Characterization of semi-rigid RHS T-joints with self-drilling screws

• Partially sleeved T-joints between RHS are easy to fabricate with self-drilling screws. • Self-drilling screws applied to members thicker than 4 mm do not present group effect. • The proposed joints can be classified as at least semi-rigid and partial resistance joints. • The rotation center for the in-plane moment trend to move towards the contact between members. • The proposed component model gives adequate predictions of the stiffness and resistance. This paper presents a study on an innovative type of joint between rectangular steel hollow sections (RHS), which can be used in light structures. These joints are fabricated by partially inserting one of the members into the other and then using self-drilling screws to join them effectively. The width of both profiles has to match with a difference of 10 mm, which allows the use of 4 mm thick profiles for the outer piece. The self-drilling screws are placed on both lateral faces, and they are submitted to shear. The joints are easy to mount, reducing execution costs. The rotational stiffness of the joint can be analytically calculated through some simplified assumptions if the linear stiffness of the individual component, composed of the self-drilling screw and its surrounding area, is determined adequately. This work presents some experimental results and the analytical proposal for their design as semi-rigid joints, by applying a simplified component-based method. The results demonstrate the applicability of these joints and the proposed formulation to light steel structures that can be easily fabricated and mounted with ordinary tools and without specific expertise in execution.