# Finite Element Analysis of Proposed Self-Locking Joint for Modular Steel Structures
2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [PERSON]ADDRESS] (N.A.B. ); [PERSON]DRESS] (I.A.K. );  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.M.N.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [PERSON]ADDRESS] (N.A.B. ); [PERSON]DRESS] (I.A.K. );  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.M.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [PERSON]ADDRESS] (N.A.B. ); [PERSON]DRESS] (I.A.K. );  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.M.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.B. ); [PERSON]DRESS] (I.A.K. );  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.M.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [PERSON]ADDRESS] (N.A.B. ); [PERSON]DRESS] (I.A.K. );  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.M.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [PERSON]ADDRESS] (N.A.B. ); [PERSON]DRESS] (I.A.K. );  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.M.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.B. ); [PERSON]DRESS] (I.A.K. );  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.M.N.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.B. ); [PERSON]DRESS] (I.A.K. );  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.A.M.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan 43400, Malaysia;  
[EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.N. ); [PERSON] conducted seismic analysis and experimental work on the proposed welded connection [16; 26] plugin connection. Work [22] presented a plug-in connection, shown in Figure 1c for SHS columns; beams were connected by long-stay bolt where the column was not tied with components of a plugin connection [19; 22]. [PERSON] et al. proposed a novel connection where beams were connected by a long stay bolt and columns were connected with a connection by means of a bolted column tenon [27]. The issue associated with these connections is the requirement of a working space between modules, especially when four or eight modules are required to connect; this problem may limit the construction plan. This study proposed a self-locking joint to address the issues mentioned above of intermodular connections. The proposed connection uses a simple mechanism and does not require extra workspace between modules. It is suitable for corner, internal and interior joints as shown in Figure 2a. Figure 1: (**a**) Corner post using SHS or special sections attachments [25]. (**b**) Cruciform bolted module-to-module connection [17]. (**c**) Vertical welded connection [16]. Figure 2: Details of proposed connection: (**a**) corner, internal and interior connection in MSB; (**b**) component details of proposed connection; (**c**) connection assembly forces at joint, reproduced from [PERSON] et al. [27]. Due to its unique design, it is important to investigate the local and global behavior of this proposed connection. The behavior of this connection is simulated using a 3D finite element analysis using ABAQUS software [28]. Before simulating the behavior of the proposed connection, the modeling techniques were validated using experimental results obtained from [PERSON] et al. [18]. A parametric study was then conducted to evaluate the effect of influencing parameters on moment carrying capacities, strength, stiffness, and mode of failure of joints.