• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.483-491
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• 2008

There has been much focus on the strong axis steel moment connections after the Northridge earthquake in 1994. However, research studieson the seismic behavior of weak axis moment connections could be hardly found despite the fact that these connection details have been frequently used as seismic details of MRF in Korea. Therefore, the objective of this research is to provide better knowledge on the seismic behavior of weak-axis steel moment connections, which can be widely applicable to many structures with similar characteristics. For this purpose, an experimental program was designed and performed with twotypes of weak-axis steel moment connections, namely the bracket type and WUF-B type, based on the survey of existing field data and literatures. Using the experimental results obtained from the quasi-static cyclic testing of these specimens, structural performances of the joints such as hysteretic curves, maximum strength capacities and the strain of reinforced bars were investigated. From the test results, the bracket-type connection was shown to have more than a 5% story drift capacity, compared with the WUF-B type connection's 4%. These specimens were also shown to have higher strength capacities than the nominal design strength. The bracket-type connection showed a slow strength degradation after maximum strength was researched. However,the WUF-B type connection showed a rapid strength degradation that caused brittle behavior.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.71-84
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• 2003

The metallic shell of soil-steel structures are so weak in bending moment that it should sustain the applied load by the interaction of the backfill soil around the structures. The shell can be subjected to excessive bending moment during side backfilling or under live-load when the soil cover is less than the minimum value. The current design code specifies the allowable deformation and Duncan(1979) and McGrath et al.(2001) suggested the strength analysis methods to limit the moments by the plastic capacity of the shell. However, the allowable deformation is an empirically determined value and the strength analysis methods are based on the results of FE analysis, hence the experimental verification is necessary. In this study, the full-scale tests were conducted on the high-profile arch to investigate its behaviors during backfilling and under static live-loads. Based on the measurements, the allowable deformation of the tested structure could be estimated to be 1.45% of rise, which is smaller than the specified allowable deformation. The comparison between the measurements and the results of two strength analyses indicate that Duncan underestimates the earth-load moment and overestimates the live-load moment, while McGrath et al. predicts both values close to the actual values. However, as the predicted factors of safeties using two methods coincide with the actual factor of safety, it can be concluded that both methods can predict the structural stability under live-loads adequately when the cover is less than the minimum.