EFFECTIVE LENGTH OF T-STUB OF RHS COLUMN BASE PLATES

František Wald, Valéry Bouguin*, ZdenČk Sokol and Jean-Pierre Muzeau*

Czech Technical University in Prague
*
University of Blaise Pascal, Clermont Ferrand

ABSTRACT
The paper presents the application of the component method to column bases of
the RHS columns. The decomposition of the connection into the components is
described. An analytical model is assembled to determine the moment resistance
and the rotational stiffness of the column base under different axial loads. The
effective length of T-stub in tension is derived analytically and checked by the FE
simulation as a main contribution. The prediction model is verified by comparison
with the published test results.

1 INTRODUCTION

The RHS columns are connected to the foundation by base plates and/or by
embeddings. In seismic areas are both fixing combined with infilling of bottom part of column by
cocnrete. The base plates are designed thick to transfer primarily compression forces into
concrete block and are restrained by stiffener. The anchor bolts are used longer compare to the
bolts between plates due to the washer plates, thicker base plate, grout, and enbeddement in
concrete, which allows deformation and separation during the loading. The difference to beam-
to–column connection shell be introduced into the prediction of strength, stiffness and rotational
capacity of the base plate in tension.
Component Component
base plate in bending column web and flange
Side view RHS column and anchor bolts in tension in shear and compression
Component
Base plate base plate and concrete
Grout
block in copression
An example of anchor bolt
Embedded anchor bolt
Packs
Foundation Conical sleeve

Anchoring plate
Component anchor bolt, key, in shear

Top view
a) b)

Fig. 1 Example of base plate a) and description main components b)

393
 The compression part of the base plate designed for resistance of the concrete in
crushing under the flexible base plate. The model of effective area under the base plates is
commonly accepted and applied in design recommendations, see Annex L in (1).
The behaviour of the tension part of the base plate is mostly guiding the column base
resistance and stiffness (2) in case of loading by bending moment. The knowledge of behaviour
of end plates in beam to column connection ware redefined in (1) using models developed in
last years by applying the component method. The connection is disintegrated into
components, which behaviour is described, and composed back to model connection
characteristics.

2 COMPONENT METHOD FOR BASE PLATE

The column base with base plate is in component method divided into components, see at
Fig. 1, (2). In the base plate can be recognised the component the base plate in bending and
anchor bolt in tension, the component column web and flange in shear and compression, the
component the anchor bolt, shear key, in shear and the component column web and flange in
shear and in compression. The design procedure is summarised on flow chart on Fig. 2.

Geometrical and material properties

Discterisation to component

Base plate in bending Concrete in compression

and and
anchor bolt in tension base plate in bending

"eff fj Concrete bearing strength

T-stub effective length in joint
Resistance of component Stiffness of component
Ft.Rd kp ,k b and k t FRd kc
Resistance and stiffness
Check of prying of component

Assembly for resistance Assembly for stiffness

Resistance Stiffness
M Rd Shape factor of curve Sj.ini
P

Moment rotation curve

Fig. 2 The design procedure for the base plate of the RHS column

If the anchor bolts are activated in tension, the base plate is subjected to tensile forces
and deforms in bending while the anchor bolts elongate. The failure of the tensile zone may

394
result from the yielding of the plate, from the failure of the anchor bolts, or from a combination of
both phenomena. In Eurocode 3 (1) is the design resistance of a T-stub of flange in tension of
effective length Ɛeff is derived for three possible plastic collapse mechanisms of T-stub in tension
follow for three failure modes. In the particular case of base plates the elongation of the anchor
bolts in tension is mostly such, in comparison to the flexural deformability of the base plate, that
no prying forces develop at the extremities of the T-stub flange. In this case, the failure results
either from that of the anchor bolts in tension (Mode 3) or from the yielding of the plate in
bending see Figure 3, where a two hinges mechanism develops in the T-stub flange. This
failure is not likely to appear in beam-to-column joints and splices because of the limited
elongation of the bolts in tension. This particular failure mode can be named Mode 1*. The
corresponding resistance writes

2 " eff m pl .Rd

F1* .Rd . (1)
m

F / 6
B t.Rd
1
Mode 2 Mode 3
0,8
F1*.Rd
0,6 Mode 1

0,4 Mode 1*

0,2
B B
0
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 4 "eff m pl.Rd /6 B t.Rd

