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Symmetry
Volume 18
Issue 9
10.3390/sym18091491
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Experimental Investigation of the Moment–Rotation Behaviour and Rotational Stiffness of Aluminium Gutter–Steel Column Connections in Multi-Span Glasshouses

by
Zongmin Liang
1,
Xiugang Li
2,
Libo Lan
2,
Xiugen Jiang
1,
Jing Xu
1,*,
Jiaheng Miao
1 and
Tianyang Liu
1
1
College of Water Conservances and Intelligence Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
2
Beijing Kingpeng International Hi-Tech Corporation, Beijing 100094, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Symmetry 2026, 18(9), 1491; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18091491
Submission received: 13 August 2026 / Revised: 31 August 2026 / Accepted: 2 September 2026 / Published: 5 September 2026
(This article belongs to the Section F: Engineering and Materials)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Conventional structural analysis of multi-span glasshouses often idealises aluminium gutter–steel column connections as pinned or rigid, although their actual rotational restraint remains insufficiently quantified. In this study, 21 full-scale specimens were tested to investigate two representative configurations: STP joints between gutters and gable columns and STZ joints between gutters and intermediate columns. The measured secant rotational stiffness ranged from 108.5 to 185.5 kN·m/rad for STP joints and from 5.63 to 19.03 kN·m/rad for STZ joints. STP joints exhibited higher in-plane flexural resistance and rotational stiffness with smaller rotations, whereas STZ joints showed lower stiffness and greater nonlinear rotational deformation. The experimental results demonstrate that neither connection can be adequately represented as perfectly pinned or fully rigid. When the measured stiffnesses were introduced into an idealised elastic column model, the theoretical buckling capacity increased by 4.73–7.89% for STP end columns and 3.73–12.08% for STZ intermediate columns. The measured stiffnesses provide experimentally based rotational-spring parameters for refined glasshouse structural analysis.
Keywords: multi-span glasshouse; aluminium gutter–steel column connection; moment–rotation behaviour; rotational stiffness; semi-rigid joint multi-span glasshouse; aluminium gutter–steel column connection; moment–rotation behaviour; rotational stiffness; semi-rigid joint

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MDPI and ACS Style

Liang, Z.; Li, X.; Lan, L.; Jiang, X.; Xu, J.; Miao, J.; Liu, T. Experimental Investigation of the Moment–Rotation Behaviour and Rotational Stiffness of Aluminium Gutter–Steel Column Connections in Multi-Span Glasshouses. Symmetry 2026, 18, 1491. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18091491

AMA Style

Liang Z, Li X, Lan L, Jiang X, Xu J, Miao J, Liu T. Experimental Investigation of the Moment–Rotation Behaviour and Rotational Stiffness of Aluminium Gutter–Steel Column Connections in Multi-Span Glasshouses. Symmetry. 2026; 18(9):1491. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18091491

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liang, Zongmin, Xiugang Li, Libo Lan, Xiugen Jiang, Jing Xu, Jiaheng Miao, and Tianyang Liu. 2026. "Experimental Investigation of the Moment–Rotation Behaviour and Rotational Stiffness of Aluminium Gutter–Steel Column Connections in Multi-Span Glasshouses" Symmetry 18, no. 9: 1491. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18091491

APA Style

Liang, Z., Li, X., Lan, L., Jiang, X., Xu, J., Miao, J., & Liu, T. (2026). Experimental Investigation of the Moment–Rotation Behaviour and Rotational Stiffness of Aluminium Gutter–Steel Column Connections in Multi-Span Glasshouses. Symmetry, 18(9), 1491. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18091491

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