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

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.7 no.5
• /
• pp.705-718
• /
• 2014

This paper presents an analytical model for determining the transverse reinforcement required for reinforced concrete exterior beam-column joints subjected to reversed cyclic loading. Although the joint aspect ratio can affect joint shear strength, current design codes do not consider its effects in calculating joint shear strength and the necessary amount of transverse reinforcement. This study re-evaluated previous exterior beam-column joint tests collected from 11 references and showed that the joint shear strength decreases as the joint aspect ratio increases. An analytical model was developed, to quantify the transverse reinforcement required to secure safe load flows in exterior beam-column joints. Comparisons with a database of exterior beam-column joint tests from published literature validated the model. The required sectional ratios of horizontal transverse reinforcement calculated by the proposed model were compared with those specified in ACI 352R-02. More transverse reinforcement is required as the joint aspect ratio increases, or as the ratio of vertical reinforcement decreases; however, ACI 352R-02 specifies a constant transverse reinforcement, regardless of the joint aspect ratio. This reevaluation of test data and the results of the analytical model demonstrate a need for new criteria that take the effects of joint aspect ratio into account in exterior joint design.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.303-317
• /
• 2006

The connection with combined cross diaphragm is developed for the connection of square CFT column and steel beam and proposed to be used for the frame with asymmetric span length. The structural characteristics of this connection lie in the penetration of the beam flange in the direction of major axis through the column for the smooth flow of stress. The purpose of this study is to analyze the dynamic behavior and stress flow of suggested connection and to evaluate the resistance to shock of connection. Four T-type CFT column-to-beam specimens; two with combined cross diaphragm and the others with interior and through diaphragms, the existing connection types, were made for cyclic load test guided by the load program of ANSI/AISC SSPEC 2002. The results show that the proposed connection is more efficient than existing ones in terms of strength, stress flow and energy absorption and satisfies the seismic performance required in the region of weak/moderate earthquakes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.1217-1238
• /
• 2016

Mega composite structure systems have been widely used in high rise buildings in China. Compared to other structures, this type of composite structure systems has a larger cross-section with less weight. Concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) laced column to box-beam connections are gaining popularity, in particular for the mega composite structure system in high rise buildings. To enable a better understanding of the destruction characteristics and aseismic performance of these connections, three different connection types of specimens including single-limb bracing, cross bracing and diaphragms for core area of connections were tested under low cyclic and reciprocating loading. Hysteresis curves and skeleton curves were obtained from cyclic loading tests under axial loading. Based on these tested curves, a new trilinear hysteretic restoring force model considering rigidity degradation is proposed for CFST laced column to box-beam connections in a mega composite structure system, including a trilinear skeleton model based on calculation, law of stiffness degradation and hysteresis rules. The trilinear hysteretic restoring force model is compared with the experimental results. The experimental data shows that the new hysteretic restoring force model tallies with the test curves well and can be referenced for elastic-plastic seismic analysis of CFST laced column to composite box-beam connection in a mega composite structure system.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2004

In this study, experimental research was carried out to improve earthquake-resistant performance for the retrofitting of reinforced concrete beam-column joints using carbon fiber materials in existing reinforced concrete building. Six reinforced concrete beam-column joints were constructed and tested to evaluate the retrofitting effect of test variables, such as the retrofitting materials and retrofitting region(plastic hinge, beam-column joint) under load reversals. Test results show that retrofitting specimen(RPC-CP2, RPC-CR, RJC-CP, RJC-CR), using new materials(carbon fiber plate, carbon fiber rod and carbon fiber sheet), designed by the improvement of earthquake-resistant performance and ductility, attained more load-carrying capacity and stable hysteretic behavior.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.177-191
• /
• 2017

