• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.147-160
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• 2006

GA-based fuzzy optimum design algorithm incorporated with the refined plastic hinge analysis method is presented in this study. In the refined plastic hinge analysis method, geometric nonlinearity is considered by using the stability functions of the beam-column members. Material nonlinearity is also considered by using the gradual stiffness degradation model, which considers the effects of residual stresses, moment redistribution through the occurence of plastic hinges, and the geometric imperfections of the members. In the genetic algorithm, the tournament selection method and the total weight of the steel frames. The requirements of load-carrying capacity, serviceability, ductility, and constructabil ity are used as the constraint conditions. In fuzzy optimization, for crisp objective function and fuzzy constraint s, the tolerance that is accepted is 5% of the constraints. Furthermore, a level-cut method is presented from 0 to 1 at a 0 .2 interval, with the use of the nonmembership function, to solve fuzzy-optimization problems. The values of conventional GA optimization and fuzzy GA optimization are compared in several examples of steel structures.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2017

In the 1994 Northridge earthquake, connection damage initiated from the beam bottom flange was prevalent. The presence of a concrete slab and resulting composite action was speculated as one of the critical causes of the prevalent bottom flange fracture. In this study, four seismic retrofit schemes are proposed in order to salvage welded steel moment connections with composite floor slabs in existing steel moment frames. Because top flange modification of existing beams is not feasible due to the presence of a concrete floor slab, three schemes of bottom flange modification by using welded triangular or straight haunches or RBS(reduced beam section), and beam web strengthening by attaching heavy shear tab were cyclically tested and analyzed. Test results of this study show that haunch and web-strengthened specimens can eliminate the detrimental effect caused by composite action and ensure excellent connection plastic rotation exceeding 5% rad. Design recommendations for each retrofit scheme together with supplemental numerical studies are also presented.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.69-77
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• 2003

This paper presents test results on eight reduced beam section(RBS) steel moment connections. The testing program addressed bolted versus welded web connection and panel zone(PZ) strength as key variables, Specimens with medium PZ strength were designed to promote energy dissipation from both PZ and RBS regions such that the requirement for expensive doublet plates could be reduced. Both strong and medium PZ specimens with a welded web connection were able to provide satisfactory connection rotation capacity for special moment-resisting frames. On the other hand, specimens with a bolted web connection performed poorly due to premature brittle fracture of the beam flange of the weld access hole. If fracture within the beam flange groove weld was avoided using quality welding, the fracture tended to move into the beam flange base metal of the weld access hole. Plausible explanation of a higher incidence of base metal fracture in bolted web specimens was presented. The measured strain data confirmed that the classical beam theory dose not provide reliable shear transfer prediction in the connection. The practice of providing web bolts uniformly along the beam depth was brought into question. Criteria for a balanced PZ strength improves the plastic rotation capacity while reduces the amount of beam distortion ore also proposed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.817-827
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• 2008

The seismic performance of a column splice fabricated with PJP (partial joint penetration) welds for special moment frames was experimentally evaluated in this study. The steel materials that were used for the specimens included SHN490 and SN490 steel, or the newly developed structural steel for seismic application. Fabricating the column splice with PJP welds is highly attractive from the perspective of reducing the welding cost and the construction time. PJP welds in column splices are viewed apprehensively, however, because several tests have shown that PJP welds in thick members tend to become brittle under tensile loads. The column splices in this testing program were designed for the expected plastic moment of the column that current seismic codes typically require. The design strength of partial-penetration welded joints was determined according to the 2005 AISC-LRFD Specification. Three-point loading was applied monotonically, using a universal testing machine, such thatthe column splice joints were subjected to pure tension. The test results showed that the PJP welded splices, if designed properly, can develop a strength exceeding that of the actual plastic moment of the column. The specimen made of the SM490 rolled section, however, showed a brittle fracture at the splice soon after achieving the actual plastic moment of the column. The tensile coupon test results also showed that the material properties of SM490 steel are more unpredictable. Overall, although the test data are limited, the SHN490 and SN490 steel specimens showed a superior and reliable performance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.15-27
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• 2007

Over the past decade, labor costs have increased relative to the cost of material hardware according to analysts in the construction industry. Therefore, the minimum weight design, which has been widely adopted in the literature for the optimal design of steel structures, is no longer the most economical construction approach. Presently, although connection- related costs is crucial in determining the most cost-effective steel structures, most studies on this subject focused on minimum-weight design or engaged in higher analysis. Therefore, in this study, we proposed a fabrication scheme for the most cost-effective moment-resisting steel frame structures that resist lateral loads without compromising overall stability. The proposed approach considers the cost of steel products, fabrication, and connections within the design process. The optimal design considered construction realities, with the optimal trade-off between the number of moment connections and total cost was achieved by reducing the number of moment connections and rearranging them using the combination of analysis that includes shear, displacement and interaction value based on the LRFD code and optimization scheme based on genetic algorithms. In this study, we have shown the applicability and efficiency in the examples that considered actual loading conditions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.557-566
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• 2002

