Abstract
Extensive research has been carried out on steel moment frames to improve the cyclic performance of seismic resisting connections with reduced beam section (RBS). The RBS connections are conventionally known by the radial reduction of the beam flange. Where the contribution of the beam flange to the flexural resistance is greater than that of the beam web, some researchers have proposed reduced web section (RWS) connections, instead. The present study dedicates to the RWS connections with vertical-slits (VS), as a cost-effective alternative with multiple design parameters. This paper aims to obtain proper ranges for the geometric design parameters of the VS-RWS connection. In this order, two full-scale specimens of the bolted end-plate VS-RWS connection were experimentally tested under the SAC cyclic loading to evaluate the performance of connections, and then a parametric study was carried out using the verified numerical models. The parameters consist of the distance between the column face and the beginning of the reduced region, the length of the reduced region, as well as the depth and width of the vertical-slits. Based on the results, certain recommendations for the ranges of the geometric parameters of VS-RWS have been suggested. In order to obtain the story drift of the frame caused by the VS-RWS beam flexural deformation using the conjugate beam method, the original VS-RWS was replaced with an equivalent constant-cut reduced beam section (CC-RBS). At last, a simple design procedure for VS-RWS connections was provided according to AISC-358.
Adopting flexibility of the end-plate connections in steel moment frames
