Bidirectional Tests on Partially Restrained, Composite Beam-to-Column Connections
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 2
Abstract
Partially restrained connections and their interaction with the floor slab have received recent attention due to numerous failures of welded steel moment frames during the 1994 Northridge and 1995 Kobe earthquakes. After the earthquakes, it was apparent that the “simple” connections, including the slab, served as a “backup” structural system after the full moment connections failed. These connections significantly influenced the behavior of the lateral load resisting system. This paper reports on the results of a unique, full-scale bidirectional test on a composite connection. The connection behaved very well up to a uniaxial drift of about 2%. After that drift level, composite action began to deteriorate and the connection strength and stiffness declined. The results indicate that two previously unreported failure modes may need to be considered in the design of composite buildings if large cyclic bidirectional forces are present. One is a “punch through” of the column web due to the force transfer from the “pinned” side of the connection. The other is the formation of a concrete wedge as a result of the large bearing forces between the slab and steel column flange. As a result of this observation, a suggestion that the full depth of the slab be maintained for a region 150 mm (6 in.) around the joint has been incorporated in the commentary to Part II of the 2002 AISC Seismic Specification.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). (2002). Seismic provisions for structural steel buildings: Part 2, Chicago.
ASCE Task Committee on Design Criteria for Composite Structures in Steel and Concrete. (1998). “Design guide for partially restrained composite connections.” J. Struct. Eng., 124(10), 1099–1114.
Barnard, R. P. (1970). “Innovations in composite floor systems.” Canadian Engineering Conf., Canadian Steel Industries Construction Council.
Chen, W. F., Goto, Y., and Liew, J. Y. R. (1995). Stability design of semi-rigid frames, Wiley, New York.
Green, T. P. (2001). “Behavior of a full-scale PR composite beam-to-column T-stub and shear connections under cyclic loading.” MS thesis, Graduate School, Georgia Tech.
Johnson, R. P., and Hope-Gill, M. (1972). “Semi-rigid joints in composite frames.” Preliminary report of the Ninth Congress of IABSE, 133–144.
Leon, R. T.(1997). “Composite connections.” Prog. Struct. Eng., 1(2), 159–169.
Leon, R. T., Ammerman, D. J., Lin, J., and McCauley, R. D.(1987). “Semi-rigid composite steel frames,” AISC Eng. J., 24(4), 147–155.
Leon, R. T., and Zandonini, R. (1992). “Composite connections.” Steel design: An international guide, R. Bjorhovde and P. Dowling, eds., Elsevier, 501–522.
Liu, J., and Astaneh, A.(2000). “Cyclic testing of simple connections including effects of slab.” J. Struct. Eng., 126(1), 32–39.
Mazzolani, F. M., and Piluso, V. (1996). Theory and design of seismic resistant steel frames, E&FN Spon, London.
Plumier, A., and Doneux, C. (2001). “Seismic behavior and design of composite steel concrete structures.” Rep. 4, ECOST2/ICON, LNEC, Lisbon.
Rassati, G. A., Leon, R. T., and Noè, S. (2004). “Component modeling of PR composite joints under cyclic and dynamic loading.” J. Struct. Eng., in press.
SAC. (1997a). “Background reports on metallurgy, fracture mechanics, welding, moment connections and frame system behavior.” SAC Report 95-09, SAC Joint Venture, Sacramento.
SAC. (1997b). “Protocol for fabrication, inspection, testing and documentation of beam-column connection tests and other experimental specimens.” SAC Report SAC/BD-97/02, SAC Joint Venture, Sacramento.
Zandonini, R. (1989). “Semi-rigid composite joints.” Structural connections: Stability and strength, R. Narayanan, ed., Elsevier Applied Science, Barking, U.K., 63–120.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 130 • Issue 2 • February 2004
Pages: 320 - 327
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 11, 2002
Accepted: Dec 16, 2002
Published online: Jan 16, 2004
Published in print: Feb 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.