• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.303-315
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• 2004

Frame composed of concrete-filled steel tubular columns and I-shaped steel beam has been researched in order to development reasonable connection details. The present paper describes the results of an experimental program in four different connection details. The connection details considered include through-bolt between I-shaped steel beams and concrete-filled steel tubular columns and two details of welded connections. One of the welded connection details is stiffened by angles welded in the interior of the profile wall at the beam flange level. The specimens were tested in a cruciform loading arrangement with variable monotonic loading on the beams and constant compressive load on the column. For through-bolt details, the contribution of friction and bearing were investigated by embedding some of the bolts in the concrete. The results of the tests show that through-bolt connection details are very ductility and the bearing is not important to the behavior of these moment connections. The angles welded in the interior of the profile wall increase the strength and stiffness of the welded connection detail. In addition, the behavior curves of these connections are compared and some interesting conclusions are drawn. The results are summarized for the strength and stiffness of each connection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.357-377
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• 2013

In order to study the degradation and damage behaviors of steel frame welded connections, two series of tests in references with different connection constructions were carried out subjected to various cyclic loading patterns. Hysteretic curves, degradation and damage behaviours and fatigue properties of specimens were firstly studied. Typical failure modes and probable damage reasons were discussed. Then, various damage index models with variables of dissipative energy, cumulative displacement and combined energy and displacement were summarized and applied for all experimental specimens. The damage developing curves of ten damage index models for each connection were obtained. Finally, the predicted and evaluated capacities of damage index models were compared in order to describe the degraded performance and failure modes. The characteristics of each damage index model were discussed in depth, and then their distributive laws were summarized. The tests and analysis results showed that the loading histories significantly affected the distributive shapes of damage index models. Different models had their own ranges of application. The selected parameters of damage index models had great effect on the developing trends of damage curves. The model with only displacement variable was recommended because of a more simple form and no integral calculation, which was easier to be formulated and embedded in application programs.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.33-46
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• 1999

In spite of 6.8 magnitude and the neighborhood of the epicenter, the steel moment frame survived after Northridge earthquake without collapse or casualties. However, following investigation revealed that there were severe damages at the column-weld interface of welded flange-bolted web (WFBW) steel moment connection, which was believed to be economic and safe from earthquakes based on experience and past tests. In this paper, this unexpected brittle fracture of the steel moment connection is explored using linear elastic fracture mechanics and post-Northridge tests. A method to predict the brittle fracture strength of the steel moment connection is proposed. Using this method, the failure mode of the WFBW connection and reduced beam section (RBS) connection are presented.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1403-1419
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• 2015

When precast concrete infill panels are connected to steel frames at discrete locations, interaction at the structural interface is neither complete nor absent. The contribution of precast concrete infill panels to the lateral stiffness and strength of steel frames can be significant depending on the quality, quantity and location of the discrete interface connections. This paper presents preliminary experimental and finite element results of an investigation into the composite behaviour of a square steel frame with a precast concrete infill panel subject to lateral loading. The panel is connected at the corners to the ends of the top and bottom beams. The Frame-to-Panel-Connection, FPC4 between steel beam and concrete panel consists of two parts. A T-section with five achor bars welded to the top of the flange is cast in at the panel corner at a forty five degree angle. The triangularly shaped web of the T-section is reinforced against local buckling with a stiffener plate. The second part consists of a triangular gusset plate which is welded to the beam flange. Two bolts acting in shear connect the gusset plate to the web of the T-section. This way the connection can act in tension or compression. Experimental pull-out tests on individual connections allowed their load deflection characteristics to be established. A full scale experiment was performed on a one-storey one-bay 3 by 3 m infilled frame structure which was horizontally loaded at the top. With the characteristics of the frame-to-panel connections obtained from the experiments on individual connections, finite element analyses were performed on the infilled frame structures taking geometric and material non-linear behaviour of the structural components into account. The finite element model yields reasonably accurate results. This allows the model to be used for further parametric studies.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.443-456
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• 2019

Although numerous researchers demonstrated the significant difference in performance between the various beam-to-column connection types, most of the previous studies in the area of infilled steel frames focused on the behaviour of frames with welded connections. Therefore, there is a need for conducting studies on infilled steel frames with other common connection types (extended endplate with and without rib stiffeners, flush endplate and shear connections). In this paper, firstly, a two-dimensional finite-element model simulating the cyclic response of infilled steel frames was presented. The infill-frame interaction, as well as the interactions between connections' components, were properly modelled. Using the previously-validated model, a parametric study on infilled steel frames with five different beam-to-column connection types, under cyclic loading, was carried out. Several parameters, including infill material, fracture energy of masonry and infill thickness, were investigated. The results showed that the infilled frames with welded connections had the highest initial stiffness and load-carrying capacity. However, the infilled frames with extended endplate connections (without rib stiffeners) showed the greatest energy dissipation capacity and about 96% of the load-carrying capacity of frames with welded connections which indicates that this type of connection could have the best performance among the studied connection types. Finally, a simplified analytical model for estimating the stiffness and strength of infilled steel frames (with different beam-to-column connection types) subjected to lateral cyclic loading, was suggested.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.449-455
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• 2017

