Effect of U-bracket on the structural performance of cold-formed steel angle connection

The paper presents an experimental investigation on the structural performance of high strength cold-formed steel angle connection stiffened with U-bracket. A total of 18 sets of specimens were tested using different U-bracket configurations. The parameters of the U-bracket studied were the width of the web and the length of the flanges. The behaviour of the connection under load was observed and the failure mode of the connection was identified. It was shown that biaxial deformation occurred in the U-bracket. It was also demonstrated that the capacity of the connection of angle and U-bracket was 4 times the capacity of plain angles. Results showed that it was more conservative to estimate the strength of the connection by taking the total elastic capacity of the sections. It was more effective to use U-bracket with a 40mm web and 15mm long flanges with the 50mm width angle connection