Old and new solutions for contact splices in columns

Compression forces in a splice can be transferred by contact. Accordingly additional imperfections can be noticed and have to be accounted for. If a contact splice is placed inside the length of a column these initial additional imperfections will have an influence on the buckling behaviour and thus the load carrying capacity of the column. Report on theoretical investigations on the member behaviour and on the design of a splice and its fastenings is given. Also full scale tests on different types of splices are referred to. The test results are compared to ultimate load calculations and respective design methods are proposed. Especially for contact splices in columns arranged directly one on top of the other the stability behaviour for a splice at midspan is examined and leads to a special buckling curve.