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

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.303-310
• /
• 2017

The welded unreinforced flange-welded web(WUF-W) connection is an all-welded moment connection, which is qualified for special moment frame(SMF) connections. However, previous studies reported that some WUF-W connections did not meet the drift requirement specified for SMF connections and such unexpected connection performance was resulted from weld access hole geometry. The objective of this study is to determine the permissible ranges of major access hole parameters such as access hole slope and the length of flat portion that lead to the satisfactory performance of WUF-W connections using Nonlinear finite element analyses are conducted. This study also proposes simple empirical equations to check the validity of access hole parameters to be selected in design process.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.72-75
• /
• 2005

Recently, as the global warming by fossil fuels become social issues. the interest of renewable energy producing system is increasing rapidly. Among these, wind turbines are most highlighted because of its economic competitiveness. The tower occupying about $20\%$ of overall turbine costs, is one of the main components of wind turbine. Tower access door located to base part of the tower, is used to enter the tower. This is the main structural weak point because of door hole, weldment, etc. In this study, by FEM, we retrieved the maximum van Mises stress at door location and carried out fatigue analysis using stresses at weld toe locations of tower access door part.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2002.03a
• /
• pp.306-316
• /
• 2002

This paper summarizes the results of full-scale cyclic seismic testing on four RBS (reduced beam section) steel moment connections. Key test variables were web bolting vs. welding and strong vs. medium PZ (panel zone) strength. The specimen with medium PZ strength was specially designed to mobilize energy dissipation from both the PZ and RBS region in a balanced way; the aim was to reduce the requirement of expensive doubler plates. Both strong and medium PZ specimens with web-welding were able to provide sufficient connection rotation capacity required of special moment frames, whereas specimens with web-bolting showed inferior performance due to the premature brittle fracture of the beam flange across the weld access hole. In contrast to the case of web-welded specimens, the web-bolted specimens could not transfer the actual plastic moment of the original (or unreduced) beam section to the column. If a quality welding for the beam-to-column joint is made as in this study, the fracture-prone area tends to move into the beam flange base metal within the weld access hole. Analytical study was also conducted to understand the observed base metal fracture from the engineering mechanics point of view.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.271-280
• /
• 2010

This study was programmed to fabricate a beam-to-column connection that is limited to a steel-welded moment connection with full-scale members, using SN steel. A cyclic seismic test was conducted of the nine specimens that were fabricated by choosing the test variable for the weld access hole geometry, connection design method, and RBS. From the test results, failure modes, the moment-drift behavior, and the strain distribution were provided. From the specimen material properties, the beam's nominal plastic flexural capacity and classified qualified connection as a special moment flame were calculated. By analyzing the skeleton part and the baushinger part, a range of strength-raising effects, and deformation ratios were provided, with which the seismic performance of the specimens were evaluated. The test results showed that the specimens eliminated their weld access holes that demonstrated higher seismic performance than the specimens' existing weld access holes, and that the WUF-W connection that was reinforced by the supplemental fillet weld around the shear tap that was fastened by five bolts demonstrated superior seismic performance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.17 no.6 s.79
• /
• pp.689-697
• /
• 2005

Recent test results on reduced beam section (RBS) steel moment connections show that specimens with a bolted web connection tend to perform poorly due to premature brittle fracture of the beam flange at the weld access hole. A review of previous test results indicates that the higher incidence of base metal fracture in bolted-web specimens is related, at least in part, to the web bolt slippage and the high stress concentration at the weld access hole with the lowest material toughness. The practice of providing web bolts uniformly along the beam depth based on the classical beam theory is questioned in this paper. A new seismic design procedure, which is more consistent with the actual load path identified from the analytical and experimental studies, is proposed together with improved connection details. A test specimen designed following the proposed procedure exhibited a cyclic connection rotation capacity sufficient for special moment frames without fracture.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.513-523
• /
• 2015

In steel moment frames constructed of H-shapes, strong-axis moment connections should be used for maximum structural efficiency if possible. And most of cyclic seismic testing, domestic and international, has been conducted for strong-axis moment connections and cyclic test data for weak-axis connections is quite limited. However, when perpendicular moment frames meet, weak-axis moment connections are also needed at the intersecting locations. Especially, both strong- and weak-axis moment connections have been frequently used in domestic practice. In this study, cyclic seismic performance of RBS (reduced beam section) weak-axis welded moment connections was experimentally investigated. Test specimens, designed according to the procedure proposed by Gilton and Uang (2002), performed well and developed an excellent plastic rotation capacity of 0.03 rad or higher, although a simplified sizing procedure for attaching the beam web to the shear plate in the form of C-shaped fillet weld was used. The test results of this study showed that the sharp corner of C-shaped fillet weld tends to be the origin of crack propagation due to stress concentration there and needs to be trimmed for the better weld shape. Different from strong-axis moment connections, due to the presence of weld access hole, a kind of CJP butt joint is formed between the beam flange and the horizontal continuity plate in weak-axis moment connections. When weld access hole is large, this butt joint can experience cyclic local buckling and subsequent low cycle fatigue fracture as observed in this testing program. Thus the size of web access hole at the butt joint should be minimized if possible. The recommended seismic detailing such as stickout, trimming, and thicker continuity plate for construction tolerance should be followed for design and fabrication of weak-axis welded moment connections.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.69-77
• /
• 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
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.557-566
• /
• 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.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2006.06a
• /
• pp.304-307
• /
• 2006

Recently, as the global warming by fossil fuels and the steep rise of the oil price become social issues, the interest for renewable energy producing system is increasing rapidly. Among these, the wind turbine is most highlighted because of its economic competitiveness. The tower is one of the main components of wind turbine, which occupying about 20% of overall turbine costs. The tower access door located to base part of the tower, is used to enter the tower. This is the main structural weak points because of door hole, weldment, etc. And so are the weldments between the cans and the flanges. In this study, for the top flange part of the tower, by FEM using ANSYS, we retrieved the maximum von Mises stress on that and carried out fatigue analysis using stresses at such weak points.