• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.343-362
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• 2018

A simplified spring connection modelling approach for steel flush endplate beam-to-column connections in fire has been developed to enable realistic behaviour of connections to be incorporated into full-scale frame analyses at elevated temperature. Due to its simplicity and reliability, the proposed approach permits full-scale high-temperature frame analysis to be conducted without high computational cost. The proposed simplified spring connection modelling approach has been used to investigate the influence of connection ductility (both axial and rotational) on frame behaviour in fire. 2D steel and 3D composite frames with a range of beam spans were modelled to aid the understanding of the differences in frame response in fire where the beam-to-column connections have different axial and rotational ductility assumptions. The modelling results highlight that adopting the conventional rigid or pinned connection assumptions does not permit the axial forces acting on the connections to be accurately predicted, since the axial ductility of the connection is completely neglected when the rotational ductility is either fully restrained or free. By accounting for realistic axial and rotational ductilities of beam-to-column connections, the frame response in fire can be predicted more accurately, which is advantageous in performance-based structural fire engineering design.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.417-433
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• 2023

The maximum ductility and cumulative ductility of connection joints of Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames (BRBF) are critical to the structural overall performance, which should be matched with the BRB ductility. The two-story and one-span BRBF with a one-third scale was tested under cyclic quasi-static loading, and the top-flange beam splice (TFBS) rotational connections were proposed and adopted in BRBF. The deformation capacity of TFBS connections was observed during the test, and the relationship between structural global ductility and local connection ductility was studied. The rotational capacity of the beam-column connections and the stability performance of the BRBs are highly relevant to the structural overall performance. The hysteretic curves of BRBF are stable and full under large displacement demand imposed up to 2% story drift, and energy is dissipated as the large plastic deformation developed in the structural components. The BRBs acted as fuses and yielded first, and the cumulative plastic ductility (CPD) of BRBs is 972.6 of the second floor and 439.7 of the first floor, indicating the excellent energy dissipation capacity of BRBs. Structural members with good local ductility ensure the large global ductility of BRBF. The ductile capacity and hysteretic behavior of BRBF with TFBS connections were compared with those of BRBF with Reduced Beam Section (RBS) connections in terms of the experimental results.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.17
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• pp.305-312
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• 1997

Shear connections in steel structures should satisfy dual criteria of shear strength and rotational flexibility and ductility. The connection should be strong enough to transfer the shear reaction of the beam, and should have sufficient rotational flexibility and ductility to rotate easily and supply the end rotation demand of the beam. This paper is concerned with the behavior of double-angle shear connections where the parameters are numbers of high strength bolts, bolt pitch, the length of angle leg, and connection method. An experimental investigation of shear connection was conducted by testing 12 beam-to-column joint specimens. Based on experimental and analytical study, the failure modes are developed and proposed design formulas.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.37-44
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• 2008

This study investigates the influence of various soil properties on the seismic performance of a three-span FCM bridge. Piers that are vulnerable to seismic vibration are identified through numerical study of plastic hinges possibly occurring at the top and bottom of the piers. The fragility curve is obtained as a lognormal distribution function with respect to peak ground acceleration(PGA). The median and logarithmic standard deviation, which are two parameters of a lognormal distribution function, are estimated using the maximum likelihood method. In order to consider the different soil properties of each support, an equivalent spring based on the Korean Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges(KSSHB) is adopted in this study. For seismic fragility analysis, the rotational ductility demands of bridge piers are used as a damage index of the structure.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.61-70
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• 1999

Cracking was observed in beam-to-column connections of many steel building frames during the 1994 Northridge and 1995 Kobe earthquakes. Thus extensive experimental researches are currently being conducted to improve the seismic performance of steel frames. A value of 0.015 radian was considered as a reasonable estimate of beam plastic rotation demand in steel moment-resisting frames subjected to severe earthquakes. The objective of this research is to develop a type of connection detail which moves the plastic hinge region in the beam away from the face of the column and can prevent cracking at the welded flange of the beam-to-column connection under seismic loading. An experimental investigation was undertaken on five beam-to-column connection specimens to study the performance of the connections with proposed details. The experiemental results showed that the flexural strength and rotational ductility of the beam connections were adequate for the seismic resistance steel frames to prevent possible cracks at the connections.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.323-352
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• 2016

The results of a series of finite element (FE) simulations and experimental studies are used to develop strength and stiffness models that predict the failure capacity and response characteristics of unstiffened extended endplate connections with circular and rectangular bolt configurations associated with deep girders. The proposed stiffness models are composed of multi-linear springs which model the overall extended endplate/column flange system deformation and strength of key-components. Comparison of model predictions with FE and experimental results available in the literature show that the proposed models accurately predict the strength and the response of extended endplate/column system with circular and rectangular bolt configurations. The effect of the bolt configuration (circular and rectangular) on the prying phenomenon encountered in the unstiffened extended endplate/column system was investigated. Based on FE results, extended endplate with circular bolt configuration has a more ductile behavior and exhibits higher total prying forces. The proposed models can be used to design connections that cover all possible failure modes for extended endplate with circular bolt configuration. This study provides guidelines for engineers to account for the additional forces induced in the tension bolts and for the maximum rotational capacity demand in the connection which are required for seismic analysis and design.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.16 no.5 s.72
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• pp.543-553
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• 2004

This paper covered two related subjects: the use of the inverse modal perturbation technique to assess structural damage in existing structures; and the use of a seismic capacity evaluation to assess damaged structures, with the aid of the identified structural damage. The substructural identification and the Tikhonov regularization algorithm were incorporated for efficient damage assessment of complex and large frame structures. The seismic capacity of a damaged structure was evaluated by comparing the structure's seismic responses and seismic damage indices. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been investigated through the numerical simulation study for a twenty-story frame structure with undamaged and damaged cases, and also different earthquake excitations.