• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.73-89
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• 2016

The seismic performance of moment frames could vary according to the rotation capacity of their connections. The minimum rotation capacity of moment connections for steel intermediate moment frames (IMF) was defined as 0.02 radian in AISC 341-10. This study evaluated the seismic performance of IMF frames with connections having a rotation capacity of 0.02 radian. For this purpose, thirty IMFs were designed according to current seismic design provisions considering different design parameters such as the number of stories, span length, and seismic design categories. The procedure specified in FEMA P695 was used for conducting seismic performance evaluation. It was observed that the rotation capacity of 0.02 radian could not guarantee the satisfactory seismic performance of IMFs. This study also conducted seismic performance evaluation for IMFs with connections having the rotation capacity of 3% and ductile connections for proposing the minimum rotation capacity of IMF connections.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.221-231
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cyclic behavior of steel column-tree moment connections used in steel moment resisting frames. These connections are composed of shop-welded stub beam-to-column connection and field bolted beam-to-beam splice. In this study, the effects of beam splice length on the seismic performance of column-tree connections were experimentally investigated. The change of the beam splice location alters the bending moment and shear force at the splice, and this may affect the seismic performance of column-tree connections. Three full-scale test specimens of column-tree connections with the splice lengths of 900 mm, 1,100 mm, and 1,300 mm were fabricated and tested. The splice lengths were roughly 1/6, 1/7, 1/8 of the beam span length of 7,500 mm, respectively. The test results showed that all the specimens successfully developed ductile behavior without brittle fracture until 5% radians story drift angle. The maximum moment resisting capacity of the specimens showed little differences. The specimen with the splice length of 1,300 mm showed better bolt slip resistance than the other specimens due to the smallest bending moment at the beam splice.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.507-518
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• 2013

The seismic performance of six types of weak-axis steel moment connections was investigated through cyclic testing of six full-scale specimens. These weak-axis moment connections were the column-tree type, WUF-B type, FF-W type, WFP type, BFP-B type and DST type weak-axis connections. The testing results showed that each of these weak-axis connection types achieved excellent seismic performance, except the WFP and the WUF-B types. The WFP and WUF-B connections displayed poor seismic performance because a fracture appeared prematurely at the weld joint due to stress concentrations. The column-tree type connection showed the best seismic behavior such that the story drift ratio could reach 5%.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2015

The rotation capacity of the moment connections could significantly influence on the seismic performance of steel moment resisting frames. Current seismic provisions require that beam-to-column connections in Intermediate Moment Frames (IMF) should have a drift capacity as large as 0.02 radian. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the rotation capacity of moment connections on the seismic performance of high-rise IMFs. For this purpose, thirty- and forty-story high-rise IMFs were designed according to the current seismic design provisions. The seismic performance of designed model frames was evaluated according to FEMA P695. This study showed that the forty-story IMF satisfied the seismic performance objective specified in FEMA P695 when the rotation capacity of the connections was larger than 0.02. However, thirty-story IMFs satisfied the performance objective when the connection rotation capacity is larger than 0.03.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.467-484
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• 2015

Seismic performances of dual steel moment-resisting frames with mixed use of rigid and semi-rigid connections were investigated to control of the base shear, story drifts and the ductility demand of the elements. To this end, nonlinear seismic responses of three groups of frames with three, eight and fifteen story were evaluated. These frames with rigid, semi-rigid and combined configuration of rigid and semi-rigid connections were analyzed under five earthquake records and their responses were compared in ultimate limit state of rigid frame. This study showed that in all frames, it could be found a state of semi-rigidity and connections configuration which behaved better than rigid frame, with consideration of the base shear and story drifts criterion. Finally, some criteria were suggested to locate the best place of the semi-rigid connections for improvement of the seismic performance of steel moment-resisting frames.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1215-1237
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• 2015

