A Comparison between the Single Plate and Angle Shear Connection Performance under Fire Serdar Selamet 1 and Maria E. Garlock 2 1 Graduate Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering Quad, Room E209A, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 U.S.A.; Phone: +1-609-258-5437, Fax: +1-609-258-1563; email:sselamet@princeton.edu 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Engineering Quad, Room E209A, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 U.S.A.; Phone: +1-609-258-2728, Fax: +1-609-258-1563; email:mgarlock@princeton.edu ABSTRACT The strength and stability of connections in a floor system is an integral part of a building structure. A connection is subjected to large compressive and tensile forces during heating and cooling phase of a fire, respectively. Since shear connections are only designed for gravity loads that produce shear, their behavior in a floor assembly at elevated temperatures needs to be investigated. This paper compares the behavior of three types of shear connections (single plate, single angle and double angle) under fire conditions using the finite element software ABAQUS. The single plate shear connection was validated by a full-scale building fire tested in Cardington. Adopting Eurocode and AISC provisions on the shear connection design, the Cardington connection was redesigned using the single and double angles. While the single plate connections can provide substantial rotational ductility and tensile strength, it could fail during cooling phase of a fire by bolt-hole bearing or bolt shear. The bolted double angle connections are generally more ductile in tension which is advantageous during cooling phase; however they are prone to develop prying forces which could cause the failure of the bolts. In all of the connection models, the beam near the connection experiences local buckling at elevated temperatures. INTRODUCTION Structural floor systems undergo significant geometric changes due to thermal expansion of steel during a fire event. Additionally, the strength and stiffness of steel reduce dramatically at elevated temperatures. Hence, connections become an integral part of building construction because they could be subjected to large axial forces, moments and strain reversal during cooling period of a fire [Ramli-Sulong et al 2007]. Current design codes [AISC 2005 and ECCS 2001] are based on isolated member tests subjected to standard fire conditions. Such tests do not reflect the behaviour of a complete building under either normal temperature or fire conditions [Wald F. et al. 2006]. The complex interaction of structural components such as 416 Structures Congress 2011 © ASCE 2011 Structures Congress 2011 Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Bogazici University on 10/02/12. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright (c) 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers. All rights reserved.