Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504

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Design of end-plate connections with elastomeric intermediate layer

Lutz Nasdala a,∗ , Birger Hohn b , Reinhard Rühl c
a Institute for Structural Analysis, University of Hannover, Appelstr. 9A, 30167 Hannover, Germany
b Ingenieurbüro für Statik und Konstruktion, Steinstraße 9, 26441 Jever, Germany
c Calenberg Ingenieure planmäßig elastisch lagern GmbH, Am Knübel 2-4, 31020 Salzhemmendorf, Germany

Received 25 January 2006; accepted 16 June 2006

Abstract

Goal of this paper is the development of analytical design rules for bolted end-plate connections with an elastomeric intermediate layer as
thermal separation. The actual stress distribution is converted to an equivalent mean stress and an associated effective height. The geometry
dependence of the design compressive stresses can be described using a form factor.
A finite element model is developed for validating the design rules taking into account geometric and material nonlinearities like large
deformations, creep processes or the frictional contact. A major conclusion that can be drawn from the finite element simulation is that compressive
stresses decrease towards the edges leading to a stress concentration between the bolts. Investigations of the long-term behavior demonstrate that
the influence of creeping processes on the stress distribution can be neglected. On the other hand, it can be shown that the moment–rotation
characteristic is strongly dependent on the pre-load of the bolts and the elastomer thickness.
c 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: End-plate connection; Thermal separation; Elastomeric layer; Creeping; Generalized Maxwell model; Moment–rotation characteristic; Finite element
method

1. Introduction The main advantage of using an elastomeric intermediate

Steel girders which penetrate outer building walls e.g. at
porches or balconies, as shown in Fig. 1, cause heat build-up. In
these areas the surface temperature can sink dramatically below
the dew point causing water vapor to condense. This moisture
provides ideal conditions for mould growth. In addition, the
heat build-up leads to a higher energy consumption. If a thermal
insulation of the outdoor steel members is impossible e.g. for
architectural reasons, a thermal separation of the outdoor and
indoor construction is necessary.
For this purpose, elastomeric bearings can be adopted whose
thermal conductivity λ ≈ 0.2 W m−1 K−1 is five to ten
times higher than that of commonly used insulating materials
such as glass wool or polystyrene foam, but still over two
hundred times smaller than the thermal conductivity of steel.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 511 762 3867; fax: +49 511 762 2236.
E-mail addresses: l.nasdala@isd.uni-hannover.de (L. Nasdala),
b.hohn@ib-hohn.de (B. Hohn), ruehl@calenberg-ingenieure.de (R. Rühl).
URLs: www.isd.uni-hannover.de (L. Nasdala), www.ib-hohn.de
(B. Hohn), www.calenberg-ingenieure.de (R. Rühl).
layer is its much higher load-bearing capacity compared to
standard insulating materials. It is generally known that the
high strength, stiffness and toughness allows the usage of
elastomers even as bridge bearings [1,2]. Due to their good
formability and economical manufacturing process and because
standard insulating materials suffer from poor mechanical
properties, the use as thermal separation is attractive for many
structural applications like beam-to-column joints or end-plate
connections as illustrated in Fig. 2.
However, due to the complex material behavior and the
lack of design rules this type of connection has not yet
been established in practice. The following factors are to be
considered in relation to a standard end-plate connection:
• Due to the high flexibility of the elastomer it has to be
examined whether the reduced rotational stiffness of the
joint is still sufficient in terms of serviceability.
• Elastomers are characterized by a high incompressibility.
Apart from potential numerical problems due to locking,
the high bulk modulus leads to a noteworthy stress decrease
towards the edges.

c 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

0143-974X/$ - see front matter
doi:10.1016/j.jcsr.2006.06.022
 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504 495

Fig. 1. Beam-to-column connection with thermal separation used in porch construction.

Fig. 2. End-plate connection with elastomeric intermediate layer.

