Development and Assessment of Inter-module Connection for Modular Buildings

This thesis concerns with the behaviour of modular buildings and the development of a bolt-less inter-module connection. The first part focuses on analytical and numerical studies to understand the influence of module and inter-module connection stiffness on the global response of modular buildings. The second part focuses on analytical, experimental and numerical studies to characterise the structural and functional performances of the proposed connection, and the development of simplified behavioural models. A global structural analysis is finally performed for a case study modular building to assess the suitability of the proposed connection. This research benefits the realisation of fully-modular buildings.