Crushing performance of pultruded GFRP angle section with various connections and joints on lattice towers

Abstract

The significant features of the GFRP angle make it one of the modern construction members for the present lattice-type Transmission Line Towers (TLT) made out of mild steel. The GFRP structural angle members with gusset plate connections for net-crushing strength are investigated in this study, with an emphasis on connections to transmission line towers. Forty-two specimens of single-lap, butt joints with bolted connections are considered in this study. The gusset plate and edge distance have different widths. The joint is subjected to a compression load before failure modes and the associated loads were noticed. An experimental investigation on the crushing behaviour of GFRP angle sections to determine the crushing performance against the standard crushing force of different connections such as bolted, adhesive, and hybrid (bolted + adhesive) with various joints (butt and lap) has been carried out and are presented. Additionally, the impact of plate edge distance and width on connection effectiveness is investigated. The innovation of the work is in the evaluation of the crushing value for bolted GFRP structural angle members of 2, 3, and 4 nos with gusset plate connections that have been used to predict the compressive strength.