ABSTRACT
A cuff connection as a single monolithic unit was also used the entire column section as a load carrying element without using bolts (Smith et al., 1999). Due to the fabrication difficulty at that time, an approximate cuff connection was prepared through the pultruded angles wrapped around the beam, and tied into the sidewall of the column, and then connected to the column flange by top and bottom seated angles. The approximate cuff connection developed the highest ultimate moment capacity compared to the others, and failed by separation of the sidewalls from the column web. In 2005, such a single monolithic cuff connection was fabricated using vaccum assisted resin transfer molding by Singamsethi et al. (2005). The cuff connection, GFRP beam and column were assembled using only adhesive bonding. Two specimens with different fibre layers were tested, the one with 15 fibre layers showed higher strength in comparison to the approximate cuff connection examined in Smith et al. (1999). During the tests, failures occurred at the adhesive interface in one specimen, and in the GFRP beam in the other specimen.
