dimensional finite element model
of four-bolt unstiffened extended moment end-plate connections [1]. In particular,
sources of rotation are tracked for the column flange, the bolts, and the end-plate. It
is shown that the column flange provides little rotation when it is stiffened. In
reference [2] and [3], the papers use the finite element method to analyze flush end-
plate configurations. The ANSYS has been applied to model four-bolt extended
unstiffened end-plates with shell elements [4]. The effectiveness of bolted
connections in moment-resisting frames has been discussed in reference [5]. An

1
ANSYS finite element model for flush end-plate joints with solid elements has been
presented, where material non-linearities, contact surfaces and large deflection
analysis were included in a non-linear solution [6]. Investigation on bolted
connection for high strength member with simple connection modelling has been
studied in reference [7]. Three dimensional finite element modelling of angle bolted
connection with high strength steel has been well predicted [8].

In this study, a 3D modelling of flush end plate connection are performed

recognizing contact effects and bolt geometry. Since the material non-linearities,
contact surface and bolts most important parameters as designated in reference [1],
therefore the connection and stiffener require considered model as accurate as
possible. The connection model is considered to employ solid elements for all part
of the connection except for contact element. The modelling approach is still
required simplifications in order to reduce the computational effort.

The flush end plate (FEP) connections are investigated in this study. The finite
element of these connections is then presented and the results are compared with the
previous test data, and finally behaviour of the connection with mild carbon steel
and high strength steel is predicted. In order to obtain the connection efficiency, FEP
connection with no stiffener is compared to the FEP connection with stiffened
column. Moment capacity and connection behaviour due to high strength endplate
on the connection are determined.

2 Finite Element Modelling

The ANSYS finite element program was used to create a numerical model of a
flush end plate connection. Simplified multi-linear stress-strain curves for the
steel sections and bolt shanks were used. Failure of the model was described by
the rate of convergence experienced for a sub-step of loading after yielding or
through excessive deformation of components. In addition to material non-
linearities, there are geometric non-linearities present due to the changing area of
contact between the faces of the endplate.

2.1 Element Type

The ANSYS version 8.1 which is a general purpose finite element package is
selected to carry out numerical modelling analysis [9]. The following ANSYS
element types are used for only one half of an entire flush end plate connection. 3D
8 node structural solid elements, SOLID45, are used to model beam, column and
plate. Bolt head, shank and nut are idealized using eight-node isoparametric solid
elements, i.e. SOLID185. The interactions between plate and column are simulated
by 3D node-to-node contact element i.e. CONTACT178 elements. The PRETS179
pretension element is used for model preload in bolts. The material behaviour for all
the elements was described by multi-linear stress-strain curves.

2
2.2 Model Configuration

Non linear flush end plate connection model is symmetric about the centre of the
beam web and no lateral displacement is assumed, so only one side of the plane of
symmetry is modelled. The geometry of the model now represents one half of the
full scale connection in the terms of area and moment of inertia, so the capacity of
the connection model is only a half of the actual load capacity. A symmetry
boundary condition applied accordingly to reduce the size of the model.

The bolt head and nut are modelled as hexagons, whilst the shank is modelled as
cylinder with solid elements. Bolt pretension caused by bolt tightening is simulated
by applying pretension. Interface element is considered to accommodate the effect
of prying forces. The interface elements connect the nodes at the back of the plate to
corresponding nodes at the column flange. A high contact stiffness was specified to
prevent excessive penetration of the contact nodes. It is important to provide a bolt
model that satisfies the overall deformation whilst using a small number of elements
in its construction. Figure 1 indicates the finite element model used.

The external monotonic static point load is applied in increments to obtain a

converged solution to a nonlinear analysis. The convergence criteria is based on the
force and displacement for tracking the maximum plastic strain step. The relative
displacements at the locations of the beam tension and compression flanges were
used to find the rotation of a connection. The rotation of connection is defined as
relative horizontal displacement over the depth of the beam measured from the
centre of top flange to the centre of bottom flange.

Interface element
Stiffener
Pretension Bolt
load

End-Plate
SOLID45
Column
Flange
Beam Flange
Pretension
load

Stiffener

Figure 1: FE modelling configuration of FEP connection

3
3 Finite Element Result

Steel material properties for FE analysis is based on experimental data. All steel
materials for connection used are S275 and M20 bolts grade 10.1. The higher
strength of steel materials are employed to column with S355 and endplate with
S550 and S690, as shown in Table 1.

