Rotational Ductility of Unstiffened Extended Shear Tab Connections Welded to Column Webs

Extended shear tab connections have been more in use today in the industry due to the solutions it provides to some construction issues. As well AISC specifications allow the use of some extended connection configurations as long as they satisfy simple shear connection requirement of adequate shear strength and flexible end beam rotational ductility. By AISC, single plate shear tab connections are required to accommodate beam end rotation of 0.03 radians. The objective of this study is to investigate the rotational ductility of extended shear tab connections framed to flexible supports. The behavior of extended shear tab connections is observed to change with the type of support and it becomes a concern when the connection flexibility is not satisfied. As flexible support like column webs would possess substantial distortions resulting in yield line mechanism failure. To address these concerns finite element models were prepared and a parametric study was performed on the models. This study helps analyze the effects of parameter variation on the rotational ductility of the connection, define parameter ranges, specify design constraints, and nominate parameters for further evaluation.