Experimental Study and Analysis on Rotational Behavior of Bamboo Scrimber Beam-to-Column Bolted Connections

This paper studies the rotational behavior of beam-to-column bolted connections in bamboo scrimber structures. Three types of beam-to-column connections, including bolted connections with outer-clamping steel plates, bolted connections encased with T-shaped steel plates, and bolted connections encased with double L-shaped steel plates, were designed and tested under monotonic or reversed cyclic loads. The influence of bolt arrangement on the mechanical properties was also studied. Failure of the connections was mainly caused by cracking of the adhesive interface near the bolt at the tensile side of the beam, which was a weak point that needs further attention. The elastic stiffness, capacities, ductility coefficient, and energy dissipation capacity of the T-steel connections improved compared with the I-steel connections. The load-carrying capacities of the connections were calculated according to common standards. Results showed that for the I-, T-, and double L-steel connections, the different standards had different safety margins.