• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.471-495
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• 2014

The responses of steel buildings with perimeter moment resisting frames (PMRF) with medium size columns (W14) are estimated and compared with those of buildings with deep columns (W27), which are selected according to two criteria: equivalent resistance and equivalent weight. It is shown that buildings with W27 columns have no problems of lateral torsional, local or shear buckling in panel zone. Whether the response is larger for W14 or W27 columns, depends on the level of deformation, the response parameter and the structural modeling under consideration. Modeling buildings as two-dimensional structures result in an overestimation of the response. For multiple response parameters, the W14 columns produce larger responses for elastic behavior. The axial load on columns may be significantly larger for the buildings with W14 columns. The interstory displacements are always larger for W14 columns, particularly for equivalent weight and plane models, implying that using deep columns helps to reduce interstory displacements. This is particularly important for tall buildings where the design is usually controlled by the drift limit state. The interstory shears in interior gravity frames (GF) are significantly reduced when deep columns are used. This helps to counteract the no conservative effect that results in design practice, when lateral seismic loads are not considered in GF of steel buildings with PMRF. Thus, the behavior of steel buildings with deep columns, in general, may be superior to that of buildings with medium columns, using less weight and representing, therefore, a lower cost.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.15-33
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• 2012

For an axially loaded box-shaped member, the width-to-thickness ratio of the plate elements preferably should not be greater than 40 for Q235 steel grades in accordance with the Chinese code GB50017-2003. However, in practical engineering the plate width-to-thickness ratio is up to 120, much more than the limiting value. In this paper, a 3D nonlinear finite element model is developed that accounts for both geometrical imperfections and residual stresses and the ultimate capacity of welded built-up box columns, with larger width-to-thickness ratios of 60, 70, 80, and 100, is simulated. At the same time, the interaction buckling strength of these members is determined using the effective width method recommended in the Chinese code GB50018-2002, Eurocode 3 EN1993-1 and American standard ANSI/AISC 360-10 and the direct strength method developed in recent years. The studies show that the finite element model proposed can simulate the behavior of nonlinear buckling of axially loaded box-shaped members very well. The width-to-thickness ratio of the plate elements in welded box section columns can be enlarged up to 100 for Q235 steel grades. Good agreements are observed between the results obtained from the FEM and direct strength method. The modified direct strength method provides a better estimation of the column strength compared to the direct strength method over the full range of plate width-to-thickness ratio. The Chinese code and Eurocode 3 are overly conservative prediction of column capacity while the American standard provides a better prediction and is slightly conservative for b/t = 60. Therefore, it is suggested that the modified direct strength method should be adopted when revising the Chinese code.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.417-436
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• 2014

During an earthquake, steel frame columns can be subjected to high axial forces combined with inelastic rotation demand resulting from story drift. Generally, the whole beam or component can be represented with one element. In elasto-plastic analysis, subdivision is necessary if the plastic deformation occurs within two ends of beams. If effects of the joint panel are necessarily considered in the analysis, the joint panel should be represented with an independent element. It is a special element to represent the shear deformation of the joint panel in the beam-column connection zone. Several analytical models for panel zone (PZ) behavior exist, in terms of shear force-shear distortion relationships. Among these models, the Krawinkler PZ model is the most popular one which is used in the AISC code. Some studies have pointed out that Krawinkler's model gives good results for the range of thin to medium column flanges thickness. This paper, introduces a new model to estimate the response of shear force-shear distortion for the PZ including column axial force. The model is applicable to both thin and thick column flange. To achieve an appropriate PZ mathematical model first, the effects of PZ strength and stiffness on connection response are parametrically studied using finite element models. More than one thousand and four-hundred beam-column connections are included in the parametric study, with varied parameters; then based on analytical results a simple mathematical model is presented. A comparison between the results of proposed method herein with FE analyses shows the average error especially in thick column flange is significantly reduced which demonstrates the accuracy, efficiency, and simplicity of the proposed model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.337-353
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• 2018

In previous weak-axis moment connection tests, brittle fracture always initiated near the edge of the beam flange groove weld due to force flow towards the stiffer column flanges, which is the opposite pattern as strong-axis moment connections. As part of the China NSFC (51278061) study, this paper tested two full-scale novel weak-axis reduced beam section moment connections, including one exterior frame connection specimen SJ-1 under beam end monotonic loading and one interior frame joint specimen SJ-2 under column top cyclic loading. Test results showed that these two specimens were able to satisfy the demands of FEMA-267 (1995) or ANSI/AISC 341-10 (2010) without experiencing brittle fracture. A parametric analysis using the finite element software ABAQUS was carried out to better understand the cyclic performance of the novel weak-axis reduced beam section moment connections, and the influence of the distance between skin plate and reduced beam section, a, the length of the reduced beam section, b, and the cutting depth of the reduced beam section, c, on the cyclic performance was analyzed. It was found that increasing three parametric values reasonably is beneficial to forming beam plastic hinges, and increasing the parameter a is conducive to reducing stress concentration of beam flange groove welds while increasing the parameters b and c can only reduce the peak stress of beam flange groove welds. The rules recommended by FEMA350 (2000) are suitable for designing the proposed weak-axis RBS moment connection, and a proven calculation formulation is given to determine the thickness of skin plate, the key components in the proposed weak-axis connections. Based on the experimental and numerical results, a design procedure for the proposed weak-axis RBS moment connections was developed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.823-836
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• 2019