Specimen Steel Grade σy (MPa) σu (MPa) σy /σu

Column S275 340 520 0.654
Column (*) S355 460 630 0.730
Beam S275 360 530 0.679
Bolt Grade10.1 1010 1108 0.912
End Plate (i) S275 380 540 0.704
End Plate (ii) S550 600 780 0.769
End Plate (iii) S690 835 905 0.923

Table 1: Material properties for FE model

Comparisons are made with experimental results obtained from reference [10]
and [11]. The finite element model was validated against the recorded load-
displacement curve from the tests. Figure 2 indicates the comparison between the
test results and the finite element analysis. An encouraging correlation between the
model and test was observed, with a good comparison of the stiffness and moment-
rotation capacity.

180

160

140

120
Moment (kN-m)

100

80 `

60 T2 (Test - Bose 1998)

T2 (FE model)
40 T1 (Test - da Silva 2001)
T1 (FE model)
20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Rotation φ (mrad)

Figure 2: Validation of FE modelling against test result

4
3.1 High Strength End Plate Behaviour

Two different high strength end plates are applied for T1 FE model, whilst the
beam and column are kept with mild carbon steel. Two types of end plate connection
are investigated such as FEPa for edge column and FEPb for internal unstiffened
column. Moment rotation curve in Figure 2 shows that resistance of column web
may increase moment capacity by up to 5% for S550 end plate and up to 3% for
S690. The initial stiffness is slightly higher for internal column connection. The
maximum stress of the beam shows the value below the yield stress, whilst column
flange maximum stress reach beyond the yield stress.

120

100

80
Moment (kN-m)

60

FEPb (S690-15mm)
40 FEPa (S690-15mm)
FEPb (S550-15mm)
20 FEPa (S550-15mm)

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
rotation φ (mrad)

Figure 3: Moment-rotation curve of high strength FEP connection

In order to investigate the connection behaviour due to the stiffener, different

thickness and high strength end plates are applied for FE model. Effect of endplate
thickness and strength is more pronounced on the moment capacity and rotational
capacity with the thinner end plate. The initial stiffness is slightly higher with the
thicker angle, whilst the rotational capacity is lower. The result shows that the S550
angles increase the moment capacity by up to 25% whilst the S690 end plate reach
the ultimate moment by nearly two folds as much as S275 end plate, respectively.
The moment capacity is much higher by up to 40% for thicker angle with S690 end
plate, whilst it is only up to 20% for thicker S550 angle due to the lower resistance
of the column flange and bolts. The variation in the FEP connection with stiffened

5
column flange response due to the change in the endplate thickness and strength is
shown in Figure 4.

140

120

100
Moment (kN-m)

80

60
FEPc (S550-12mm)
FEPc (S550-15mm)
40
FEPc* (S690-12mm)
FEPc* (S550-15mm)
20 FEPc* (S690-15mm)
FEPc* (S550-18mm)

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
rotation φ (mrad)

Figure 4: Moment-rotation curve of stiffened FEP connection

Flush endplate connections based on FE modelling with both unstiffened and

stiffened column are also analysed with reference [12] to modern design codes.
Table 2 indicates the observed failure moments from the finite element analysis,
compared with the design predictions. The design tension resistance of the column
flange and of the beam end-plate are given in terms of equivalent T-stub. The
effective length of plate and column flange is based on the yield line patterns
around bolt holes. The smallest value for the three possible modes of the yielding is
chosen from equation 1,2 and 3 as follows:

4(0.25At y f y / γ M 0 )
2

Ft .Rd = (1)
m

2(0.25 At y f y / γ M 0 ) + nΣBt .Rd

2

Ft .Rd = (2)
m+n

Ft .Rd = ΣBt .Rd (3)

6
 Column Endplate Mult (FE) Mult (EC3) Failure mode
S275 (a) tep=15 S275 88.2 MPa 80.2 MPa column flange (2)
S275 (a) tep=15 S550 97.0 MPa 80.2 MPa column flange (2)
S275 (a) tep=15 S690 103.8 MPa 80.2 MPa column flange (2)
S275 (b) tep=15 S550 102.3 MPa 81.7 MPa column flange (2)
S275 (b) tep=15 S690 106.8 MPa 81.7 MPa column flange (2)
S275 (c) tep=15 S550 120.0 MPa 93.1 MPa end plate (2)
S355 (c*) tep=15 S550 127.0 MPa 95.4 MPa end plate (2)
S355 (c*) tep=15 S690 130.0 MPa 102.7 MPa column flange (2)
S275 (c) tep=12 S550 107.0 MPa 91.3 MPa end plate (1)
S355 (c*) tep=12 S690 118.8 MPa 93.0 MPa end plate (2)
S355 (c*) tep=18 S550 131.5 MPa 102.7 MPa column flange (2)

