Current UK trends in the use of simple and/or semi-rigid steel connections

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of an internet based survey conducted on members of the UK steel construction industry. The survey was in the form of an online questionnaire that was open from April to October of 2015. The purpose of the survey was to aid the development of a programme of full scale dynamic testing on UK standard simple and/or semi rigid steel connections. The information that was obtained is of use to both the wider academic community and the steel industry itself. Findings of the survey indicate how often tubular box sections are used on projects, the most popular methods of connecting open sections to box sections, preferred choice of fasteners in blind connections, preferred methods of connecting open section beams to open section columns, how often stainless steel bolts are currently being used on construction projects and finally some additional comments on the design of simple and/or semi-rigid connections are presented that were provided by survey respondents.