Improved Seismic Performance of Gusset Plate Connections
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 6
Abstract
Current design practices use a strength-based design approach to design gusset plate connections in special concentrically braced frames (SCBFs), in which the expected tensile and compressive capacities of the brace are used to design the gusset plate and the weld used to connect the brace to the frame. To achieve brace end rotation, the gusset plate is sized using a linear offset rule, and large, uneconomical gusset plate connections may result. A research program was undertaken to improve the economy and performance of gusset plate connections. A new approach is proposed in which the gusset plate design is based on a balanced design approach in which the yield mechanisms of the brace are balanced with the yield mechanisms of the connection and the failure modes of the system to achieve a target yielding hierarchy and suppress unwanted failure modes. Full-scale one-story, one-bay frames were designed and tested to investigate the seismic performance of current and proposed design methods. In the test program, variations in balance factors between the brace, gusset plate, and weld were considered to study the proposed method, to evaluate possible yield mechanisms and failure modes, and to obtain the desired yielding hierarchy. Comparison of the observed and measured performance of each specimen is made and specific design expressions to improve the seismic engineering of SCBF systems are proposed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The research results presented here were the result of studies funded by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. NSFCMS-0301792, Performance-Based Design of Concentrically Braced Frames (Dr. Steven McCabe, Program Manager) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (Mr. Tom Schlafly, Research Director). The structural steel shapes were donated by Nucor-Yamato steel (coordinated by Mr. Michael Engstrom) and the high-strength steel tubes were donated by Columbia Structural Tubing (coordinated by Mr. Engstrom). The writers gratefully acknowledge this support.
References
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). (2005a). “Seismic provisions for structural steel buildings.” AISC/ANSI Standard341-05, Chicago.
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). (2005b). Steel construction manual, 13th Ed., Chicago.
Applied Technology Council (ATC). (1992). “Guidelines for cyclic seismic testing of components of steel structures.” ATC 24.
Astaneh-Asl, H. (1998). Seismic behavior and design of gusset plates, Steel Tips, Structural Steel Education Council, Moraga, Calif.
Bjorhovde, R., and Chakrabarti, S. K. (1985). “Test of full size gusset plate connections.” J. Struct. Eng., 111(3), 667–684.
Brown, V. L. S. (1988). “Stability of gusseted connections in steel structures.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Delaware, Del.
Chambers, J. (2004). Brace frame gusset plate research—Phase I literature review, Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City.
Chen, C., Lai, J., Lin, M., Weng, Y., and Tsai, K. C. (2004). “Pseudo-dynamic test of a full-scale cft/bfb frame: Part 2—Construction and testing.” Proc., 13th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, Paper 2175, Canadian Association for Earthquake Engineering, International Assocaition of Earthquake Engineering.
Cheng, J. J. R., Yam, M. C. H., and Hu, S. Z. (1994). “Elastic buckling strength of gusset plate connections.” J. Struct. Eng., 120(2), 538–559.
Grondin, G. Y., Nast, T. E., and Cheng, J. J. R. (2000). “Strength and stability of corner gusset plates under cyclic loading.” Proc., Annual Technical Session and Meeting, Structural Stability Research Council.
Herman, D. (2006). “Further improvements on and understanding of SCBF systems.” MS thesis, Univ. of Washington, Seattle.
Hu, S. Z., and Cheng, J. J. R. (1987). “Compressive behavior of gusset plate connections.” Structural Engineering Rep. No. 153, Univ. of Alberta, Alberta, Ont., Canada.
Johnson, S. (2005). “Improved seismic performance of special concentrically braced frames.” MS thesis, Univ. of Washington, Seattle.
Rabinovitch, J. S., and Cheng, J. J. R. (1993). “Cyclic behavior of steel gusset plate connections.” Structural Engineering Rep. No. 191, Univ. of Alberta, Alberta, Ont., Canada.
Roeder, C. W. (2002). “Connection performance for seismic design of steel moment frames.” J. Struct. Eng., 128(4), 517–525.
Roeder, C. W., Lehman, D. E., and Yoo, J. H. (2004). “Performance based seismic design of braced-frame connections.” 7th Pacific Structural Steel Conf.
Roeder, C. W., Lehman, D. E., and Yoo, J. H. (2005). “Improved seismic design of steel frame connections.” Int. J. Steel Struct., 5(2), 141–153.
Thornton, W. A. (1991). “On the analysis and design of bracing connections.” Proc., National Steel Construction Conf., AISC, Section 26, 1–33.
Uriz, P., and Mahin, S. (2004). “Seismic performance of concentrically braced steel frame buildings.” Proc., 13th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, Paper 1639.
Whitmore, R. E. (1952). “Experimental investigation of stresses in gusset plates.” MS thesis, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
Yoo, J. H. (2006). “Analytical investigation on the seismic performance of special concentrically braced frames.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Washington, Seattle.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 6 • June 2008
Pages: 890 - 901
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 5, 2007
Accepted: Jul 31, 2007
Published online: Jun 1, 2008
Published in print: Jun 2008
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: James S. Davidson
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.