Connections of sleeve joint purlin system

This paper presents the findings of an investigation carried out to determine the most<br />appropriate connections, in terms of rotational stiffness, to use for the optimum design of cold-formed Zed<br />section sleeve joint purlin system. Experiments and parametric studies were conducted to investigate the<br />effects of geometric variables on the behavior of the sleeve-purlin and cleat-purlin connections of the<br />sleeve joint purlin system. The variables considered were purlin size and thickness, sleeve size, thickness,<br />length and bolt position. The test results were used to verify the empirical expressions, developed herein,<br />employed to determine the rotational stiffness of connections. With the predicted connection stiffness, the<br />most suitable sleeve-purlin and cleat-purlin connections can be selected so as to produce an optimum<br />condition for the sleeve joint purlin system.<br />