Fig. 3 Failure mode 1*, typical for base plates due to long deformed length of the anchor bolts

When the Mode 1* mechanism forms, large base plate deformations develop; they may
result finally in contacts between the concrete block and the extremities of the T-stub plage, i.e.
in prying forces. Further loads may therefore be applied to the T-stub until failure is obtained
through Mode 1 or Mode 2, see Fig. 3. But to reach this level of resistance, so large
deformations of the T-stub are necessary, which are not acceptable in design conditions. The
extra-strength which separates Mode 1* from Mode 1 or Mode 2 in this case is therefore
disregarded. As a result, in cases where no prying forces develop, the design resistance of the
T-stub is taken as equal to

FRd  
min F1* .Rd , F3.Rd , when F3.Rd 6 Bt .Rd . (2)

The influence on Mode 1* failure under washer plate, cover plate, aimed at strengthening
the base plate, which can be considered (1) as

2 " eff m pl .Rd  m bp.Rd

F1* .Rd , (3)
m
for

395
 2
m bp.Rd 0,25 ¦t bp f y .bp / J M 0 , (4)

where fy.bp is the yield stress of the cover plate, tbp is the thickness of the cover plate.
1 '

a d

c
ac " eff.1
bc D
b
y lb
" eff.2

" eff.5
x eb
D " eff.3
ea " eff.4
yield line la
a) b)

Fig. 4 The base plate geometry a), assumption of the range of effective length of T-stub for
base plate b)

The effective length of the base plate T-stub can be determined by the yield line method (3).
The yield line is a straight line, and this line is perpendicular to a line, that pass through the bolt
and the corner of the plate. D represents the angle of the yield line with the edge and c the
minimal distance between the corner of the plate and the yield line. The following relations can
be obtained (4)

x
tan D , (5)
y

where x and y are the variable coordinates of the bolt. For the design of the parameter c, we
use the work method of the yield line theory. The internal work

§1 1 ·
Wi ¦ >T
n
j ; muj ; " j @ m pl ¨¨ x  y ¸¸ .
©y x ¹
(6)

The external work

We Pu ' Fpl ' . (7)

' represents the deformation of the plate in the bolt position, see Fig. 4.

' d x2  y 2
, (8)
1 c c
x2  y 2 §x y·
Fpl m pl ¨¨  ¸¸ , (9)
c ©y x¹

396
 cm x2  y 2
" eff , (10)
4 xy

For the resistance can be derived

x2  y 2
Fpl c m pl , (11)
xy
w Fpl x2  y 2
m pl cst (12)
wc xy
Five cases may be observed for the yield lines round by the corner of the column, see Tab. 1
from (4), if are taken into account the modes without the contact of the edge of base plate to the
concrete surfaces, e.j. in no prying cases.

Tab. 1 The calculation of the effective length of a T-stub per bolt, Case 1 to 3

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3

W ext Fpl G a  ac  2 e a b  bc 2  a  ac 2  2 ea 2  eb 2
G G
a  ac
b  bc 2  a  ac 2
W int 4 S m pl G W ext Fpl G W ext Fpl G
Fpl 4 S m pl b §e e ·
W int m pl W int m pl ¨¨ a  b ¸¸
a  ac © e b ea ¹
a  ac b mpl § ea eb ·
m  ea Fpl m pl Fpl ¨  ¸
2 a  ac  2 ea G ¨© eb ea ¸¹
" eff .1 S m b a  ac 2  b  bc 2 § ea eb ·
" eff .2 ¨¨ ¸¸
4 " eff .3 
8 © e b ea ¹

The Case 4 and Case 5 are similar to 2 and 1 respectively. The results of prediction of effective
lengths per anchor bolt are summarised in Tab. 2.

