• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.217-243
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• 2016

The linear and nonlinear seismic responses of steel buildings with perimeter moment resisting frames and welded connections (WC) are estimated and compared with those of buildings with post-tensioned connections (PC). Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) structural representations of the buildings as well as global and local response parameters are considered. The seismic responses and structural damage of steel buildings with PC may be significantly smaller than those of the buildings with typical WC. The reasons for this are that the PC buildings dissipate more hysteretic energy and attract smaller inertia forces. The response reduction is larger for global than for local response parameters. The reduction may significantly vary from one structural representation to another. One of the main reasons for this is that the energy dissipation characteristics are quite different for the 2D and 3D models. In addition, in the case of the 3D models, the contribution of each horizontal component to the axial load on an specific column may be in phase each other during some intervals of time, but for some others they may be out of phase. It is not possible to observe this effect on the 2D structural formulation. The implication of this is that 3D structural representation should be used while estimating the effect of the PC on the structural response. Thus, steel frames with post-tensioned bolted connections are a viable option in high seismicity areas due to the fact that brittle failure is prevented and also because of their reduced response and self-centering capacity.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.545-556
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• 2019

Bridge piers with bending failure mode are seriously damaged only in the area of plastic hinge length in earthquakes. For this situation, a modified method for the layout of longitudinal reinforcement is presented, i.e., the number of longitudinal reinforcement is increased in the area of plastic hinge length at the bottom of piers. The quasi-static test of three scaled model piers is carried out to investigate the local longitudinal reinforcement at the bottom of the pier on the seismic performance of the pier. One of the piers is modified by increased longitudinal reinforcement at the bottom of the pier and the other two are comparative piers. The results show that the pier failure with increased longitudinal bars at the bottom is mainly concentrated at the bottom of the pier, and the vulnerable position does not transfer. The hysteretic loop curve of the pier is fuller. The bearing capacity and energy dissipation capacity is obviously improved. The bond-slip displacement between steel bar and concrete decreases slightly. The finite element simulations have been carried out by using ANSYS, and the results indicate that the seismic performance of piers with only increasing the number of steel bars (less than65%) in the plastic hinge zone can be basically equivalent to that of piers that the number of steel bars in all sections is the same as that in plastic hinge zone.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.315-329
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• 2020

Through bolt connections in Concrete Filled Steel Tubes (CFSTs) has been proved to be good in terms of seismic performance and constructability. Stiffened extended end plate connection with full through type bolt helps to avoid field weld altogether, and hence to improve the quality of joints. An experimental study was conducted on the hysteretic performance of square interior beam-column connections using flat extended end plates with through bolt. The study focuses on the effect of the bond between the tie rod and the core concrete on the cyclic performance of the joint. The study also quantifies how much the interior joint is getting strengthened due to the confinement effect induced by bi-directional bolting, which is widely used in 3D moment resisting frames. For a better understanding of the mechanism and for the prediction of shear capacity of the panel zone, a mathematical model was generated. The various parameters included in the model are the influence of axial load, amount of prestress induced by bolt tightening, anchorage, and the concrete strut action. The study investigates the strength, stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation characteristics. The results indicate that the seismic resistance is at par with American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) seismic recommendations. The bidirectional bolting and bond effect have got remarkable influence on the performance of joints.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.431-445
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• 2016

Seismic behavior of new composite structural system with a fabricated floor was studied. A two-bay and three-story structural model with the scale ratio of 1/4 was consequently designed. Based on the proposed model, multiple factors including energy dissipation capacity, stiffness degradation and deformation performance were analyzed through equivalent single degree of freedom pseudo-dynamic test with different earthquake levels. The results show that, structural integrity as well as the effective transmission of the horizontal force can be ensured by additional X bracing at the bottom of the rigidity of the floor without concrete topping. It is proved that the cast-in-place floor in areas with high seismic intensity can be replaced by the prefabricated floor without pouring surface layer. The results provide a reliable theoretical basis for the seismic design of the similar structural systems in engineering application.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.73-91
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• 2016

The use of box columns has been increased due to the rigidity in rigid orthogonal moment resisting frames. On the other hand, the installation and welding of necessary horizontal continuity plates inside the columns are both labor-consuming and costly tasks. Accordingly, in this paper, a new beam-to-box column connection by trapezoidal external stiffeners and horizontal bar mats is presented to provide seismic parameters. The proposed connection consists of eight external stiffeners in the level of beam flanges and five horizontal bar mats in Concrete Filled Tube (CFT) columns. The new connection effectively alleviates the stress concentration and moves the plastic hinge away from the column face by horizontal external stiffeners. In addition, the result shows that proposed connection has provided the required strength and rigidity of connection, so that the increased strength, 8.08% and rigidity, 3.01% are compared to connection with internal continuity plates, also the results indicate that this connection can offer appropriate ductility and energy dissipation capacity for its potential application in moment resisting frames in seismic region. As a result, the proposed connection can be a good alternative for connection with continuity plates.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 2019

