• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.337-347
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• 2011

In this study, seismic resistance of concrete encased U-shaped steel beam-to-steel H-shaped column connections was evaluated. Three specimens of the beam-to-column connection were tested under cyclic loading. The composite beam was integrated with concrete slab using studs. Re-bars for negative moment were placed in the slab. The primary test parameter was the details of the connections, which are strengthening and weakening strategies for the beam end and the degree of composite action. The depth of the composite beams was 600mm including the slab thickness. The steel beam and the re-bars in the slab were weld-connected to the steel column. For the strengthening strategy, cover plates were weld-connected to the bottom and top flanges of the steel beam. For the weakening strategy, a void using styrofoam box was located inside the core concrete at the potential plastic hinge zone. The test results showed that the fully composite specimens exhibited good strength, deformation, and energy dissipation capacities. The deformation capacity of the beam exceeded 4% rotation angle, which is the requirement for the Special Moment Frame.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.447-462
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• 2020

The paper aims to investigate the mechanical mechanism and seismic effect of stiffeners in blind bolt endplate connection to CFST column. A precise 3D finite element model with considering the cyclic properties of concrete and steel materials was established, and the efficiency was validated through monotonic and cyclic test data. The deforming pattern and the seismic performance of the unstiffened and stiffened blind bolt endplate connections were investigated. Then a parametric analysis was conducted to analyze the contribution of stiffeners and the joint working behaviors with endplate under cyclic load. The joint stiffness classifications were compared and a supplement stiffness classification method was proposed, and the energy dissipation ability of different class connections were compared and discussed. Results indicated that the main deformation pattern of unstiffened blind bolt endplate connections was the local bending of end plate. The vertical stiffeners can effectively alleviate the local bending deformation of end plate. And influence of stiffeners in thin endplate and thick endplate was different. Based on the stiffness of external diaphragm welded connection, a more detailed rigidity classification was proposed which included the pin, semi-rigid, quasi-rigid and rigid connection. Beam was the main energy dissipation source for rigid connection. For the semi-rigid and quasi-rigid connection, the extended endplate, stiffeners and steel beam would all participate in the energy dissipation.

• 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.16 no.6
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• pp.611-637
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• 2014

A single plate shear connection, or shear tab, is a very popular shear connection due to its merit in ease of construction and material economy. However, problems in understanding the connection behavior, both in terms of strength and ductility, have been well-documented. Suggestions or design model for single plate connections in AISC Design Manual have been altered several times, with the latest edition settling down to giving designers pre-calculated design strength tables if the connection details agree with given configurations. Results from many full-scale tests and finite element models in the past suggest that shear strength of a bolt group in single plate shear connections might be affected by yield strength of plate material; therefore, this research was aimed to investigate and clarify effects of plate yield strength and thickness on shear strength of the bolt group in the connections, including the validity of using a plate thickness/bolt diameter ratio ($t_p/d_b$) in design, by using finite element models. More than 20 models have been created by using ABAQUS program with 19.0- and 22.2-mm A325N bolts and A36 and Gr.50 plates with various thicknesses. Results demonstrated that increase of plate thickness or plate yield strength, with the $t_p/d_b$ ratio remained intact, could significantly reduce shear strength of the bolt group in the connection as much as 15 percent. Results also confirmed that the $t_p/d_b$ ratio is a valid indicator to be used for guaranteeing strength sufficiency. Because the actual ratio recommended by AISC Design Manual is $t_p/d_b$ + 1.6 (mm) for connections with a number of bolts less than six and plate yield strength in construction is normally higher than the nominal value used in design, it is proposed that shear strength of a bolt group in single plate connections with a number of bolts equal or greater than seven be reduced by 15 percent and the $t_p/d_b$ ratio be limited to 0.500.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.113-139
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• 2016

The nonlinear seismic responses of steel buildings with perimeter moment resisting frames (PMRF) and interior gravity frames (IGF) are estimated, modeling the interior connections first as perfectly pinned (PPC), and then as partially restrained (PRC). Two 3D steel building models, twenty strong motions and three levels of the PRC rigidity, which are represented by the Richard Model and the Beam Line Theory, are considered. The RUAUMOKO Computer Program is used for the required time history nonlinear dynamic analysis. The responses can be significantly reduced when interior connections are considered as PRC, confirming what observed in experimental investigations. The reduction significantly varies with the strong motion, story, model, structural deformation, response parameter, and location of the structural element. The reduction is larger for global than for local response parameters; average reductions larger than 30% are observed for shears and displacements while they are about 20% for bending moments. The reduction is much larger for medium- than for low-rise buildings indicating a considerable influence of the structural complexity. It can be concluded that, the effect of the dissipated energy at PRC should not be neglected. Even for connections with relative small stiffness, which are usually idealized as PPC, the reduction can be significant. Thus, PRC can be used at IGF of steel buildings with PMRF to get more economical construction, to reduce the seismic response and to make steel building more seismic load tolerant. Much more research is needed to consider other aspects of the problem to reach more general conclusions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.16 no.5 s.72
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• pp.695-703
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• 2004