The prediction of the base plate stiffness and resistance depends on the prying or no-
prying mode. In case of prying the calculation can be based on standard Annex J procedure.
The boundaries between modes ware developed in (6). The simplified boundaries, for derivation
see (2), where prying do not occur are

As " eff .ini t 3

d (13)
Lb 8,82 m 3

The anchor bolts into the concrete is fixed by hooked bars for light anchoring, cast-in-
place headed anchors and bounded anchors to drilled holes. Models for the anchoring design
resistance compatible with Eurocodes based on the ultimate limit state concept have been
prepared (5). The anchor bolt effective free length Lb = Lbf + Lbe consist of physical free length
Lbf and embedded free length (3). In case of embedded anchor bolts, which can be estimated as
Lbe = 8 d. The stiffness of the plate as an independent component of no prying is

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Tab. 2 Effective length of a T-stub " eff for base plate of RHS columns for a bolt
a

m m m
m

"eff .1 S m " eff .5 Sm

§ a  ac · " eff .2 b/ 4 " eff .4 a/ 4 § b  bc ·
S .¨  ea ¸ S .¨  eb ¸
© 2 ¹ © 2 ¹
a
ac
b bc
a  ac 2  b  bc 2 § ea eb ·
m " eff .3 ¨¨  ¸¸
8 © e b ea ¹
eb ea

" eff min ( " eff .1; " eff .2 ; " eff .3 ; " eff .4 ; " eff .5 )

Fp " eff .ini t 3 0,425 " eff t 3

k p.* (14)
E Gp 2 m3 m3

and the contribution by the bolt elongation is

Fb As
k b.* 2,0 . (15)
E Gb Lb

The stiffness of the component of base plate in bending and bolts in tension can be summarised
from above simplified predictions as

1 / kt = 1 / kb.i + 1 / kp.i . (16)

The positive influence of washer plate is limited till 5% of deformation and can be for practical
design neglected.

The resistance of the component in compression based on effective area under the base
plate is described in Eurocode L (1). This component contributes only a bit to the base plate
stiffness, but is taken into account for consistency of prediction (2).

The effective area under the flexible base plate is modelled round the column. The position of
the neutral axes is calculated from the force equilibrium for resistance. For the stiffness
calculation is taken into account the effective area under the flanges only, see Fig. 2 (2). The
position of compression force is located at the centre of compression flange. The tensile force is
located at the anchor bolts. The force represents the resistances in tension, Ft.l.Rd and in
compression, Fc.l.Rd, Fc.r.Rd. The stiffness is calculated based on component stiffness for the
spring in position described at Fig. 8. Two cases are observed, with tension in anchor bolts and
without activation of the anchor bolt.

398
 a) Model for resistance b) Model for stiffness
Active part
of equivalent plate

Active part
of equivalent plate

Equivalent rigid plate Equivalent rigid plate

MRd MRd
Centre of compressed part Centre of
NSd NSd compressed part
Neutral axis
Neutral axis

Ft.Rd Fc.Rd Ft.Rd Fc.Rd

zt zc zt zc
z z

Model for I
anchoring in action
G t.l G c.r
Model for I
no tension in anchoring
G c.l G c.r

Fig. 5 The force equilibrium of base plate, for the full effective area used for the resistance
calculation a), with the effective area under the flanges only applied for the stiffness prediction
b), the assembling for large eccentricity and small eccentricity without tension in the anchor bolt

3 EFFECTIVE LENGTH OF T-STUB BY FE SIMULATION¨

The boundary between the failure modes ware observed using the FE model. Three layers
brick model of base plate was applied by code Ansys. The step by step procedure was
incorporated with for multi-linear model of material (7). The position of the bolt was changed
round the column corner. The yielding to the base plate, highlights the expected failure mode, see
Fig. 6, by reaching the plateau of the material diagram. The size of the bolt nut / washer plate and
the relative stiffness of the anchor bolt was studied numerically. For the rigid anchor bolt as a
limited case can be observed the prolongation of the yielding in the base plate and column corner
on Fig. 7.

399
Fig. 6 The FE mesh of simulation, the different yield patterns under the moving of the
anchorage round the base plate corner (4)

a) b) c)

Fig. 7 The influence of the size of the bolt nut, (concentrated load a), nut of diameter 25 mm b),
50 mm, washer plate of 80 mm c)) for the indefinitely stiff bolt

400
 M RHS 200 x 200 x 12
M RHS 152,4 x 152,4 x 12,7
4 x M 36
4 x O 19
P 32 420 x 165 P 20 -300 x 190
Grout 30 x 310 x 200
Grout 30 x 310 x 200
1000 x 550 x 550
1270 x 610 x 460