• Creep tests have to be performed for elastomeric bearings
used in civil engineering. It has to be clarified, how the
viscoelastic material behavior affects the long-term load-
bearing capacity.
• The gap between two steel plates caused by the intermediate
layer leads to an additional bending stress of the bolts in case
of large shear forces. This kind of loading is not dealt with
in Eurocode 3. An engineering solution is to direct the shear
forces into a shear bracket as illustrated in Fig. 1.
• In order to take into account a lateral bulging of the rubber
layer, the distances to the edges should be selected large
enough, e.g. 10 mm. To preserve enough space between
bolts and elastomer edges, the bolts should be placed
closer to the web than in a standard connection. Thus, not
being committed to a standard connection any longer, other
reasonable modifications can be considered: The bolts could
also be moved closer to the flanges and the end-plates can be
reduced in thickness.
• In a standardized end-plate connection according to EC 3,
the bolts are preloaded to 70% of the ultimate tensile
strength. For certain loading cases, however, a reduction of
the preload is preferable, e.g. if thereby an exceeding of
the ultimate mean stress in the elastomer can be prevented.
For these reasons, not only the position of the bolts
but also the preload might differ from a standard end-
plate connection. Thus, prior to designing a non-standard
end-plate connection which also includes an additional
elastomeric intermediate layer, it is recommended to start
with the end-plate connection without thermal separation.
Various geometries can be used by adopting the so-called
T-stub model of EC 3 [3]. For further information on the T-
stub model, the reader is referred to [4].
To facilitate the use of end-plate connections with thermal
separation for practical applications, an analytic design concept
is presented in this paper. In order to verify the derived
analytical model, a finite element model is also developed and
different loading cases are discussed.
2. Theoretical basis and design rules
The design concept developed in this section is demonstrated
using the example of the symmetric flush end-plate connection
of two IPE 300 beams with thermal separation given in Fig. 3.
The S 235 end-plates are tp = 20 mm thick, h p = 340 mm
496 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504

Fig. 3. Dimensions of reference example.

Fig. 4. Illustration of effective length leff .

high and bp = 150 mm wide. This leads to an excess length
of a0 = 20 mm at the flanges. For the elastomeric pad the
following dimensions are chosen: height h e = 320 mm, width
be = 130 mm and thickness te = 10 mm. Four M 20 bolts
of grade 10.9 with a hole clearance of 1 mm are used as
connectors. The ultimate tensile force of a bolt is Ft,R,d =
176.4 kN.
2.1. Design of end-plate connection without elastomeric
intermediate layer according to EC 3
The design concept of EC 3 is based on the T-stub model
illustrated in Fig. 4. Internal forces and moments acting
between the two end-plates are transmitted by compressive
stresses through the elastomeric pad, tensile forces of the
bolts and shear forces of the bolts in the compression area if
necessary. The equivalent T-stub consists of the end-plate part
which contains the tensed bolts and the corresponding part of
the web. The flange of the IPE 300 is regarded as stiffening of
the T-stub. For design purposes, the T-stub is symmetrized and
an effective length of fillet weld leff is determined. Note that leff
is a notational length and does not necessarily correspond to the
physical length of the basic joint component that it represents.
For non-circular patterns, leff is a function of the parameter α
given in EN 1993-1-8.
The determined value for leff is used as the equivalent width
of the unstiffened T-stub shown in Fig. 5. The tension resistance
of the equivalent T-stub, FT,R,d , depends on which of the
 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504 497

Fig. 5. Failure modes of T-stub.

following three failure modes are relevant: and

(1) Complete yielding of the flange (plastic hinges at welds and e = w2 = 35 mm. (3)
bolts).
(2) Bolt failure with yielding of the flange (plastic hinges at The equation for m considers that the inner plastic hinges
welds). cannot appear before 80% of the effective throat thickness aw .
(3) Bolt failure. With

In accordance with plasticity theory, the system fails when m 2 = a1 − t = 45 mm − 10.7 mm = 34.3 mm (4)
it becomes statically unstable and a kinematic chain is formed and
due to plastic hinges. These failure modes are an idealization m
which can be motivated by experiments. For the determination λ1 = = 0.49 (5)
m+e
of the exact failure mechanism of bolted end-plate connections,
detailed FE-investigations are necessary, see e.g. the work of [5, and
6]. m2
λ2 = = 0.50 (6)
For the failure modes i = 1, 2, the plastic moment of the m+e
end-plate is given as one obtains the parameter
leff,i tp2 f y
P
α = 5.7 (7)
Mpl,i,R,d = , i = 1, 2. (1)
4 γM0 which is required to determine the effective length. leff also
For the considered example, one gets the lengths depends on the bolt-row number and location. For this example,
the case “first bolt-row below tension flange of beam” has to be
w1 − s √ 80 mm − 7.1 mm
m= − 0.8 aw 2 = chosen. If extended end-plates or more bolt rows are used, other
2 2 flow patterns than that of Fig. 4 might have to be considered if
√
− 0.8 · 3 mm 2 = 33.1 mm (2) necessary.
498 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504

