• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.645-669
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• 2004

In seismic analysis of moment-resisting frames, beam-column connections are often modeled with rigid joint zones. However, it has been demonstrated that, in ductile reinforced concrete (RC) moment-resisting frames designed based on current codes (to say nothing of older non-ductile frames), the joint zones are in fact not rigid, but rather undergo significant shear deformations that contribute greatly to global drift. Therefore, the "rigid joint" assumption may result in misinterpretation of the global performance characteristics of frames and could consequently lead to miscalculation of strength and ductility demands on constituent frame members. The primary objective of this paper is to propose a rational method for estimating the hysteretic joint shear behavior of RC connections and for incorporating this behavior into frame analysis. The authors tested four RC edge beam-column-slab connection subassemblies subjected to earthquake-type lateral loading; hysteretic joint shear behavior is investigated based on these tests and other laboratory tests reported in the literature. An analytical scheme employing the modified compression field theory (MCFT) is developed to approximate joint shear stress vs. joint shear strain response. A connection model capable of explicitly considering hysteretic joint shear behavior is then formulated for nonlinear structural analysis. In the model, a joint is represented by rigid elements located along the joint edges and nonlinear rotational springs embedded in one of the four hinges linking adjacent rigid elements. The connection model is able to well represent the experimental hysteretic joint shear behavior and overall load-displacement response of connection subassemblies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.8 no.4 s.29
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• pp.121-131
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• 1996

Semi-rigid frames are frames for whcih the connections joining the beam and column are neither fully rigid nor perfectly pinned. In reality, all steel frames are semi-rigid in nature as all connections exhibit a certain degree of flexibility under loads. For semi-rigid frmaed structures, it is tended to reduce more rigidity of the member for the nonlinear behavior of connections and the P-delta effects of framed structure. To predict the actual behavior of semi-rigid steel frames, a more realistic analysis methods which explicitly takes into account the effect of connection flexibility should be used. In this research, the effect of connection flexibility in the semi-rigid structure has been investigated. To predict the response of flexibility connected frames, the algorithm of semi-rigid steel frame is developed using connection model having nonlinear spring on end of beam.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.45-52
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• 2023

Modular construction is an economical and efficient construction that reduces time and costs by manufacturing units in factories and constructing them on site. Currently, the demand for modular construction is increasing not only abroad but also domestically. As the demand for modular construction increases, a lot of development and research on connections between modular units are being conducted. Connections between modular units should be quick and simple to assemble when assembling units on site, and should be in a form that allows each unit to be connected regardless of direction. In addition, it must be able to exert sufficient strength against external loads. In this study, a connection between modular units using connecting steel plates and bolts was proposed, and the nonlinear behavior of the connection to external lateral force was analyzed through finite element analysis, and resistance performance was evaluated.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.503-513
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• 2007

The seismic responses of a building are affected by the connection characteristics that have effects on structural stiffness. In this study, push-over analysis and time history analysis were performed to estimate structural behavior of 2D eight-story unbraced steel structures with partially restrained composite connections using a nonlinear dynamic analysis program. Nonlinear $M-{\theta}$characteristics of connection and material inelastic characteristics of composite beam and steel column were considered. The idealization of composite semi-rigid connection as fully rigid connection yielded an increase in initial stiffness and ultimate strength in the push-over analysis. In time history analysis, the stiffness and hysteretic behavior of connections have effects on base-shear force, maximum story-drift and maximum moment in beams and columns. For seismic waves with PGA of 0.4 g, the structure with the semi-rigid composite connections shows the maximum story-drift with less than the life safety criteria by FEMA 273 and no inelastic behavior of beam and column, whereas in the structure with rigid connections, beams and columns have experienced inelastic behaviors.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.23-40
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• 2014

In this article, using finite element method of analysis (FEM), behavior of the endplate moment connection subjected to axial force and bending moment is investigated. In the FEM model, all the nonlinear characteristics such as material, geometry, as well as contact have been included. First, in order to verify the numerical model of the connection, an analysis of the endplate moment connection conducted without the application of the axial force. Results obtained from FEM indicating a close and good correlation with the experimental results. Then to investigate the influence of the axial forces, the connections subjected to axial forces as well as the bending moment are analyzed. To observe the overall effect of these actions, the momentaxial force interaction diagrams are drawn. It is observed that the presence of axial force even in a small value can change the behavior of the connection significantly. It is also shown that the axial forces can alter the failure mode of the connection; and therefore it could result in a different than the predicted moment capacity of the connection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1405-1421
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• 2015

Semi-rigid connections are the actual behavior of beam-to-column connections in steel frames. However, the behavior of semi-rigid connections is not taken into account for the simplicity in the conventional analysis and design of steel frames. A computer-based analysis and design has been studied for the three-dimensional steel frames with semi-rigid connections. The nonlinear analysis which includes the effects of the flexibility of connections is used for this study. It is designed according to the buckling and combined stress constraints under the present loading after the joint deformations and the member end forces of the space frame are determined by the stiffness matrix method. The semi-rigid connection type is limited to the top and bottom angles with a double web angle connection. The Frye-Morris polynomial model is used to describe the non-linear behavior of semi-rigid connections. Various design examples are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the method. The results of design and analysis of unbraced semi-rigid frames are compared to the results of unbraced rigid frames under the same design requirements.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.185-196
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• 2019