Using X-braced frames in steel structures is a current procedure to achieve good strength against lateral loads. Study on mid-connections of X-braces and their effects on frame behavior is a subject whose importance has been more or less disregarded by researchers. Experimentally inspecting models involves considerable expense and time; however, computer models can be more suitable substitutes. In this research, a numerical model of X-braced frame has been analyzed using finite element software. The results of pushover analysis of this frame are compared with those of the experimental test. With the help of computer model, the effects of different mid-connection details on ductility and lateral strength of the frame are inspected. Also performances of bolted and welded connections are compared. Taking into account ductility and strength, this study suggests details of a decent pattern for the mid-connection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.251-271
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• 2011

To make direct comparisons regarding the cyclic behavior of thin steel plate shear walls (TSPSWs) with different infill-to-boundary frame connections, two TSPSWs were tested under quasi-static conditions, one having the infill plate attached to the boundary frame members on all edges and the other having the infill plate connected only to the beams. Also, the bare frame that was used in the TSPSW specimens was tested to provide data for the calibration of numerical models. The connection of infill plates to surrounding frames was achieved through the use of self-drilling screws to fish plates that were welded to the frame members. The behavior of TSPSW specimens are compared and discussed with emphasis on the characteristics important in seismic response, including the initial stiffness, ultimate strength and deformation modes observed during the tests. It is shown that TSPSW specimens achieve significant ductility and energy dissipation while the ultimate failure mode resulted from infill plate fracture at the net section of the infill plate-to-boundary frame connection after substantial infill plate yielding. Experimental results are compared to monotonic pushover predictions from computer analysis using strip models and the models are found to be capable of approximating the monotonic behavior of the TSPSW specimens.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.851-865
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• 2014

Full penetration welded steel moment-resisting frame (SMRF) structures with welded box sections are widely employed in steel bridges, where a large number of steel bridges have been in operation for over fifty years in Japan. Welding defects such as incomplete penetration at the beam-column connections of these existing SMRF steel bridge piers were observed during inspection. Previous experiments conducted by the authors' team indicate that gusset stiffeners (termed fillets in this study) at the beam-web-to-column-web joint of the beam-column connections may play an important role on the seismic performance of the connections. This paper aims to experimentally study the effect of the fillet radius on seismic performance of the connections with large welding defects. Four specimens with different sizes of fillet radii were loaded under quasi-static incremental cyclic loading, where different load-displacement relations and cracking behaviors were observed. The experimental results show that, as the size of the fillet radius increases, the seismic performance of the connections can be greatly improved.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.21-28
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• 2012

Welded Unreinforced Flange-Welded Web (WUF-W) connection is one of Special Moment Frame (SMF) specified in ANSI/AISC-358. From the experimental test of WUF-W connection specimens conducted by the previous study, fracture occurred in the beam flange before achieving total inter-story drift angle of 0.04radian required for Special Moment Frames (SMF) system even though the specimens satisfied the design and detailing requirement specified in ANSI/AISC-358. These results are estimated as problem of the access hole geometry. In this study, a full-scale WUF-W connection specimen was made with a modified access hole geometry, and tested with the same test setting and loading as the previous test. From test results, the deformation capacity of the tested WUF-W connection specimen exceeded 4%, which is required for connections in SMF system. Comparing with the WUF-W specimens of the previous study, the strain demand of the beam flange in the tested specimen was decreased and energy dissipation capacity of the specimen was improved.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.103-119
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• 2024

In this paper, the non-linear behavior of masonry-infill and bare steel frames using different beam-column connections under monotonic static loading was investigated through a parametric study. Numerical models were carried out using one- and two-dimensional modelling to validate the experimental results. After validating the experimental results by using these models, a parametric study was carried out to model the behavior of these frames using flushed, extended, and welded connections. The results showed that using the welded or extended connection is more efficient than using the flushed type in masonry-infilled steel frames, since the lateral capacities, initial stiffness, and toughness have been increased by 155%, 601%, and 165%, respectively in the case of using welded connections compared with those used in bare frames. The FE investigation was broadened to study the influence of the variation of the uniaxial column loads on the lateral capacities of the bare/infill steel frames. As the results showed when increasing the amount of uniaxial loading on the columns, whether in tension or compression, causes the lateral load capacity of the columns to decrease by 26% for welded infilled steel frames. Finally, the influence of using different types of beam-to-column connections on the vertical capacities of the bare/infill steel frames under settlement effect was also studied. As a result, it was found that, the vertical load capacity of all types of frames and with using any type of connections is severely reduced, and this decrease may reach 62% for welded infilled frames. Furthermore, the flushed masonry-infilled steel frame has a higher resistance to the vertical loads than the flushed bare steel frame by 133%.