Fig. 6. Averaging of compressive stresses in elastomer.

The effective length for the first failure mode is 2.2. Design of end-plate connection with elastomeric interme-
diate layer
leff,1 = min leff,cp ; leff,nc = min [2π m; αm] = 188.7 mm.
 

(8) As already shown in Fig. 1, a lateral deformation of the

intermediate layer is restricted by the frictional contact. Thus,
In case of the second failure mode, one obtains
a bulging of the elastomer can be observed. Consequently, the
leff,2 = leff,nc = αm = 188.7 mm (9) stress distribution is inhomogeneous. The compressive stresses
decrease towards the edges while the maximum values occur
which here is equal to leff,1 . This yields the plastic moment between the bolts. The lateral bulging is also responsible for
the fact that the load-bearing capacity of thick elastomer layers
Mpl,1,R,d = Mpl,2,R,d
is lower than that of thin ones. For this reason in the following
188.7 mm · 202 mm2 · 235 MPa section, the form factor S is introduced which takes into account
= = 4.03 kN m. (10) the elastomer dimensions as well as the bolt number and
4 · 1.1
diameters. The ultimate mean stress, σmmax , can then be defined
This results in the following three different tension as a function of S.
resistances of the equivalent T-stub: The exact distribution of the compressive stresses is not
4 Mpl,1,R,d usually known, but for design purposes a linear distribution is
FT,1,R,d = = 487.0 kN (11) assumed. As shown in Fig. 6, this can be converted into the
m
mean stress σm and an effective height h m using the normal
for the first failure mode, force and moment balances. For large bending moments the
assumption of a linear stress distribution leads not only to
2 Mpl,2,R,d + e 2 Ft,R,d
FT,2,R,d = = 299.7 kN (12) negative stresses but also to positive ones. Since tensile stresses
m+e actually cannot be borne by the elastomer, they are converted to
for the second failure mode and the bolt loads F.

FT,3,R,d = 2 Ft,R,d = 352.8 kN (13)

2.2.1. Determination of mean compressive stresses depending
for the third mode. Here, the second case determines the tension on form factor
resistance FT,R,d = FT,2,R,d . According to EC 3 this leads to a The form factor
resisting moment of the joint of Am
S= (15)
AK
 
t
My = FT,R,d e2 + a1 − = 299.7 kN · 249.7 mm
2 is defined as the ratio of bearing area Am (top or bottom side)
= 74.8 kN m. (14) to the associated side area AK (remaining four sides including
holes). It is suggested that for a rectangular elastomeric pad
Note that, to complete the design process, also the welds as well with four bolts, two holes are considered if the effective height
as shear failure of the end-plates have to be examined. h m is equal or less than 32 h e . Otherwise, all four holes must be
 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504 499

Table 1
Design of elastomeric layer (given: be = 130 mm, h e = 320 mm, e2 = 210 mm)

Example 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
My in kN m 74.8 0 0 10 20 20 30 30 50 50
N in kN 0 −640 0 0 0 −20 −20 −20 −20 −20
Fp in kN 0 0 160 160 160 160 160 80 80 160

σtop in MPa −33.7 −15.4 −15.4 −19.9 −24.4 −24.9 −29.4 −21.7 −30.7 −38.4
σbot in MPa 33.7 −15.4 −15.4 −10.9 −6.4 −6.9 −2.3 5.3 14.4 6.7
z 0 in mm 0 – – – – – – 97 58 113
F in kN 350.6 – – – – – – 22.0 95.2 20.5
h m in mm 103 320 320 289 258 259 229 167 136 179
σm in MPa −26.1 −15.4 −15.4 −17.0 −19.1 −19.6 −22.2 −16.7 −24.6 − 29.2

