Connection designs are established to ensure the stability of joined cut sections, the joints so designed should be based on the optimal performance as per the requirements. The connection joints so established should not be based on just strength but reliability and durability as well. This study focuses on tackling one of the major issues faced when using Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymers (GFRPs) as construction materials, which is based on the abrupt failure of the material under critical or maximum loading. Connection designs are established in GFRP short column H-sections based on Bolted Splicing connections by Eurocode 3 for steel splicing connections. A total of seven Connection designs are established using bearing and non-bearing splicing connections. A total of five models for each connection is established for manual testing and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to simulate and analyze these connection designs. Parameters such as ultimate load, displacement at ultimate load, stiffness, compressive strength, failure mode, load versus displacement behavior graph, and percentage compressive strength compared to the un-cut section are provided in this study. The strongest specimen in this study displaced 128% and 127.7% compressive strength compared to an un-cut GFRP H-section when tested using manual testing and FEA accordingly.

In this paper, Finite Element Analysis was used to simulate ship hatch covers with different grid geometries viz. Square grid, Inclined grid, Diamond grid and Honeycomb grid. The entire finite element analysis results were generated by ANSYS® 2022 workbench environment. The hatch cover provides an air tight barrier protection for the cargo. For the present simulation the original hatch cover dimensions are used (21000 × 14000 × 300 mm). The principle objective of the present paper is aimed at proposing a light-weight material, so called glass fibre reinforced plastic material over the existing steel to reduce the weight for the cargo ship to improve the efficiency by reducing fuel consumption so that dead weight is downgraded. Glass fibre reinforced hatch cover also reduces man power for the process of handling the hatch cover. Based upon the finite element analysis outcomes of different grid geometries are Square, Inclined, Diamond, Honeycomb optimal core grid of hatch cover was chosen. A scaled down model of hatch cover using glass fibre reinforced plastic with an optimal grid structure has been also developed in this paper.

This paper describes an experimental program developed to investigate non-bearing spliced composite short column connections made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) that are subjected to axial loading. This study provides aspects such as the load-bearing capacity of the connection, failure modes, load distribution in the connection, displacement in the joint, stiffness, and compressive strength. The design of the joint in this study that connects two 350mm GFRP H-sections to form a short column connection is based on euro codes BS EN 1990 and BS EN 1991, which are used to design steel splicing connections for beams and columns. Four design specifications models are made depending on the positioning of the cover plates in the inner flange, outer flange, and web region of the H-sections to examine the requirement of a specific cover plate, and the H-sections are bolted to each other using M8 8.8 grade steel bolts. The samples tested in this study indicated a dominant failure in the flange region, with model-4 providing 92.83% compressive strength when compared to an uncut GFRP short column.

Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) is a polymer composite material used in lightweight structures. This study provides insight into achieving robust GFRP H-section short-column spliced connections using bonded, bolted, and hybrid connections. The design specifications for steel splicing connections are based on BS EN 1990 and BS EN 1991 guidelines. Based on the samples subjected to axial loading, factors such as compressive strength, bonding and bearing resistance, compression behavior of the connection, and failure modes of the structure are investigated. The study includes the behavioral characteristics and results of 25 GFRP H-section Spliced connections, with each H-section measuring 152 x 72 x 6.4 mm and standing 350 mm in height. This study also examines the behavior of a composite splice joint made up of steel cover plates and steel bolts that are used to create an ideal non-bearing spliced connection. This model is used to compare to the other models to understand the behavior of spliced joints designed with GFRP cover plates. This paper holds design specifications of connections that have displayed compressive strengths of 82.35 %, 89.82 %, and 92.83 % compared to that of an un-cut GFRP H-section subjected to axial loading.

This paper reports on a new experimental study for the behaviour of reciprocally connected and supported Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) hollow square profiles axially loaded under several boundary conditions. The study aims to determine the ultimate load of the assembly and failure mechanism of mutually connected units. For the tests, FRP reciprocal frames units (RF) of 100 × 100 × 6.4 mm thick square hollow sections were designed, fabricated and assembled using mechanical fasteners. A bespoke steel test rig allowed for varied support boundary conditions. The observed failure modes were dominated by web buckling, bearing failure around the bolted areas and localised failure. The 100 × 100 mm RF unit achieved the highest load capacity of 16.4 kN and frame stiffness of 1.7 kN/mm, under the pin-pin-roller support boundary conditions. This paper presents the experimental procedure, results and observations.