In this paper, the results of monotonic loading analysis with four steel models and one composite model were shown. The effect that moment transfer efficiency of a web and strain concentration at a steel beam-to-column connections was investigated. Analysis results showed that the moment transfer efficiency of the analytical model with box-column was poor when comparing to model with H-column due to out-of-plane deformation of the box-column flange. The presence of scallop, thin plate of box column and floor slabs was also a reason of the decrease of moment transfer efficiency, which would result in a potential fracture of the steel beam-to-column connections. Analytical results were compared with experimental results based on previous test. As a result, the deformation capacity of connections with a box-column or a floor slab decreased due to the poor moment transfer efficiency and the strain concentration of beam flange in the vicinity of the steel beam-to-column connections based on the experimental data.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.74-85
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• 2016

Seismic design of modular structures is usually carried out under the assumption that their load-carrying mechanism is similar to that of traditional steel moment-resisting frames(SMRFs). However, the load carry mechanism of modular structures would be different with that of traditional SMRFs because of their overlapped structural elements and complicated details of connections for the assembly of the unit-modules. In this study, nonlinear static analyses of 3 and 5-story prototype modular structures have been carried out with four different analytical models, which are established in consideration for the effects of overlapped elements and the hysteretic behavior of connections. Prototype structures present different lateral stiffness and strength depending on the modeling of overlapped elements and the rotational behavior of connections. For modular structures designed under assumption that overlapped structural elements are fully composite each other and connections between unit-modules are fixed, their lateral strength and stiffness can be over-estimated. Furthermore, it is known from the analysis results that modular structures with more than 3-stories would possess relatively low overstrength compared to traditional SMRFs.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.453-464
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• 2017

The square tubed-reinforced concrete (TRC) column is a kind of special concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns, in which the outer thin-walled steel tube does not pass through the beam-column joint, so that the longitudinal steel reinforcing bars in the RC beam are continuous through the connection zone. However, there is a possible decrease of the axial bearing capacity at the TRC column to RC beam connection due to the discontinuity of the column tube, which is a concern to engineers. 24 connections and 7 square TRC columns were tested under axial compression. The primary parameters considered in the tests are: (1) connection location (corner, exterior and interior); (2) dimensions of RC beam cross section; (3) RC beam type (with or without horizontal haunches); (4) tube type (with or without stiffening ribs). The test results show that all specimens have relatively high load-carrying capacity and satisfactory ductility. With a proper design, the connections exhibit higher axial resistance and better ductility performance than the TRC column. The feasibility of this type of connections is verified.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.627-641
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• 2024

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study to investigate the behavior of the precast segmental concrete beams (PSCBs) utilizing high-strength concrete (HSC) connected in the zone of the maximum bending moment using steel extended endplate connections (EECs). The experimental study consisted of five beams as follows: The first beam was the control beam for comparison, which was an unconnected one-piece beam made of HSC. The other four other beams consisted of two identical pieces of precast concrete. An important point to be noted is that at the end of each piece, a steel plate was used with a thickness of 10 mm. Moreover, this steel plate was welded to the lower and upper reinforcing bars of the beam. Furthermore, the steel plate was made to connect the two pieces using the technique of EECs. Several variables were taken in these four beams, whether from the shape of the connection or enhancing the behavior of the connection using the post-tensioning technique. EECs without stiffeners were used for some of the tested beams. The behavior of these connections was improved using stiffeners and shear bolts. To get accurate results, a comparison was made between the behaviors of the five beams. Another important point to be noted is that Abaqus and SAP2000 programs were used to investigate the behavior of PSCBs and to ensure the accuracy of the modeling process which showed a good agreement with the experimental results. Additionally, the simplified modeling using SAP2000 was able to model the nonlinear behavior of PSCBs connected using steel EECs. It was found that the steel pre-tensioned bolted EECs, reinforced with steel stiffeners and shear anchors, could be used to connect the precast HSC segmental beams via the internal pre-stressing technique.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.425-430
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• 2010

This paper investigates the seismic behavior of a prefabricated composite column which is made by onsite connection of precast composite column segments to accelerate bridge construction. Quasi-static cyclic loading tests were performed on three prefabricated composite columns with different connection details to find their seismic capacity. Test results show that the onsite connections remains in elastic range and no slip is observed as designed in spite of plastic hinge formation at the column. The test results also indicate that the prefabricated composite column has better overall seismic capacity compared to a conventional reinforced concrete column with seismic details.