Thickness te = 10 mm

S 2.1 3.5 3.5 3.3 03.1 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.6 3.0
σmmax in MPa 10.9 23.4 23.4 21.5 19.5 19.6 17.5 17.5 14.5 18.7
η in % 238.6 65.7 65.7 79.3 98.2 99.9 126.6 95.1 170.1 155.9

Thickness te = 5 mm

S 4.3 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.2 6.2 5.8 5.8 5.1 6.0
σmmax in MPa 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0
η in % 87.0 51.3 51.3 56.8 63.7 65.2 73.9 55.6 82.0 97.3

taken into account. This leads to the form factor as a function of the normal force
Z + he
h m be − πd 2 /2

2 2
if h m ≤ h e σ (z) dz

 N − 4 Fp = be (19)
(h πd)

S= 2te m + b e + 3 (16) − h2e
h m be − π d 2 2
if h m > h e .



2te (h m + be + 2π d) 3 and the bending moment

In Table 1 the effective height h m for the IPE 300 joint is given
Z + h2e
for various loading cases. Further details on how h m can be My = be zσ (z) dz. (20)
− h2e
calculated are given in the next sections.
Experimental investigations performed by Calenberg show Extreme values are σtop = σ (−h e /2) at the top end and σbot =
that for a Kerncompactlager [7] the relation between form σ (+h e /2) at the bottom end. In case of large bending moments
factor S and ultimate mean compressive stress can best be My , at the position
described as: 4 Fp − N 2

he he

z0 = h ∈ − ;+ (21)
12My e

 S2 + S + 1 S2 + S + 1 2 2
σm =
max if 5 30 MPa (17)
0.70
30 MPa 0.70 there is a change in sign of the stress, σ (z 0 ) = 0.
otherwise.

For example, in loading case 8 each bolt is preloaded with 2.2.3. Constant stress distribution
Fp = 80 kN. The normal force is N = −20 kN and the h i
bending moment is My = 30 kN m. A thickness of te = 10 mm 2.2.3.1. Compressive stress only. In case of z 0 6∈ − h2e ; + h2e
together with the effective height h m = 167 mm which is and 4 Fp > N . After some transformations of the equations
smaller than 32 h e = 213.3 mm yields a form factor of S = 2.9. Z h m − h2e
Using half the thickness, te = 5 mm, doubles the form factor
N − 4 Fp = be σm dz = be h m σm (22)
to S = 5.8. With Eq. (17) the corresponding ultimate mean − h2e
stresses are then calculated to σmmax = 17.5 and 30 MPa.
and
Z h m − h2e 1
2.2.2. Linear stress distribution My = be zσm dz = be h m (h m − h e )σm (23)
− h2e 2
Neglecting the holes and assuming a linear stress
distribution, Bernoulli beam theory results in the stress the sought for figures result from
N − 4 Fp 12My 2My
σ (z) = + z (18) hm = he + (24)
be h e be h 3e N − 4 Fp
500 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504

and
(N − 4 Fp )2
σm = . (25)
be [h e (N − 4 Fp ) + 2My ]
h i
2.2.3.2. Compressive and tensile stress. If z 0 ∈ − h2e ; + h2e
and My > 0, from Eq. (18) the bolt tensile forces are derived
from:
Z he  
2 N − 4 Fp h e
F = be σ (z) dz = − z0
z0 he 2
6My h 2e
 
