Resistance of the beam-to-column component "column web panel in shear"

Nominated for the Bernt Johansson Outstanding Paper Awards at Nordic Steel 2019
The “column web panel in shear” is known to be a key component in the design of steel and steel-concrete composite joints as it can provide a reserve of ductility at the joint when activated and appropriately designed. Therefore, its behaviour has been studied for years and was thought to have been fully understood. However, some recent research projects have demonstrated that, in many cases, the simple analytical model proposed in Eurocode 3, Part 1-8, significantly overestimates the actual resistance of this component. In this context, this paper will look at the first results of investigations into that problem conducted at Liège University. In particular, beam-to-column welded joints have been studied in order to: i) highlight the aforementioned problem through comparisons between existing experimental results and Eurocode 3 predictions, ii) develop a sophisticated finite element model using the Abaqus© software, iii) validate this FE model using existing experimental results and iv) develop an extensive parametric study in order to highlight the key parameters governing the resistance capacity of the component studied. Based on the investigations conducted, the final goal consists of providing a new analytical formulation that is able to predict more accurately the shear strength of the column web panel.