M, kNm experiment M, kNm

60 60
50 50 experiment
analytical
40 40
30 30
20 20 analytical
Picard and Beaulieu 12 F (9)
10 10 Nakashima 20 - 12 (8)
0 0
0 0,01 0,02 0,03 0,04 I rad 0 0,01 0,02 0,03 0,04 I rad

Fig. 8 Comparison of the predicted moment rotation curve to the experimental on of Picard and
Beaulieu (9) as well as Nakashima (8)

4 VERIFICATION TO EXPERIMENTS

Two test setups, (8) and (9), with fully described working diagram of the test by M - I curve
validates the design model (4). The material and geometry is introduced in measured / reported
values. The geometrical basic characteristics are shown on the Fig. 8. Both tests were loaded
by bending only. Fro steel the nominal value of material properties was available only.
Comparing the initial stiffness, the experimental and analytical results are closed for tests with
low influence of axial force. This comes from the steel grade. In the analytical model we did not
use measured material property but. The results exhibit a good agreement of proposed
prediction model to presented tests. The behavior of base plates loaded by normal forces
display the accuracy of prediction of the resistance of the concrete in compression that is more
limited.

5 CONCLUSION

The Eurocode 3 procedure based on Annex J and Annex L procedures can determine the
resistance and stiffness of base plates of RHS columns. The presented study shows a good
prediction of the behavior by the simple engineering model.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work has been supported by the grant of Czech Ministry of Education
No. MŠM 21 000 000 1. Within the framework of the activities of the COST C1 European
Project (Semi-rigid behaviour of civil engineering structural connections) and the Technical
Committee 10 of ECCS (European Steel Fabricator Association) an ad-hoc working group was
established to prepare a background document for European standardisation. The authors
would like to thanks of all the members for help explicitly to Mr. C. M. Steenhuis, TU Eindhoven
and Mr. J. P. Jaspart, University of Liège.
NOTATION

401
d diameter of the bolt Subscripts
fy yield stress of steel b effective free length of bolt
k component stiffness bf physical free length of bolt
m distance from the bolt axes to the weld edge, bp embedded free length of bolt
bending resistance of base plate
t thickness of the base plate bp cover plate
x, y axes, coordinates c compressed
z lever arm eff effective
B bolt force ini initial
E Young’s modulus of steel j joint
F force l left
Lb free length of the anchor bolt p plate
M bending moment r right
N axial force t tension, T-stub
S stiffness Rd design resistance
W work Sd acting
G,' component deformation pl plastic
I connection rotation int internal
P shape factor ext external
J partial safety factor
Ɛ length of the T-stub

REFERENCES
(1) Eurocode 3, ENV - 1993-1-1, Design of Steel Structures - General rules and roles for
buildings, CEN, Brussels 1992, including Part A2: Design of Steel Structures - General
rules and roles for buildings, Annex J, European Prenorm, CEN, Brussels 1998.
(2) Column Bases in Steel Building Frames, COST C1, ed. K. Weynand, Brussels, 1999, p.116.
(3) Wald F.: Column Bases, ýVUT, Praha, 1995, p. 137, ISBN 80-01-01337-5.
(4) Bougin V.: Column Bases of the Rectangular Hollow Sections Columns, Diploma theses,
Clermont Ferrand, 2000, p. 129.
(5) Fastenings to Concrete and Masonry Structures, State of the Art Report, CEB, Thomas
Telford Services Ltd, London 1994, p. 248, ISBN 0 7277 1937 8.
(6) Wald F., Obata M., Matsuura S., Goto Y.: Prying of Anchor Bolts, Nagoya University Report,
Nagoya 1993, pp. 241-249.
(7) Wald F., Baniotopoulos Ch. C.: Numerical modelling of column base connection, in COST
C1 Conference, Liege, 1998, p. 2-7.
(8) Nakashima S.: Experimental Behavior of Encased Steel Square Tubular Column-Base
Connections, in Proceedings of the First Word Conference on Constructional Steel Design,
Word Developments, Elsevier Applied Science, ed. Dowling P., Harding J. E., Bjorhovde R.,
Martinez-Romeo E., Acapulco1992, pp. 240-249.
(9) Picard A., Beaulieu D.: Behaviour of a simple column base connection, Canadian Journal of
Civil Engineering, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1985, pp. 126-136.

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