Evaluating module-module connections for high-rise modular steel structures

Modular buildings have attracted the attention of the construction industry in recent years, thanks to their many advantages and have begun to be applied even in high-rise buildings and more complex buildings. However, unlike traditional buildings, they are discontinuous as each module in modular structures has its own unique floor slab. Therefore, the modules must be connected to each other by means of inter-modular connections in order to ensure structural integrity and load transfer between the modules. In addition, since horizontal loads increase with height, it requires a detailed investigation of the behaviour of inter-modular connections to ensure structural integrity, overall stability and durability. In this thesis, both experimental and numerical methods are used to investigate the behaviour of inter modular connections under lateral load. In the experimental study, four 150*150*5 SHS modular columns were subjected to static bending test by connecting two horizontally and two vertically. The characteristic features obtained from the experiment are presented. In addition, 6,9 and 12 storey building models whose combinations are defined as multilinear link elements, structural analysis of the joints was carried out by integrating the translational and rotational stiffnesses at shear obtained from the existing tests. No tests were mad e for stiffness in te axial direction, the required values were taken from the literature. The results were similar since the stiffnesses of the joints were assumed to be perfectly rigid in the reference study and the examined joints were also rigid.