LAUSR

In this paper, a new type of structure was introduced. The spatial steel grid structure was composed of the top layer, lower layer H-shaped steel ribs and square steel tubes. The shear key is the key part of the structure.Based on the real dimensions of a practical prototype,two sets of full-scale shear key specimens were made, one of which has vertical stiffening ribs. The loading tests of two groups of specimens were carried out to simulate cases under pure shears and the experimental results were compared with the simulations from the finite element analysis. The effects of vertical stiffeners on failure modes, ultimate loads, strengthyield ratio and ductility of shear key were studied through experiments. By parametric analyses in the present article, relations of the stiffening plates width and thickness was recommended.