The strength of beam-to-staggered column connections of rectangular hollow sections

Not infrequently, a column segment within the a storey of a structural frame must be laterally displaced to accommodate the requirements of the users of a building. The ensuing beam-to-staggered column connection is the subject of this paper.Results are reported of an experimental programme of such connections consisting of square hollow section columns sandwiched between rectangular hollow section (RHS) beams. Specimens tested had beam depth-to-width ratios varying from 0.40 to 2.50. The clear stagger distance-to-beam depth ratio was either 0.5 or 1.0.Two theoretical strength limits are developed employing a modified yield line method that incorporates both yield and ultimate stress values. It is found that the observed failure load lies generally in the range between the two strength limits predicted by theory. The variation of the beam outer web efficiency with beam aspect ratio and gap-to-depth ratio is also discussed.