Investigation of Mechanical Behavior of Steel Column Base Plates

Major earthquakes in the world led engineers and scientists to work on the connections of steel structures. Since the capacities of the connections, which are one of the important components of a steel structure, significantly affect the capacity of the entire structure, scientists are trying to design new connections and determine the limit states of these connections. At this point, column-base plate connections, which are an interface between reinforced concrete foundation and column, are of great importance in steel structures. In this study, the connections designed using base plates with different thicknesses, different numbers of anchor rods and different column types are analyzed under static loads, and comparative results are introduced in terms of stress and deformations occurred on the connection components. Analyzes were performed using ANSYS, a finite element software that is frequently used in engineering disciplines. The results obtained are interpreted and the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of column base plate connections are revealed. The results of the research show that the thickness of the baseplate used in the connection has a significant effect on the total deformation and stresses on the connection and its components. In addition, it has been determined that the number of anchor rods used in the base-plate connections affects the deformation and stresses. It has been observed that the total rigidity of the connections has a dominant role in the mechanical behavior of the joints.