Table 2: Moment capacity and failure mode

The FE model and its deformed shape of the FEP connection with 15mm S690
end plate is presented in Figure 5. Stiffener 9.5mm thick is applied to the column
flange in order to enhance connection resistance. Significant response from stiffener
gives connection capacity increase significantly.

-2.736
-1.249
.237426
1.724
3.211
4.698
6.184
7.671
9.158
10.644

Figure 5: 3D finite element FEP model with deformed shape

7
 The plots of Von Mises equivalent stress of the FEP connection with 15mm
S550 end plate and S355 column is presented in Figure 6. It can be seen that the
model is successful in predicting maximum stress of all connection member below
their ultimate stress. The response from stiffener and high strength end plate gives
moment connection capacity increase significantly.
1
ANSYS 8.1

.494816 212.519 424.543 636.567 848.591

106.507 318.531 530.555 742.579 954.603

Figure 6: Stress contour of S550 end plate connection

The plots of von Mises stress contour of the FEP connection with 15mm S690
end plate and S355 column is presented in Figure 7. The maximum stress of end
plate reach below the ultimate stress and also for the column flange stress.
ANSYS 8.1
75.709
.445135
167.804
57.913
259.898
115.382
351.993
172.85
230.318 444.088
287.786 536.183
345.254 628.278
402.723 720.373
460.191 812.468
517.659 904.563

Figure 7: Stress contour of S690 FEP connection; column flange and end plate

8
3.2 Bolt Behaviour and Prying Forces

The bolt force in a connection will be a function of the loading and the thickness of
the plate. Thick endplate connections will fail in the tension region with bolt
yielding. The endplate will yield in a thin plate connection at a lower load, although
there may be an increased bolt force because of the prying effects. Figure 8 indicates
the bolt loads observed in the model for a thin (12 mm) and Figure 9 for a thick (18
mm) S550 endplate connection. Direct tension forces applied from the beam through
the endplate to the bolts rise in proportion with the applied load. However the
additional prying force is a function of the endplate flexibility and yielding. The
prying forces are minimal before the yield lines in the endplate occur, after which
they increase as a greater contact area is developed. After yielding of the endplate
there is also a transfer of force to the bottom bolt row. In the thick endplate model
this occurs at a higher moment because of the increased strength capacity of the
tension region. A check of the equilibrium in the connection was made including the
bolt forces, prying force and the longitudinal compressive and tensile stresses in the
beam. Previous design methods have used a reduction in the bolt yield strengths to
account for prying loads. EC3, through the tee-stub prediction formulae, includes the
prying forces in the design prediction, with the bolt capacity appropriately increased.
The distribution of prying forces is unclear for connections with complex bolt and
stiffener arrangements, and thus the simplified tee-stub method may not be ideal.

t = 12mm S550

300

Row-1
250 Row-2

200
Bolt Load (kN)

150

100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
Moment (kNm)

Figure 8: Moment – bolt load plot for thin end plate

9
 t = 18mm S550

300

Row-1
250 Row-2

200
Bolt Load (kN)

150

100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
Moment (kNm)

Figure 9: Moment – bolt load plot for thick end plate

3.3 Comparison with EC3 Design Predictions

The finite element analysis results and test data were compared to design strength
predictions using the EC3 formulae. The design guide was followed to provide a
prediction for the moment capacity of the connection. Both the lower (S275) and the
higher (S550 and S670) strength endplate connections from the FEA and design
prediction were studied and the moment capacity found. During the calculations all
safety factors were omitted to allow for the true behaviour of the connection.
Material strength data for beams, columns, endplates and bolts were taken from the
finite element analysis.

