Development of latticed structures with bolted steel sleeve and plate connection and hollow section GFRP members

An innovative nodal joint system with thin-walled steel sleeve and plate is examined for development of latticed shell structures using hollow section glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) members. In the proposed system, the GFRP members were connected to a steel gusset-plate space node through bolted sleeve joints (BSJs). The mechanical performance of BSJs was first examined through cantilever bending experiments. Then, the performance of the entire nodal joint system incorporating the space node was examined in bending for both in plane and out-of-plane stiffness. Its performance was then characterized by nonlinear springs and evaluated at a structural level based on a space latticed structure configuration through finite element (FE) analysis and the resulting structural performance satisfied the ultimate limit state (ULS) and serviceability limit state (SLS) requirements as per relevant standards. A parametric study was also conducted to understand the effect of joint rotational stiffness on the overall structural performances.