+ 3 − z0 .
2
(26)
he 4
Considering the bolt forces F, Eqs. (22) and (23) have to be Fig. 7. Creep test.
extended as follows:
reference height h e . For this reason, the mean stress σm does not
N − 4 Fp = F + be h m σm (27) equal the arithmetic mean of the two stresses σtop and σbot but
and is always closer to the compressive stress for the “compressive
and tensile stresses” state, Eq. (30), or rather, closer to the larger
e2 1 compressive stress in the “compressive stress” state, Eq. (25).
My = F + be h m (h m − h e )σm . (28)
2 2 As an extreme case, the first example only considers a
This results in: bending moment, i. e. there is no preload of the bolts and no
normal force. This leads to a very small effective height of
2My − Fe2 h m = 103 mm which is approximately only a third of the
hm = he + (29)
N − 4 Fp − F overall height h e = 320 mm. Consequently, the mean stress
and σm = −26.1 MPa is only a little smaller than the maximum
stresses ±33.7 MPa. Please note that only at first glance the
(N − 4 Fp − F)2 effective height can be set to half the overall height. This
σm = . (30)
be [h e (N − 4 Fp − F) + 2My − Fe2 ] approach is false because then the moment balance equation
cannot be fulfilled.
Note, that these equations are only valid for a positive bending For the examples 2 to 7, the bending moment is so small that
moment. the elastomer is compressed over its entire height, σtop < 0 and
In case of a negative bending moment My < 0, the σbot < 0. A comparison of examples 7 and 8 makes clear that
tensile force F is borne by the upper bolts. This fact must be it can be advantageous to reduce the preload of the bolts. For
considered when determining the ultimate mean stress σm as the thicker elastomer halving the preload from Fp = 160 kN to
well as the position and height h m of the effective compression 80 kN reduces the rate of utilization from 126.6% to 95.1% and
area in an analogous way. thus enables the joint to bear the external loads.
2.2.4. Examples 3. Time-dependent material behavior
Following the proposed design concept, in Table 1 the rate
of utilization In order to evaluate the long-term behavior of the
Kerncompactlager, creep tests with an overload of 99 MPa at
η= |σm |/σmmax (31)
a temperature of 23 ± 2 ◦ C are performed [7]. The dimensions
is given for ten different loading cases and two different are 75 mm × 75 mm × 10 mm. In Fig. 7 the creep rate
elastomer thicknesses. Due to the higher form factor S and the
te,5 min − te,t
resulting increase of the ultimate mean stress σmmax , generally, δcreep = (32)
the thinner the elastomer layer, the more load it can bear. te,0 − te,5 min
While for case 8 with a thickness of te = 10 mm the rate of is plotted as a function of time. With a reference thickness
utilization is already 95.1%, the elastomer of half the thickness, te,0 = 10 mm, a thickness after 5 min of te,5 min = 5.99 mm
te = 5 mm, has only reached a utilization rate of 55.6%. For and a thickness after 14 days of te,336 h = 5.52 mm one obtains
all shown loading cases, or rather, for all resulting equivalent the value
heights h m , the high load-bearing capacity of the thin elastomer
5.99 mm − 5.52 mm
results in the maximum value of 30 MPa for the ultimate mean δcreep,336 h = = 11.7%, (33)
stress. 10 mm − 5.99 mm
Apart from the limit case of pure normal loading, examples which can be used to measure the creep strength. Fig. 7 also
2 and 3, the effective height h m is always smaller than the shows the result of a simulation using the generalized Maxwell
 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504
Fig. 8. Generalized Maxwell model.
model [8,9] illustrated in Fig. 8. It can be shown that rate-
independent effects can be neglected and that the use of three
Maxwell elements is sufficient to get a good agreement between
experiment and simulation. As the base material model for the
spring elements, the hyperelastic Yeoh-approach [10] is used.
(a) Coarse mesh (3.65 nm deflection).
(b) Medium mesh (4.01 mm deflection).
Fine mesh (4.14 mm deflection).
Fig. 9. Deformations and normal stresses of creep test after 5 min.
501
Since no information existed on the friction coefficient,
parameter studies using values between µ = 0.1 and 1 were
accomplished. As expected, the result was that the larger the
friction coefficient, the more the elastomer is prevented from
lateral bulging, thus increasing the overall stiffness of the
specimen. To compensate this effect and to get identical global
load–deformation curves, the elastomer stiffness would have to
be set to a lower value. However, the influence of the friction
coefficient on the stress distribution of the end-plate connection
can be neglected if the same friction coefficient and stiffness are
used for both creep test and end-plate connection.
Similar results were obtained for the mesh refinement. Fig. 9
shows three different discretizations of the creep test. For all
simulations the same material parameters are used which after
5 min lead to vertical deflections of 3.65 mm for the coarse
mesh (3 × 3 × 2 elements), 4.01 mm for the medium mesh
(5 × 5 × 3) and 4.14 mm for the fine mesh (7 × 7 × 5). Since
the material parameter has been identified for the medium mesh
its deflection of 4.01 mm = 10 mm − 5.99 mm corresponds to
the experimental result. Therefore 3 elements were chosen over
