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Performance Evaluation of Weak-Axis Steel Moment Connections.

Conference Paper · June 2016

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Orkun Yılmaz Serkan Bekiroglu

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 XVI МЕЖДУНАРОДНА НАУЧНА КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ ВСУ’2016
XVI INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE VSU'2016

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF WEAK-AXIS STEEL

MOMENT CONNECTIONS

Orkun Yılmaz1, Serkan Bekiroğlu2

Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey.

Abstract: This study presents that finite element simulations of weak-axis steel beam-
to-column moment connections under monotonic loading. For this purpose, six
different types of weak-axis steel connections with European-I profile beam and
column sections are investigated. These weak-axis steel moment connections are
bolted end-plate tube connection, bolted end-plate half-I connection, welded
connection, welded flange-plate connection, directly and indirectly bolted end-plate
connection. ANSYS Finite Element Analysis software is used to do this investigation
and evaluate the adequacy of the numerical analysis through two experimental and
numerical specimens from literature. Based on the analyses subjected to monotonic
loading, the performance of the connections are compared in terms of equivalent
(von Mises) plastic strain distributions of the connections and column webs, failure
modes, moment-rotation curves, initial rotational stiffness values.

Key words: Weak-axis steel connections, end-plate connection, welded connection,

finite element analysis.

1. Introduction
Steel moment connections are widely used in engineering projects as lateral-force-
resisting systems due to their high ductility and dissipation capacity. Although beam is
usually connected to strong-axis of column, in some cases it can be connected to weak-axis
of that. Extensive research for understanding behavior of strong-axis steel column-beam
connections were carried out by most researchers [1-7], especially after the 1994
Northridge earthquake. In the light of investigations codes such as “ANSI/AISC 358-10
(Prequalified Connections for Special and Intermediate Steel Moment Frames for Seismic
Applications) [8]”, “EN 1993-1-8 (Eurocode 3: Design of Steel Structures Part 1-8) [9]”
have been issued to prescribe design and detailing of the strong-axis connections. Research
on weak- axis steel column-beam connections is very limited [10-11] and is insufficient to
clarify the behavior of these type of connections.
The aim of this study is to numerically assess six different (four of which are bolted
and the others are welded) weak-axis steel column-beam connections under monotonic
loading. ANSYS [12] -a Finite-Element Analysis (FEA) software- is used for numerical
analysis to assess these connections. Two experimental examples from the literature [5] are
analyzed with ANSYS for verification.

1
Master’s Degree, Department of Civil Engineering, [email protected]
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, [email protected]

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2. Verification of numerical modeling

Two end-plate connections that were experimentally and numerically evaluated in
the literature [5] are used to confirm the accuracy of finite-element simulations in the
present study. The literature reports modeling by ANSYS of one flush and seven extended
end-plate connections (all with pretensioned bolts) [5]. For verification of the present
study, a flush and an extended end-plate are considered. Column and beam steel profiles,
end-plate thickness, bolt diameter, column height, and beam length are the same for all
specimens and are taken from the referenced study [5]. More details about the specimens
are given in [7].
For verification, experimental and numerical results of the reference study [5] are
compared with the results of this study in terms of loading capacity (Table 1), moment-
rotation curve (Fig. 1) and failure mode (Fig. 2). As seen from Fig. 1, the numerical results
of this study and the referenced study for specimen 2 are extremely close in the linear and
nonlinear parts of the rotation curves. The results for specimen 1 are almost the same in the
non-linear parts of the related rotation curves, but show discrepancies in the linear parts of
the rotation curves. For instance, Fig. 2 shows a comparison of the ultimate failure mode of
specimen 1 with the experimental one. The comparisons of moment-rotation curves, load
capacities, and failure modes are in good agreement with each other.

Table 1. Comparison of loading capacities (kN).

Experimental test [5] FEA [5] FEA in this study

(C)/(A) (C)/(B)
(A) (B) (C)
Specimen 1 155,3 156,2 150,63 0,97 0,96
Specimen 2 286,4 276,8 273,12 0,95 0,99

Fig. 1. Comparison between moment-rotation curves of this study

and the referred study [5].

Fig. 2. Comparison of ultimate failure mode of specimen 1.

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3. Modeling of weak-axis steel moment connections

This study presents that finite element simulations of weak-axis steel beam-to-
column moment connections some of which (see Fig. 3a-b) are proposed by the authors
under monotonic loading. For this purpose, six different types of weak-axis steel
connections with European-I profile beam and column sections are investigated. The
connections are constructed with built-up profiles corresponding to IPE270 and HE240B,
which are used for beams with lengths of 1.5 m and columns with lengths of 2.5 m. The
point of loading on the beam is at a distance of 1.4 m from the column flange for the all
connections. Numerically investigated weak-axis steel moment connections are bolted end-
plate tube connection (BET) (Fig. 3a), bolted end-plate half-I connection (BEI) (Fig. 3b),
directly bolted end-plate connection (DBE) (Fig. 3c), indirectly bolted end-plate
connection (IBE) (Fig. 3d) welded connection (W) (Fig. 3e) and welded flange-plate
connection (WFP) (Fig. 3f). Connection details and dimensions are shown in Fig. 3. Note
that, in the BET connection, column flanges are cut 500 mm in length. For the WFP
connection, the gap between the column web and the beam is 10 mm.
Three-dimensional hexahedral solid elements are used for finite-element modeling.
In the meshing process, components such as bolts and perimeters of holes in which stress
distribution is important are meshed finer to obtain more sensitive results. The meshes for
the connections are shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 3. Details and dimensions of the connections.

Fig. 4. Meshes of the connections.