This study introduces new connections that connect the beam to the column with slit dampers. Plastic deformations and damages concentrate on slit dampers. The slit dampers prevent plastic damages of column, beam, welds and panel zone and act as fuses. The slit dampers were prepared with IPE profiles that had some holes in the webs. In this paper, two experimental specimens were made. In first specimen (SDC1), just one slit damper connected the beam to the column and one IPE profile with no holes connected the bottom flange of the beam to the column. The second specimen (SDC2) had two similar dampers which connected the top and bottom flange of the beam to the column. Cyclic loading was applied on Specimens. The cyclic displacements conditions continued until 0.06 radian rotation of connection. The experimental observations showed that the bending moment of specimen SDC2 increased until 0.04 story drift. In specimen SDC1, the bending moment decreases after 0.03 story drift. Test results indicate the high performance of the proposed connection. Based on the results, the specimen with two slit damper (SDC2) has higher seismic performance and dissipates more energy in loading process than specimen SDC1. Theoretical formulas were extended for the proposed connections. Numerical studies have been done by ABAQUS software. The theoretical and numerical results had good agreements with the experimental data. Based on the experimental and numerical investigations, the high ductility of connection is obtained from plastic damages of slit dampers. The most flexural moment of specimen SDC1 occurred at 3% story drift and this value was 1.4 times the plastic moment of the beam section. This parameter for SDC2 was 1.73 times the plastic moment of the beam section and occurred at 4% story drift. The dissipated energy ratio of SDC2 to SDC1 is equal to 1.51.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.269-280
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• 2017

In this study, seismic performance was evaluated for the exposed column-base plate weak-axis connections of small size steel structures through cyclic loading tests. The primary test parameters are the thickness of base plate, the presence of rib plates, the number of anchor bolts and embedment length of anchor bolts. To investigate the effect of bond performance of anchor bolts on the seismic performance of column-base plate connections, L-shaped round bars and thread bars were used as the hooked anchor bolts in the test specimens. Test results showed that bond performance of anchor bolts and the thickness of base plate significantly affect the structural performance and energy dissipation capacity. In particular, it was found that even if the requirements for minimum thickness of the base plate that is satisfied, the base plate can yield before the capacity of steel column reaches the plastic moment resulting in decreasing the structural performance of the connections. However, the proposed details of the connections might be considered as the partially restrained, that is semi-rigid connections. Consequently, the L-shaped thread anchor bolts is applicable in the exposed column-base plate weak-axis connections of small-size steel structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.275-283
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• 2018

Seismic strengthening is essential for existing bridge piers which are deficient to resist the earthquake. The concrete and CFRP jackets with a bottom-anchoring method are used to strengthen railway bridge piers with low reinforcement ratio. Quasi-static tests of scaled down model piers are performed to evaluate the seismic performance of the original and strengthened bridge pier. The fracture characteristics indicate that the vulnerable position of the railway bridge pier with low reinforcement ratio during earthquake is the pier-footing region and shows flexural failure mode. The force-displacement relationships show that the two strengthening techniques using CFRP and concrete jackets can both provide a significant improvement in load-carrying capacity for railway bridge piers with low reinforcement ratio. It is clear that the bottom-anchoring method by using planted steel bars can guarantee the CFRP and concrete jackets to work jointly with original concrete piers Furthermore, it can be found that the use of CFRP jacket offers advantages over concrete jacket in improving the energy dissipation capacity under lateral cyclic loading. Therefore, the seismic strengthening techniques by the use of CFRP and concrete jackets provide alternative choices for the large numbers of existing railway bridge piers with low reinforcement ratio in China.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.677-689
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• 2020

A building structural system of moment resisting frame (MRF) with concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) columns and wide flange H beams, is one of the most conveniently constructed structural systems. However, there were few studies on evaluating seismic performance of full-scale CFST columns under high axial compression. In addition, some existing famous design codes propose various limits of width-to-thickness ratio (B/t) for steel tubes of the ductile CFST composite members. This study was intended to investigate the seismic behavior of CFST columns under high axial load compression. Four full-scale square CFST column specimens with a B/t of 42 were carried out that were subjected to horizontal cyclic-reversal loads combined with constantly light, medium and high axial loads and with a linearly varied axial load, respectively. Test results revealed that shear strength and deformation capacity of the columns significantly decreased when the axial compression exceeded 0.35 times the nominal compression strength of a CFST column, P₀. It was obvious that the higher the axial compression, the lower both the shear strength and deformation capacities were, and the earlier and faster the shear strength degradation occurred. It was found as well that higher axial compressions resulted in larger initial lateral stiffness and faster degradation of post-yield lateral stiffness. Meanwhile, the lower axial compressions led to better energy dissipation capacities with larger cumulative energy. Moreover, the study implied that under axial compressions greater than 0.35P₀, the CFST column specimens with B/t limits recommended by AISC 360 (2016), ACI 318 (2014), AIJ (2008) and EC4 (2004) codes do not provide ultimate interstory drift ratio of more than 3% radian, and only the limit in ACI 318 (2014) code satisfies this requirement when axial compression does not exceed 0.35P₀.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.77-85
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• 2018

A through diaphragm is often used to ensure their stiffness for moment-resisting connections using rectangular steel-tube column and H-shaped beam. The through-diaphragm connections, however, have some difficulties for their applicabilities to the field due to the complexity of the fabrication and construction processes. This study thus proposes a new modular system of steel structures assembled only using bolts without welding, by bringing a connection module composed of rectangular steel-tube column, H-shaped beam and oneway bolt onto the site. An experimental study to evaluate the seismic performance of the proposed connection details based on the new modular system is then conducted. The length and type of the inner reinforcement plate are considered as the primary design parameters, and the strength, stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation capability of the new connections are experimentally analyzed by comparison to those of conventional through diaphragm connections.