502 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504
Fig. 10. Finite element model of end-plate connection with thermal separation.
the thickness also for the end-plate connection which is shown
in Fig. 10. As for the friction coefficient, it is important that
the same mesh density is used for both, creep test and end-plate
connection.
4. Finite element simulations
The goal of this section is to verify the design concept
derived in Section 2 by using finite element simulations.
The exact stress distribution is determined and the influences
of bolt preload, friction between elastomer and steel as
well as elastomer thickness are investigated. The deformation
behavior can be evaluated by means of the moment–rotation
characteristic. This curve is also useful to assess the creep
strength of the elastomer.
4.1. Modelling
The finite element model of an end-plate connection with
thermal separation shown in Fig. 10 is characterized by the
following features:
• In contrast to both end-plates, which are modelled using
finite elements based on the displacement method, for
the 10 mm thick elastomeric intermediate layer mixed
elements developed by Simo and Taylor [11] are used.
They are based on the multiplicative decomposition of the
deformation gradient into an isochoric and a volumetric
part in combination with a three-field-functional for the
strain energy. In contrast to displacement elements they do
not show locking effects due to incompressible material
behavior. In order to visualize the user elements which
have been implemented in the FE-code ABAQUS, additional
standard elements without stiffness are generated. This
overlay technique is used to be able to display the
displacements and stresses.
• As already mentioned in Section 3 the exact friction
conditions are unknown, so that for the creep test and
the end-plate connection the friction coefficient is set to
µ = 0.3, if not mentioned otherwise. It has turned out
that the relative differences are negligible up to a value of
0.5. However, larger friction coefficients lead to a stability
problem for the creep test, since due to the combination
of overload and restricted lateral slip the elastomer bulges
so much that it tends to swerve upwards or downwards.
Between the bolts and the end-plates the friction coefficient
is assumed to be µ = 0.05.
• Linear 8-node brick elements are used, since quadratic
20- or 27-node elements have problems in contact due to
alternating nodal forces. The investigations using quadratic
elements for some loading cases were leading to a lifting
of single nodes, especially the corner nodes, off the contact
plane. This kind of hourglassing can be avoided by using
linear elements.
• As for the creep test, the generalized Maxwell model from
Fig. 8 in combination with Yeoh material is used for the
elastomeric intermediate layer.
• The bolts of grade 10.9 as well as the two S 235 end-
plates are modelled using an elastoplastic material model
with ideal Mises plasticity. However, it should be noted
that our investigations focus on the load-bearing behavior
of the elastomer. Therefore, for all chosen loading cases the
elastomer fails before the bolts so that also linear elastic
material could have been chosen. In case of higher shear
forces the failure mechanism would be dominated by a
yielding of the bolts. For more information on bolt failure
in an end-plate connection with thermal separation refer to
the experimental and numerical investigations by Lange and
Göpfert [12].
• For frictionless contact, the elastomer and the bolts would
undergo a rigid body movement in the lateral direction,
thus leading to ambiguous equilibrium configurations. Such
numerical problems even occur in simulations with frictional
contact. To obtain a unique equilibrium configuration, spring
elements are introduced whose stiffness is small enough so
that on the one hand they do not influence the overall result,
but on the other hand the system gets statically determined.
• Each analysis starts with applying the prestress forces to the
bolts.
• The webs and flanges of the two IPE 300 sections are
modelled as rigid bodies which are represented by reference
nodes. These nodes are used to apply the boundary
conditions and the loads in a second step.
• In the third and last analysis step, the creep behavior is
simulated for 14 days, the same period as for the creep test.
4.2. Examples
Fig. 11 shows the distribution of normal stresses after
14 days for loading cases 3, 6, 7 and 8. The stresses at
the beginning of the creep process are not shown since the
stress distribution changes only very little in contrast to the
deformations.
Due to the inhomogeneous stress distribution, the maximum
values between the bolts are more than twice as high than the
mean stresses of Table 1. Further, it can be clearly seen that the
normal stresses decrease to zero near the edges due to the lateral
bulging.
As shown in Fig. 11, a bolt preload of Fp = 160 kN each
as in the third example leads to a symmetric stress distribution.
A non-symmetric stress distribution is observed for the sixth
example where an additional normal force of N = −20 kN and
a bending moment of My = 20 kN m are applied. In example 7
the bending moment is increased to 30 kN m thus increasing
 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504 503

