A new analytical formulation for the E-stub strength calculation in three dimensional steel joints with additional plates welded to the weak axis

In steel design, engineers have to solve different problems related with the joints. In the case of three dimensional steel joints with additional plates welded to the weak axis, a new component appears. This component is formed by the additional plates and the column web in tension and the column flanges in flexion. This component is not covered by the formulation of the Eurocode 3. Its stiffness has been yet studied in a recente paper, but for a completed definition of the joint, the analysis of its strength is necessary. This paper focuses on the study of the strength of the E-stub. An analytical formulation for the calculation of the E-stub strength is presented, based on the experimental results of six E-stub specimens. Additionally, numerical models have been developed and calibrated, and the comparison with the experimental results shows that the proposal finite elements models are able to reproduce the strength behaviour of the E-stub accurately. Finally, a wide parametric study have been carried out in order to validate the analytical formulation in the most common configurations showing that such formulation predicts the strength of the E-stub with good accuracy.