From the results on Table 1 above it can be seen that the designs are somewhat
conservative despite the omission of factors of safety. Modern design methods such
as EC3 use yield line analysis of the endplate to predict the capacity of the tensile
region. The finite element model was used to confirm the predictions by studying
the yielding of the endplate and column flange. Plots of the Von Mises equivalent
plastic strain were used to assess the predicted yield line patterns from EC3.
Assessment is made of each of the bolts acting individually and when acting in
combination using yield line theory, with the lowest values used for design. Bolts
act individually if a stiffener or beam flange divides the two bolt rows because of the
additional strength from the stiffening component. Depending on the arrangement of
the stiffeners, beam web and beam flange components, a prediction of possible yield

10
line patterns is obtained. For each yield pattern a formula is used to calculate an
equivalent effective length of tee-stub. The yield patterns shown in Figure 10 were
identified for the endplate. Connection geometry determines the nature of the yield
pattern, in particular the position of the bolt holes relative to the stiffeners and the
edge of the plate or flange.

.160E-05
.001538
.003074
.00461
.006146
.007682
.009218
.010755
.012291
.013827

Figure 10: Yield patterns for high strength FEP; thin end plate and thick end plate

Figure 11 shows the yield patterns of column flange for the thin and thick high
strength end plate. The yielding in the column flange is centralized around the bolt
hole. The pattern does not extend to the edge of the flange because of the stiffeners
effect. For the thin plate connection there is evidence of two yield lines developing
in the plate, representing the double curvature pattern indicated in the design guide.
The yield line is more developed at the tension flange of the beam where a greater
bending moment is applied. The yield line at the top bolt row does not extend across
the full width of the plate. For the higher strength thick endplate the yield pattern is
not so crucial because failure should occur through the bolts. The greater endplate
thickness increases the moment capacity of the plate section delaying the yield line
until after the bolts have begun to yield. Generally the design guide gives a good
prediction of the yield pattern for the connection design discussed.

.239E-03
.001775
.003311
.004846
.006382
.007918
.009454
.01099
.012526
.014061

Figure 11: Yield patterns for the column flange for the thin and thick end plate

In order to predict the moment rotation curve shape due to applying high
strength steel, the M-φ curve is compared with σ-ε curve as shown in Figure 12 for
S550 and Figure 10 for S690. It can be seen, that the moment rotation curve is very
important parameter to predict the connection behaviour with high strength steel.

11
 Strain ε (0.001)
0 7.5 15.0 22.5 30.0
145 1000

116 800
Moment (kN-m)

Stress (MPa)
87 600

Moment-rotation S690
58 400
Stress-strain S690

29 200

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Rotation φ (mrad)

Figure 12: M-φ vs σ-ε curve for S690 end plate

Strain ε (0.001)
0 7.5 15.0 22.5 30.0
145 900

116 720
Moment (kN-m)

Stress (MPa)

87 540

Moment-rotation S550
58 360
Stress-strain S550

29 180

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Rotation φ (mrad)

Figure 13: M-φ vs σ-ε curve for S550 end plate

12
Conclusions

Research into connection modelling using the finite element method has been
performed to improve the understanding of force transfer mechanisms. A series of
models with high strength material were developed to highlight the most accurate
and efficient manner to construct the numerical models. Flush end plate connections
were analysed and the following conclusions drawn.
(1) The initial stiffness and moment capacity of FE model is well predicted by
verification with previous experimental testing. The effect of plate thickness
gives significance change of the initial stiffness, whilst the higher strength end
plate will be more pronounced on the moment capacity of connection.
(2) Thick high strength endplate connections provide additional rotational stiffness
and moment capacity but the rotation capacity may be compromised through
bolt failure. Such a failure mode is not acceptable for semi-rigid frame design
because a large rotation capacity is required to allow moment redistribution to
occur effectively.
(3) Thin low strength endplates provide enough deformation capacity to allow semi
rigid connection design but yielding of the endplate may produce excessive
deflection. Also the thin endplate increases the prying forces with an associated
increase in bolt loads. Higher strength end plate may delay the end plate yielding
and excessive deflection.
(4) The moment capacity prediction of EC3 has been shown to be reasonable. The
nature of the failure mode was predicted reliably for the simple connections
studied. It is however clear that more complicated arrangements of stiffeners and
bolts may prove inaccurate. Provided these inaccuracies do not lead to a brittle
failure they are acceptable.
(5) The high strength end plate give significant proportion of maximum stress
distribution, whereas the beam and column are kept with mild carbon steel. The
moment rotation curve is very important parameter to predict the connection
behaviour with high strength steel.

Acknowledgements

The financial support of the TPSDP of Indonesia for first author research in
Swansea is gratefully appreciated.

References

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