In the present study, exterior beam column sub-assemblages are designed in accordance with the codal stipulations prevailed at different times prior to the introduction of modern seismic provisions, viz., i) Gravity load designed with straight bar anchorage (SP1), ii) Gravity load designed with compression anchorage (SP1-D), iii) designed for seismic load but not detailed for ductility (SP2), and iv) designed for seismic load and detailed for ductility (SP3). Comparative seismic performance of these exterior beam-column sub-assemblages are evaluated through experimental investigations carried out under repeated reverse cyclic loading. Seismic performance parameters like load-displacement hysteresis behavior, energy dissipation, strength and stiffness degradation, and joint shear deformation of the specimens are evaluated. It is found from the experimental studies that with the evolution of the design methods, from gravity load designed to non-ductile and then to ductile detailed specimens, a marked improvement in damage resilience is observed. The gravity load designed specimens SP1 and SP1-D respectively dissipated only one-tenth and one-sixth of the energy dissipated by SP3. The specimen SP3 showcased tremendous improvement in the energy dissipation capacity of nearly 2.56 times that of SP2. Irrespective of the level of design and detailing, energy dissipation is finally manifested through the damage in the joint region. The present study underlines the seismic deficiency of beam-column sub-assemblages of different design evolutions and highlights the need for their strengthening/retrofit to make them fit for seismic event.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.635-645
• /
• 2018

Beam-column joints play a significant role in static and dynamic performances of reinforced concrete frame structures. This study contributes a numerical approach of topologically optimal design of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) to retrofit existing beam-column connections with crack patterns. In recent, CFRP is used commonly in the rehabilitation and strengthening of concrete members due to the remarkable properties, such as lightweight, anti-corrosion and simplicity to execute construction. With the target to provide an optimal CFRP configuration to effectively retrofit the beam-column connection under semi-failure situation such as given cracks, extended finite element method (X-FEM) is used by combining with multi-material topology optimization (MTO) as a mechanical description approach for strong discontinuity state to mechanically model cracked structures. The well founded mathematical formulation of topology optimization problem for cracked structures by using multiple materials is described in detail in this study. In addition, moved and regularized Heaviside functions (MRHF), that have the role of a filter in multiple materials case, is also considered. The numerical example results illustrated in two cases of beam-column joints with stationary cracks verify the validity, benefit and supremacy of the proposed method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.87 no.1
• /
• pp.19-28
• /
• 2023

This paper describes the experimental investigation of steel pallet rack beam-to-column connec-tions. Total behavior of moment-rotation (M-φ) curve and the effect of particular characteristics on the behavior of connection were studied and the associated load strain relationship and corre-sponding failure modes are presented. In this respect, an estimation of SPRBCCs moment and rotation are highly recommended in early stages of design and construction. In this study, a new approach based on Support Vector Machines (SVMs) coupled with discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is designed and adapted to estimate SPRBCCs moment and rotation according to four input parameters (column thickness, depth of connector and load, beam depth,). Results of SVM-WAVELET model was compared with genetic programming (GP) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) models. Following the results, SVM-WAVELET algorithm is helpful in order to enhance the accuracy compared to GP and ANN. It was conclusively observed that application of SVM-WAVELET is especially promising as an alternative approach to estimate the SPRBCCs moment and rotation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.89 no.1
• /
• pp.77-91
• /
• 2024

During strong seismic events, inelastic shear deformation occurs in beam-column joints. To capture inelastic shear deformation, an analytical model for beam-column joint in reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures has been proposed in this study. The proposed model has been developed using a rotational spring and rigid links. The stiffness properties of the rotational spring element have been assigned in terms of a moment rotation curve developed from the shear stress-strain backbone curve. The inelastic rotation behavior of joint has been categorized in three stages viz. cracking, yielding and ultimate. The joint shear stress and strain values at these stages have been estimated using analytical models and experimental database respectively. The stiffness properties of joint rotational spring have been modified by incorporating a geometry factor based on dimensions of adjoining beam and column members. The hysteretic response of the joint rotational spring has been defined by a pivot hysteresis model. The response of the proposed analytical model has been verified initially at the component level and later at the structural level with the two actually tested RC frame structures. The proposed joint model effectively emulates the inelastic behavior precisely with the experimental results at component as well as at structural levels.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 1998.10a
• /
• pp.582-588
• /
• 1998

The experimental study for the interior beam-column joint for high strength conccrete using Belite cement is presented. Test parameters are compressive strength, flexual strength ratio and joint shear stresslevel. The results from cyclic loading tests show different behaviors from the various parameters. Also, The different behaviors on beam-column joint can be achived by the different concrete strength.