An investigation of the block shear strength of coped beams with a welded clip angle connection — Part II: Numerical study

An experimental study of the block shear capacity of ten full-scale coped beams with a welded clip angle connection was presented in Part I. The test results were compared with predictions using block shear design equations in several current design standards. In general, the results showed that the existing design standards did not provide consistent predictions of the block shear capacity of coped beams with welded clip angles. In addition, the equations provided by the standards cannot accurately reflect the failure mode of the specimens observed in the tests. In order to gain a better understanding of the connection behavior, such as the stress distribution in the web near the periphery of the clip angles and the failure mechanism of the connection, an analytical study of the block shear capacity of coped beams with welded clip angles was carried out using the finite element method. Based on the limited test data and the results of the finite element analysis (FEA), a strength model was established and a design equation was proposed to evaluate the block shear strength of coped beams with welded clip angles. It was shown that the proposed design equation gave better predictions of the block shear capacity of the specimens.