Spiral welded tubes (SWTs) are fabricated by helically bending a steel plate and welding the resulting abutting edges. The cost-effectiveness of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns can be enhanced by utilising such SWTs rather than the more conventional longitudinal seam welded tubes. Even though the steel-concrete interface bond strength of such concrete-filled spiral-welded steel tubes (CF-SWSTs) is an important consideration in relation to ensuring composite behaviour of such elements, especially at connections, it has not been investigated in detail to date. CF-SWSTs warrant separate consideration of their bond behaviour to CFSTs of other tube types due to the distinct weld seam geometry and fabrication induced surface imperfection patterns of SWTs. To address this research gap, axial push-out tests on forty CF-SWSTs were carried out where the effects of tube material, outside diameter (D), outside diameter to wall thickness (D/t), length of the steel-concrete interface (L) and concrete strength grade (f'_c) were investigated. D, D/t and L/D values in the range 102-305 mm, 51-152.5 and 1.8-5.9 were considered while two nominal concrete grades, 20 MPa and 50 MPa, were used for the tests. The test results showed that the push-out bond strengths of CF-SWSTs of both mild-steel and stainless-steel were either similar to or greater than those of comparable CFSTs of other tube types. The bond strengths obtained experimentally for the tested CF-SWSTs, irrespective of the tube material type, were found to be well predicted by the guidelines contained in AISC-360.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2011

Due to the concept of "full-strength capacity connection," the pushover analysis method became an issue in designing steel connections. It is difficult to apply practically, however, because engineers are unfamiliar with such method. Moreover, there have been insufficient representative studies on them because most of the past pertinent studies were performed based on high-rise and/or virtual structures. As such, for this study, an actual(now in process) steel structure, a medium-low-rise industrial building, was selected. To perform pushover analysis, it was suggested that lateral load patterns be used in a simple and clear manner for three- and two-dimensional analysis models. A new hinge property was also suggested to prevent erroneous connection design results that can occur in the design process. The suggested load patterns showed almost the same results regardless of the model that was used, from which the obtained load patterns were different. This result implies the validity of the suggested load patterns. As for the suggested hinge property, the structural analysis yielded sound and reasonable results, which confirmed the validity of the proposed hinge property.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.329-345
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• 2018

This paper systematically investigated the mechanical performance of the weak-axis cover-plate connection, including a beam end monotonic loading test and a column top cyclic loading test, and a series of parametric studies for exterior and interior joints under cyclic loading using a nonlinear finite element analysis program ABAQUS, focusing on the influences of the shape of top cover-plate, the length and thickness of the cover-plate, the thickness of the skin plate, and the steel material grade. Results showed that the strains at both edges of the beam flange were greater than the middle's, thus it is necessary to take some technical methods to ensure the construction quality of the beam flange groove weld. The plastic rotation of the exterior joint can satisfy the requirement of FEMA-267 (1995) of 0.03 rad, while only one side connection of interior joint satisfied ANSI/AISC 341-10 under the column top cyclic loading. Changing the shape or the thickness or the length of the cover-plate did not significantly affect the mechanical behaviors of frame joints no matter in exterior joints or interior joints. The length and thickness of the cover-plate recommended by FEMA 267 (1995) is also suitable to the weak-axis cover-plate joint. The minimum skin plate thickness and a design procedure for the weak-axis cover-plate connections were proposed finally.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.15 no.5 s.66
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• pp.519-529
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• 2003

In recent years, the use of cold-formed steel roof truss has been increased in the steel houses and high-rise apartments. The design of the roof truss anchor connections has been based on the experience and decision of designers. In this paper, the structural behavior of anchor connections based on experimental and decision is described. In the tests, truss members and connection members were jointed directly with self-drilling screw fasteners and the simple shaped connection member with excellent workability and structural capacity was used to connect roof truss and sub-structure. The connecting method was selected according to the construction material of sub-structure: chemical anchor for reinforced concrete structure and welding or DX-Pin for steel structures. The pull-out tests of various type anchor connection were executed to obtain the strength and the stiffness and the result have been compared with AISI(1996) and AlSC(1989) specifications, Simple formulas for the shear strength of screw connections have been propose and compared with tests.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.683-690
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• 2008

When steel fabricators erect structural members in field, temporary tightening of fastener should be useful. However, if bolt holes are not aligned by production error or natural condition, additional effort andpain should be provided to align bolt holes. It lead to longer period than times of construction (a primarily day of construction) and more cost than originally cost. This problem will be overcomed by oversize or slotted holes. Early, AISC and Eurocode have included provision for design process such oversize or slotted holes. But, domestic design method is not refered about oversize and slotted holes. Meanwhile, domestic design method and construction environment are variance with Europe and the United States of America. Therefore, a suitable design method for oversize and slotted holes in domestic real condition is needed. In this study, we evaluated behavior of the joints and decided the friction coefficient on oversize and slotted holes of friction joints with high strength bolts.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 2009

In this study, the seismic performance of the Buckling Restrained Knee Bracing (BRKB) system was evaluated through a pin-connected one-bay, one-story frame. The BRKB system developed in this study was composed of a steel plate as a load-resisting core member and two channel sections to restrain local and global buckling of the core plate. The main purpose of the BRKB system is to restrengthen/rehabilitate old low- and mid-rise RC buildings, which, it is assumed, were designed with non-seismic designs and details. The main variables for the test specimens were the size of the core plates and the stiffeners, and the condition of the end plates. The test results showed that the size of the core plate, which was the main element of the load-resisting member, was the most important parameter in achieving a ductile behavior under tension as well as compression until the maximum displacement exceeds twice the design drift limit.