Effects of stiffeners on anchor rod flexural strength in column base-plate connections

The present paper reports results of a numerical investigation of the mechanical behavior of a column base plate connection subjected to an axial compression force and a bending moment. A three-dimensional nonlinear model was developed, using the Cast3M software, and validated against experimental data. In addition, the material nonlinearity as well as contact conditions between the different components of the connection were thoughtfully considered. Based on the validated model, an extensive parametric analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of stiffeners on the forces in the anchor rods. The results clearly indicate that the design approaches that consider only the tensile strength of anchor rods while neglecting the bending moments can lead to a poor estimation of the forces applied to these rods. They also suggest that adding stiffeners provides additional strength and reduces the anchor rod bending in one direction. However, it is important to note that the stiffeners also induce an additional moment in the opposite direction. This could make the anchor rod more susceptible to biaxial bending with tension. Furthermore, this study proposes a new specific shape of stiffener is suggested (c_bp5). It was concluded that the proposed shape of stiffeners allows a more uniform distribution of forces and avoids excessive stress concentrations, effectively prevents the biaxial bending in the anchor rod.