Analysis and investigation of the degree of moment rigidity of steel beam-to-column connections

• Main Authors: Baluyot, Danilo S., Jr., Camina, Christopher N., Lapuz, Angelo H.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2007
• Subjects: Concrete-filled tubes; Steel, Structural > Testing; Building, Iron and steel > Joints; Civil Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/11018
• Institution: De La Salle University

In the conventional structural analysis of frames, it is assumed that beam-to-column connections behave perfectly rigid. However, this assumption fails to consider the actual behavior of beam-to-column connections. Knowing the actual rotational behavior of these connections and including the rotational spring stiffness in the model will allow for a more accurate analysis of frame structures. The study investigated five types of steel beam-to-column connections. The rotational spring stiffness values of these connections were determined through laboratory testing. The rotational spring stiffness is a quantity that represents the rotational behavior of the connections. The rotational spring stiffness values of the connections were used in the semi-rigid structural analysis using two types of spring models. Model 1 has rotational springs located at the intersections of beam and column, whereas model 2 has rotational springs located at the ends of the beam element. The test specimens were analyzed theoretically and their deflections were calculated. The theoretical deflections were compared with the experimental deflections and the results indicated that the semi-rigid structural analysis using spring model 2 predicts the actual deflection of the specimen during its linear elastic behavior. Therefore the study concluded that the rotational spring stiffness values obtained experimentally are accurate representations of the degree of moment rigidity of the connections.