Experimental and finite element analysis of robust spliced joint connections in GFRP short column

The strength of a connection is an important design criterion for establishing stable structural design, Glass fibre reinforce polymer (GFRP) is a structural material that is popular in the aerospace industry for producing strong and lightweight structures. This material holds various advantages over traditional structural steel used in the construction industry. Still, due to its abrupt failure and lack of design codes, it is not commonly used in the construction of buildings. This study establishes a concept based on the robustness to make GFRP a usable material for the construction of buildings by designing a connection of an H-section short column using a splicing joint from Euro Code 3. The failure mode of GFRP with linear load versus displacement behaviour of the material as a structural element is explained in comparison with the required type of failures and non-linear behaviour of spliced joints used in this study. The eight connection designs are established in the study, and they are tested using the laboratory testing method and using Finite element analysis. The concept of robustness is established in the study and two connections that can be used for connecting two GFRP H-section short columns are established in this study.