Prediction of Ductile Fracture in Steel Connections Using SMCS Criterion
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 2
Abstract
Conventional fracture mechanics approaches have limited capabilities to accurately predict fracture under conditions of large scale yielding or in complex geometries where there are no significant pre-existing flaws. Such conditions are found, for example, in welded steel moment connections that meet stringent detailing and quality assurance requirements for seismic design that have been imposed in response to damage caused by the Northridge earthquake. The stress modified critical strain (SMCS) criterion provides an alternative approach for modeling ductile crack initiation by relating the fundamental process of void initiation, growth, and coalescence to macroscopic stresses and strains, obtained using detailed finite element models. The material-specific parameters of the SMCS model are calibrated for mild A572 Grade 50 steel using a series of notched tensile tests and fractographic data. Accuracy of the SMCS criterion is demonstrated for specimens with a range of triaxial constraint conditions, including both sharp-crack fracture specimens and blunt-notch specimens, the latter being examples of cases where conventional fracture mechanics approaches would not apply. The SMCS model is then applied in a practical demonstration to relate data from idealized pull-plate tests to the fracture resistance of beam–column moment connections.
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Acknowledgments
This paper is based upon research supported by the National Science Foundation under the US–Japan Cooperative Research for Urban Earthquake Disaster Mitigation initiative (Grant No. NSFCMS 9988902) as well as the SAC Joint Venture through a contract from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Additional support provided by Cornell and Stanford Universities and the Nippon Steel Corporation is greatly appreciated. The advice and guidance provided by Robert Dodds (University of Illinois), Tina Panontin (NASA-Ames), and Reiner Dauskardt (Stanford University) are gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 2 • February 2006
Pages: 171 - 181
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 20, 2004
Accepted: Apr 29, 2005
Published online: Feb 1, 2006
Published in print: Feb 2006
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Sherif El-Tawil
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