SAFE JOINTS - Joints as key elements against the collapse of steel and composite structures under exceptional loadings

Nowadays, modern design norms require to the civil engineer to design robust structures in order to limit the occurrence of failures under exceptional loadings. In steel and steel-concrete composite construction, this request for robustness mainly focusses on the joints between structural members, these joints generally being the «weak» elements of a structure. In this context, it is recommended to provide an appropriate ductility to the joints but no design recommendations are nowadays provided in the norms. The purpose of the present work therefore consists in filling that gap.