## 4 Results and Discussion
### Experimental Results and Comparison
#### 4.1.1 Comparison Between FEM and Experimental Data for the 260 mm Frame
This behavior suggests that the load capacity mechanism is directly influenced by the number of clamps, indicating an internal redistribution of stresses as the clamping becomes less efficient. The findings indicate that reducing the number of clamps initially has a moderate impact on load capacity, but larger reductions lead to a much greater loss. The transition from four to three clamps resulted in a moderate reduction in load capacity, whereas the reduction from three to two clamps significantly affected the system's structural performance. Optimizing the number and placement of clamps is essential to ensure structural integrity under different loading conditions. The nonlinear loss of load capacity observed with a reduced number of clamps is primarily due to the concentration of stresses in fewer contact regions, which diminishes the connection's ability to redistribute internal forces effectively. This leads to lower global stiffness and increased localized deformations, as demonstrated by both experimental and FEM results. Such behavior is consistent with the principles outlined in Eurocode 3 [29] and confirmed in recent studies by [PERSON] et al. [4; 14] and [PERSON] et al. [2], which demonstrate that reducing the number of fastening points in steel joints increases stress concentration and compromises structural performance. Therefore, the connection's ability to maintain elastic behavior and resist service loads depends heavily on optimizing the number and distribution of clamps. Stress Distributions and the Influence of the Number of Clamps  
The stress distribution (Von Mises) for the different arrangements shows that the regions of highest stress occur near the connections (clamps) in the beam and along the column's web, corresponding to the compression of the frame. The configuration with four clamps (Figure 16) exhibits higher stress concentrations in the column's web and at specific points on the beam, particularly in compression zones (Figure 7b), which are visually represented by red-colored regions. This stress distribution aligns with the greater load capacity of this configuration, as the force-displacement graphs (Figure 13) indicate that the four-clamp setup demonstrated the highest mechanical resistance. As the number of clamps is reduced to three (Figure 17) and two (Figure 18), stress concentration becomes more localized while still following the expected pattern of compressed zones (Figure 7b). This effect is particularly evident in the upper region of the beam, near the clamps fixed to the L-shaped plate (compressed zone), and in the lower part of the beam, specifically in the web and flange, close to the compressed clamps. This redistribution implies an increase in the overall flexibility of the structure and a shift in load distribution to more confined areas. ments for the same applied load, as demonstrated in the experiment (Figure 19), which underscores the decrease in stiffness. In contrast to the transition from four to three clamps, where the variation in stiffness was relatively minor (approximately 6%), the removal of the third clamp significantly affected stress dissipation, making the system more susceptible to deformations by approximately 21%. Analysis of Plastic Strain Distribution  
The evaluation of the plastic equivalent strain confirms that, regardless of the number of clamps, the structure remained within the elastic regime, exhibiting no significant plasticization. For the four-clamp model (Figure 20), a slight localized plasticization is observed near the compressed zones, indicating that this region absorbs a considerable portion of the applied loads, consistent with the illustrated images (Section Stress Distributions and the Influence of the Number of Clamps). However, the structure remains within the elastic regime. Figure 19: Experimental setup for the test of the 2-clamp model (260 mm): (**a**) overview of the test; (**b**) detail of the displacement.