Evaluating a steel beam’s rigid connection to a concrete filled tubular column when submitted to dynamic load

• Main Authors: Maritza Uribe Vallejo, Gabriel F. Valencia Clement
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2009-01-01
• Series: Ingeniería e Investigación
• Subjects: connection evaluation; cyclic test; hysteretic curve; concrete filled tubular column (CFT-column); loading history
• Online Access: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/ingeinv/article/view/15139

Using prequalified connections during the structural design stage becomes increasingly necessary when developing structural en-gineering projects which include steel elements; this is so that the steel elements’ appropriate behavior can be ensured according to the structural system and seismic demand. Unfortunately, the international entities providing this type of information (i.e. FEMA) only have a limit series of prequalified connections and such series do not include rigid connections between steel beams and concrete filled tubular (CFT) columns having an extended end plate, which has become a very widespread building practice in Colombia. This paper describes the most important aspects of a study at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia concerning the behavior of a steel beam rigidly connected to a CFT-column, using six physical models having different width-thickness ratio (b/t) columns. ANSYS v.10 software was used for studying theoretical models (finite elements analysis) for comparative analysis of cyclic test theoretical and experimental results for each specimen presented for the qualification phase. The six tested specimens’ hysteretic curves are presented. Several conclusions are drawn concerning finite element validation for this type of connection and the influence of width-thickness ratio (b/t) variation and design recommendations for suitable behavior under dynamic loads when this type of connection was used.