ABSTRACT
The construction sector is responsible for 37% of global energy and process emissions, with materials like concrete, steel, aluminum, bricks, and glass contributing 9% of CO2 emissions. To reduce emissions, the industry must adopt a circular economic approach, focusing on material and structure lifecycles. Composite structures, such as those proposed by the RFCS project “REDUCE” (2016), offer solutions through demountable designs using bolts as shear connectors. Bolted connections exhibit a tri-linear load-slip behavior, differing from welded shear studs. An analytical algorithm and a numerical study using ABAQUS© software were developed to understand this behavior. The study aims to characterize slip behavior in shear connections, particularly for beams with a low degree of shear connection and compare it to the maximum allowable slip of 6mm from EN1994-1-1. The goal is to assess the applicability of the proposed algorithm and EN1994-1-1 standards for new bolted shear connections.