One of the shortcomings of seismic bridge design codes is the lack of clarity in defining the role of different seismic isolation systems with linear or nonlinear behavior in terms of R-factor. For example, based on AASHTO guide specifications for seismic isolation design, R-factor for all substructure elements of isolated bridges should be half of those expressed in the AASHTO standard specifications for highway bridges (i.e., R=3 for single columns and R=5 for multiple column bent) but not less than 1.50. However, no distinction is made between two commonly used types of seismic isolation devices, i.e., elastomeric rubber bearing (ERB) with linear behavior, and lead rubber bearing (LRB) with nonlinear behavior. In this paper, five existing bridges located in Iran with two types of deck-pier connection including ERB and LRB isolators, and two bridge models with monolithic deck-pier connection are developed and their R-factor values are assessed based on the Uang's method. The average R-factors for the bridges with ERB isolators are calculated as 3.89 and 4.91 in the longitudinal and transverse directions, respectively, which are not in consonance with the AASHTO guide specifications for seismic isolation design (i.e., R=3/2=1.5 for the longitudinal direction and R=5/2=2.5 for the transverse direction). This is a clear indicator that the code-prescribed R-factors are conservative for typical bridges with ERB isolators. Also for the bridges with LRB isolators, the average computed R-factors equal 1.652 and 2.232 in the longitudinal and transverse directions, respectively, which are in a good agreement with the code-specified R-factor values. Moreover, in the bridges with monolithic deck-pier connection, the average R-factor in the longitudinal direction is obtained as 2.92 which is close to the specified R-factor in the bridge design codes (i.e., 3), and in the transverse direction is obtained as 2.41 which is about half of the corresponding R-factor value in the specifications (i.e., 5).

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.767-778
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate how a fully restrained bolted beam splice affects the connection behavior as a column-tree connection in steel special moment frames under cyclic loading when located within the plastic hinge zone. The impacts of this attachment in protected zone are observed by using nonlinear finite element analyses. This type of splice connection is designed as slip-critical connection and thereby, the possible effects of slippage of the bolts due to a possible loss of pretension in the bolts are also investigated. The 3D models with solid elements that have been developed includes three types of connections which are the connection having fully restrained beam splice located in the plastic hinge location, the connection having fully restrained beam splice located out of the plastic hinge and the connection without beam splice. All connection models satisfied the requirement for the special moment frame connections providing sufficient flexural resistance, determined at column face stated in AISC 341-16. In the connection model having fully restrained beam splice located in the plastic hinge, due to the pretension loss in the bolts, the friction force on the contact surfaces is exceeded, resulting in a relative slip. The reduction in the energy dissipation capacity of the connection is observed to be insignificant. The possibility of the crack occurrence around the bolt holes closest to the column face is found to be higher for the splice connection within the protected zone.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2020

This study proposes a new damper configuration for seismic performance improvement of heavy sliding facilities inside a building. For this purpose, we deal with two connection types of control system, and the parametric study has been performed to investigate their comparative seismic performances according to the variations of the control capacity. In order to simulate the seismic responses of the proposed system, we employed a recently-developed seismic response analysis method that can deal with the two-mass system with nonlinear frictional sliding behavior. The numerical results demonstrate that the typical method of diagonal bracing damper connection can exhibit effective control performance both on structure and the heavy sliding facilities, whereas the structure-facilities connection method does not show any control effect on both responses. On the other hand, the typical method has some limitations that it can adversely cause excessive sliding of the facilities, depending upon the frequency characteristics of structure and earthquake. On the contrary, the structure-facilities connection method is very effective in reducing the sliding displacement of the heavy facilities, even with small amount of control capacity. Thus, the following potential expectations can be inferred from these results: The typical diagonal bracing damper connection method will have some promising benefits in controlling the sliding facilities inside the building as well as the building itself, and the structure-facilities connection method can be a cost-effective way of protecting the internal heavy important facilities inside the structure already designed with sufficient seismic performance.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.625-641
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• 2020

The realistic modeling of the beam-column semi-rigid connection in steel frames attracted the attention of many researchers in the past for the seismic analysis of semi-rigid frames. Comparatively less studies have been made to investigate the behavior of steel frames with semi-rigid connections under different types of earthquake. Herein, the seismic behavior of semi-rigid steel frames is investigated under both far and near-field earthquakes. The semi-rigid connection is modeled by the multilinear plastic link element consisting of rotational springs. The kinematic hysteresis model is used to define the dynamic behavior of the rotational spring, describing the nonlinearity of the semi-rigid connection as defined in SAP2000. The nonlinear time history analysis (NTHA) is performed to obtain response time histories of the frame under scaled earthquakes at three PGA levels denoting the low, medium and high-level earthquakes. The other important parameters varied are the stiffness and strength parameters of the connections, defining the degree of semi-rigidity. For studying the behavior of the semi-rigid frame, a large number of seismic demand parameters are considered. The benchmark for comparison is taken as those of the corresponding rigid frame. Two different frames, namely, a five-story frame and a ten-story frame are considered as the numerical examples. It is shown that semi-rigid frames prove to be effective and beneficial in resisting the seismic forces for near-field earthquakes (PGA ≈ 0.2g), especially in reducing the base shear to a considerable extent for the moderate level of earthquake. Further, the semi-rigid frame with a relatively weaker beam and less connection stiffness may withstand a moderately strong earthquake without having much damage in the beams.