Fig. 11. Normal stresses for different load cases.

(a) µ = 0.1 (My = 7.7 kN m). (b) µ = 0.3 (My = 30 kN m). (c) µ = 1.0 (My = 30 kN m).

Fig. 12. Influence of friction coefficient.

the utilization rate from 99.9% to 126.6% for the 10 mm thick
elastomer.
To demonstrate the influence of the preload, the bolt forces
are reduced in example 8 from 160 kN to 80 kN which
reduces the maximum stresses from −56 MPa to −40 MPa.
The same ratio is obtained for the mean stresses, which fall
from −22.2 MPa to −16.7 MPa. Thereby the utilization rate
decreases from 126.6% to 95.1% which is again below the limit
value of 100%. Furthermore, it can be seen that the tension zone
is enlarged. The ratio of the effective height to the overall height
h m / h e = 167 mm/320 mm = 52% taken from Table 1 can also
be found in Fig. 11.
In order to examine the influence of the frictional contact be-
tween elastomer and steel, example 8 was also computed with
friction coefficients of 0.1 and 1.0. As shown in Fig. 12, the
smaller the friction coefficient, the larger are the lateral defor-
mations. For µ = 0.1 this leads to numerical contact problems
because the elastomer already reaches the steel edges at a bend-
ing moment of My = 7.7 kN m. The example with µ = 1
shows that a restriction of the lateral deformation smoothes the
stress distribution and thus lowers the maximum value.
In Fig. 13 different elastomer thicknesses of te = 5 mm,
10 mm and 20 mm are compared for loading case 8. As
expected, an increase of the thickness leads to a more distinct
bulging of the elastomeric intermediate layer. For the thickest
elastomer, the extreme bulging causes the numerical simulation
to fail at a bending moment of My = 8.1 kN m. As previously
mentioned, this thickness effect is dealt with by the form
504 L. Nasdala et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 63 (2007) 494–504
(a) tc = 5 mm (My = (b) tc = 10 mm (My =
30 kN m). 30 kN m).
Fig. 13. Influence of elastomer thickness.
Fig. 14. Moment–rotation characteristic.
factor S for the design rules. Here, for the 5 mm thick elastomer
the utilization rate is only η = 55.6% while the 10 mm thick
elastomer with 95.1% has nearly reached its full capacity.
The elastomer thickness also has a large influence on the
moment–rotation characteristic shown in Fig. 14. For instance,
a halving of the thickness decreases the rotational stiffness
three to four times. Another result is that an increase of the
bolt pre-tension also enlarges the rotational stiffness. From
the moment–rotation characteristics it can also be drawn the
conclusion that creep processes lead to a reduction of the
rotational stiffness of about 25%.
5. Conclusions
An analytic design concept for end-plate connections with
elastomeric intermediate layer as thermal separation has been
developed. The design equations are validated by various finite
element computations. An important result of the investigations
is the fact that on the one hand there is a stress concentration
between the bolts and on the other the normal stresses markedly
decrease towards the edges.
Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the friction conditions
between elastomer and steel as well as the thickness of the
elastomer have a large influence on the load-bearing capacity
of the end-plate connection. From the moment–rotation
(c) tc = 20 mm (My =
8.1 kN m).
characteristic, the conclusion can be drawn that creep processes
decrease the rotational stiffness of the joint.
It is shown that the utilization rate can be improved by a
reduction of the bolt preload. Though this paper only deals with
flush end-plate connections, it should be mentioned that another
possibility to increase the load-bearing capacity of the joint is
to use extended end-plate connections.
The developed design rules so far only consider normal
forces and bending moments. Further investigations are
necessary should also the influence of large shear forces be
taken into account.
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