This paper summarized the results of a full-scale cyclic seismic testing on four reduced beam section (RBS) steel moment connections. Specifically, these tests addressed a bolted web versus a welded web connection and strong versus medium panel zone (PZ) strength as key test variables. Specimens with medium PZ strength were designed to promote balanced energy dissipation from both PZ and RBS regions, in order to reduce the requirement for expensive doubler plates. Both strong and medium PZ specimens with welded web connection were able to provide sufficient connection rotation capacity required of special moment-resisting frames. On the other hand, specimens with bolted web connection performed poorly due to premature brittle fracture of the beam flange at the weld access hole. Unlike the case of web-welded specimens, specimens with cheaper bolted web connection could not transfer the actual plastic moment of the original (or unreduced) beam section to the column. No fracture occurred within the beam groove welds of any connection in this testing program. If fracture within the beam flange groove weld is avoided by using quality welding procedure as in this study, the fracture issue tends to move into the beam flange base metal at the weld access hole. Supporting analytical study was also conducted in order to understand the observed base metal fracture from the engineering mechanics perspective.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.29 no.5 s.101
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• pp.389-394
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• 2005

The additional moment occurs because the superstructures of VLFS are influenced by wave loads instead of earthquake loads. In order to reduce the additional moment, this study used the semi-rigid connections which lie between fully rigid and pinned. If the semi-rigid connections are used for superstructures of VLFS, the moment of beams can be reduced and more economical construction will be possible. This study aims to show the effect of wave loads on structure and the efficiency of the semi-rigid connections due to wave loads by analyzing the time history responses. The dynamic behaviors of the rigid frame are compared with those of the semi-rigid frame considering of static loads, wave loads and combination loads for a four-bay, three-story frames. The semi-rigid connection type is a steel tubular column with square external-diaphragm connections and the time history analysis is used for the dynamic responses. The additional moment responses due to wave loads increase $33\%$ in the rigid frame, $26\%$ in the semi-rigid frame with the spring model.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.12 no.5 s.48
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• pp.527-535
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• 2000

Accurate determination of the relative restraint of beam-to-column connections is important for both the strength and the serviceability of structural frames. But steel frame analysis is carried out under the assumption that the connections are either fixed or pinned. Overestimating the connection restraint can result in underestimating lateral sway and underestimating the connection restraint can lead to underestimating forces developed in the beams and columns. This implies that the exact stiffness of connections as well as the geometric effects should be considered in the frame analysis and the overall behavior of connections could be described adequately. Therefore, the stiffness matrix which is able to consider the moment-rotation of connection was derived previously and the modified exponential model, power model and the proposed log model are adopted for modeling the semi-rigid connections. The main purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of the derived stiffness matrix and to show the validity of log model proposed.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.629-636
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• 2011

It has been suggested that buildings designed for strong ground motions will also have improved resistance to air blast loads. As an initial attempt to quantify this behavior, the responses of a ten story steel building, designed for the 1994 building code, with lateral resistance provided by perimeter moment frames, is considered. An analytical model of the building is developed and the magnitude and distribution of blast loads on the structure are estimated using available computer software that is based on empirical methods. To obtain the relationship between pressure, time duration, and standoff distance, these programs are used to obtain an accurate model of the air blast loading. A hemispherical surface burst for various explosive weights and standoff distances is considered for generating the air blast loading and determining the structural response. Linear and nonlinear analyses are conducted for these loadings. Air blast demands on the structure are compared to current seismic guidelines. These studies present the displacement responses, story drifts, demand/capacity ratio and inelastic demands for this structure.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.571-583
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• 2017

A kind of accordion-web RBS connection, "Tubular Web RBS (TW-RBS)" connection is proposed in this research. TW-RBS is made by replacing a part of web with a tube at the desirable location of the beam plastic hinge. This paper presents first a numerical study under cyclic load using ABAQUS finite element software. A test specimen is used for calibration and comparison of numerical results. Obtained results indicated that TW-RBS would reduce contribution of the beam web to the whole moment strength and creates a ductile fuse far from components of the beam-to-column connection. Besides, TW-RBS connection can increase story drift capacity up to 9% in the case of shallow beams which is much more than those stipulated by the current seismic codes. Furthermore, the tubular web like corrugated sheet can improve both the out-of-plane stiffness of the beam longitudinal axis and the flange stability condition due to the smaller width to thickness ratio of the beam flange in the plastic hinge region. Thus, the tubular web in the plastic hinge region improves lateral-torsional buckling stability of the beam as just local buckling of the beam flange at the center of the reduced section was observed during the tests. Also change of direction of strain in arc shape of the tubular web section is smaller than the accordion webs with sharp corners therefore the tubular web provides a better condition in terms of low-cycle fatigue than other accordion web with sharp corners.