| Description |
High strength alloy steel cast connector refers to a bracing system to be used in James L. Greene Science Center, Columbia University in New York. The cast connectors, as the name suggests, are the connection elements in a bracing system that uses stainless steel rods as the braces instead of traditional steel sections. The bracing system was designed to support lateral wind load. The cast connector material is A148 GR. 115/95 (ASTM A958, 2006). The nominal yield strength is f y = 95 ksi, whereas the nominal ultimate strength is f u = 115 ksi. Although the material has very high yield strength, its ductility is rather limited. Hence, limiting the use of the connectors in a quasi-static load like wind load. This study evaluates cast connector performance under monotonic and cyclic loading. Experimental results are validated by a finite element (FE) model created in ANSYS (Chapter 4). Initial proposed tests on the cast connector specimens showed linear performance. For loads of 2 and 2.5 times the design load (P = 275 kip), the test specimens exhibited linear behavior. Further tests with increased load were performed on a second specimen (Cast Connector 2) to obtain nonlinear behavior and connector failure modes. The nonlinear portion of the curve was not well developed as one would expect for steel, which demonstrated the brittleness of the material. |