The majority of connections in moment resisting frames are considered as being fully-rigid. Consequently, the real behavior of the connection, which has some level of flexibility, is ignored. This may result in inaccurate predictions of structural response. This study investigates the influence of flexibility of the extended end-plate connections in the steel moment frames. This is done at two levels. First, the actual micro-behavior of extended end-plate moment connections is explored with respect to joint flexibility. Then, the macro-behavior of frames with end-plate moment connections is investigated using modal, nonlinear static pushover and incremental dynamic analyses. In all models, the P-Delta effects along with material and geometrical nonlinearities were included in the analyses. Results revealed considerable differences between the behavior of the structural frame with connections modeled as fully-rigid versus those when flexibility was incorporated, specifically difference occurred in the natural periods, strength, and maximum inter-story drift angle.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.35-50
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• 2002

A series of tests on simple-welded plate specimens (SWPS) and T-stub tension specimens simulating some of the joint details in moment frame connections were conducted in this investigation. The effects of weld strength mismatch and weld metal toughness on structural behavior of these specimens were considered under both static and dynamic loading conditions. Finite element analyses were performed by taking into account typical weld residual stress distributions and weld metal strength mismatch conditions to facilitate the interpretation of the test results. The major findings are as follows: (a) Sufficient specimen size requirements are essential in simulating both load transfer and constraint conditions that are relevant to moment frame connections, (b) Weld residual stresses can significantly elevate stress triaxiality in addition to structural constraint effects, both of which can significantly reduce the plastic deformation capacity in moment frame connections, (c) Based on the test results, dynamic loading within a loading rate of 0.02 in/in/sec, as used in this study, premature brittle fractures were not seen, although a significant elevation of the yield strength can be clearly observed. However, brittle fracture features can be clearly identified in T-stub specimens in which severe constraint effects (stress triaxiality) are considered as the primary cause, (d) Based on both the test and FEA results, T-stub specimens provide a reasonable representation of the joint conditions in moment frame connections in simulating both complex load transfer mode and constraint conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.688-691
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• 2004

This study summarizes results of a research project aimed at investigating the inelastic rotation capacity of beam-column joints of reinforced concrete moment frames. A total of 28 specimens were classified as special moment frame connections based on the design and detailing requirements in the ACI 318-99 provisions. Then, the acceptance criteria, originally defined for steel moment frame connections in the AISC-97 Seismic Provisions, were used to evaluate the joint connections of concrete moment frames. Twenty seven out of 28 test specimens that satisfy the design requirements for special moment frame structures provided sufficient strength and are ductile up to a plastic rotation of $3\%$ without any major degradation in strength.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.249-258
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• 2006

In this paper, deformation capacity of steel moment connections with RHS column was investigated. Initially, non-linear finite element analysis of five bate steel beam models was conducted. The models were designed to have different detail at their beam-to-column connection, so that the flexural moment capacity was different respectively. Analysis results showed 4hat the moment transfer efficiency of the analytical model with RHS-column was poor when comparing to model with WF(Wide flnage)-column due to out-of-plane deformation of the RHS-column flange. The presence of scallop and thin plate of RHS column was also a reason of the decrease of moment transfer efficiency, which would result in a potential fracture of tile steel beam-to-column connections. Further test on beam-to-column connections with RHS column revealed that the moment transfer efficiency of a beam web decreased due to the out-of-plane deformation of column flange, which led to premature failure of the connection.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.325-340
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• 2005

This paper presents a thorough investigation into the structural performance of cold-formed steel column bases using double lipped C sections with bolted moment connections. A total of four column base tests with different connection configurations were carried out, and it was found that section failure under combined bending and shear was always critical. Moreover, the proposed column bases were demonstrated to be structurally efficient attaining moment resistances close to those of the connected sections. In order to examine the structural behaviour of the column base connections, a finite element model was established using shell and spring elements to model the sections and the bolted fastenings respectively. Both material and geometrical non-linearities were incorporated, and comparison between the test and the numerical results was presented in details. The design rules originally developed for bolted moment connections between lapped Z sections were adopted and re-formulated for the design of column base connections after careful calibration against the test data. Comparison on co-existing moments and shear forces at the critical cross-sections of the column bases was fully presented. It was shown that the proposed design and analysis method was structurally adequate to predict the failure loads under combined bending and shear for column bases with similar connection configurations.