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XVI INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE VSU'2016

Contacts are considered at the adjacencies of each of the connections and may be
linear or nonlinear. Contacts between end plate and contacting component of the
connection for BET, BEI, DBE and IBE connections are taken as frictional and the friction
coefficient is taken 0.44. Contacts between bolt and plates, between plates and nuts and
between components welded to each other are considered linear for all the connections.
For bolted end-plate connections, ASTM A490 steel is used for bolts and ASTM
A36 steel is used for end-plates. ASTM A572 Grade 50 steel is used for all the other
components in the all connections. The stress-strain relationship of the material is
considered nonlinear and von-Mises yield is adopted as the yield criterion. For all
materials, Poisson’s ratio is 0.3. More details about the material properties are given in [4].
The analyses of connections are performed under monotonic loading. Before
applying the loading, pretension forces value of 160 kN are applied to the bolts of BET,
BEI, DBE and IBE connections. Then, displacement load is applied at a loading point near
the free end of the beam. The loading point is restrained against out-of-plane movement.
Moreover, geometric nonlinearity is considered for all the connections.

4. Results and discussion of numerical analysis

After modelling of the weak-axis connections, the models are numerically
investigated under monotonic loading. Numerical aspects of performance of the
connections (e.g., failure modes, equivalent [von-Mises] plastic strain distributions,
moment-rotation curves, initial rotational stiffness) are obtained and assessed for
comparison of the connections.
Equivalent plastic strain distributions on the deformed shapes of the connections and
column webs are shown in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively to show the failure modes. As seen
in Fig. 5 (a,f), failures of the BET and WFP connections take place on the beam, where
local bucklings of the beam flanges and webs occur. Plastic strain concentrations in the
buckling region of BET and WFP connections are observed in the following locations of
the beam, respectively: at the end of end-plate and at the end at the flange plates. It can be
seen in Fig. 5 (b,c,d,e) the BEI, DBE, IBE and W connections fail in the connected area,
respectively, where buckling the flange of half-I profile, buckling of column web, bending
of the end-plate and buckling of beam and top stiffener is seen.
It can be seen in Fig. 6 (a), plastic strain distribution is not observed in the column
web of BET connection. Furthermore, as seen in Fig. 6 (b,d,e,f), plastic strain distributions
are insignificant for BEI, IBE, W and WFP connections. Due to directly connecting end-
plate and column-web, as seen in Fig. 6 (c), significant plastic strain distribution is
observed on the perimeter of bolt holes in the DBE connection.
Moment-rotation curves are drawn for each connection and compared with each
other, as shown in Fig. 7. As seen in Fig. 7, all the connections reach target rotation,
corresponding to 150 mm displacement load. Strength degradation is observed for BEI, W
and WFP connections after the rotation values reach approximately 8%, 10% and 7%, due
to local buckling of beam flanges and webs (as seen in Fig. 5). As seen in the curves in Fig.
7, maximum and minimum moment capacities and initial rotational stiffness values are
observed in WFP and DBE connections, respectively. To look closer maximum moment
capacities and initial rotational stiffness (Rin) values of the connections, mentioned values
are given in Table 2.

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Fig. 5. Equivalent plastic strain distributions on deformed shape of

the connections (Scale factor: 1)

Fig. 6. Equivalent plastic strain distributions of the column webs.

Fig. 7. Comparison of moment rotation curves of each connection.

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XVI INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE VSU'2016

Table 2. Comparison of maximum moment capacities and Rin values of the connections.
BET BEI DBE IBE W WFP
Maximum 167.8 169.3 145.2 141.5 168.0 208.9
Moment
(kNm)
Rin 8480.29 6876.82 4770.14 5681.18 9088.87 12427.18
(kNm/rad)

Conclusion
In this study, six different weak-axis steel connections are investigated using ANSYS
software and their performance are compared. Summary of performance evaluation of the
connections are given in Fig. 3.
DBE connection has a poor performance, because of its moment-rotation curve and,
especially, its failure mode. Connecting end-plate to column-web directly causes stress and
strain concentrations at the perimeter of holes and local buckling of column-web.

Table 3. Performance evaluation of the connections

Parameter Sorting
Plastic deformation of the beam BET<WFP<W, IBE, BEI, DBE
Plastic deformation of the column BET (=0)<IBE<WFP, BEI<W<DBE
Plastic deformation of the connection BET, WFP<W<IBE, BEI, DBE
Maximum moment capacity WFP>BET, W, BEI> DBE, IBE
Initial rotational stiffness WFP>W, BET> BEI, IBE>DBE
Second stiffness BEI, DBE>WFP, IBE, W, BET
Moment degradation DBE, BEI, IBE<W, BET, WFP

Based on this research study, as seen in Table 3, weak-axis WFP and BET
connections have better performance than the other connections, because of their plastic
deformations, moment capacities and initial rotational stiffness values. Although the WFP
connection has more moment capacity than the BET connection, a slight plastic
deformation at the column web of the WFP connection occurs. Therefore, BET connection
is seem more reliable than WFP connection.

REFERENCES
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[3] Maggi, Y.I., Gonçalves, Y.M., Leon R.T. and Ribeiro, L.F.L. Parametric analysis of
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[5] Shi, G., Shi, Y., Wang, Y. and Bradford, M.A. Numerical simulation of steel
pretensioned bolted end-plate connections of different types and details, Engineering
Structures, 2008, 30: 2677–2686.

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[6] Prinz, G.S., Nussbaumer, A., Borges, L. and Khadka, S. Experimental testing and
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[9] EN 1993-1-8. Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-8: Design of joints,
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[11] Koetaka, Y., Chusilp, P., Zhang, Z., Ando, M., Suita, K., Inoue, K. and Uno, N.
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