Connection Model for the Seismic Analysis of Welded Steel Moment Frames.
Connection Model for the Seismic Analysis of Welded
Steel Moment Frames.
(908 K)
Gross, J. L.
Engineering Structures, Vol. 20, No. 4/6, 390-397,
April/June 1998.
Keywords:
brittle fracture; inelastic analysis; seismic
performance; steel structures; welded connections
Abstract:
An analytical approach is described for performing
seismic evaluation of welded steel moment frame
buildings constructed prior to the 1994 Northridge
earthquake. The approach is based on an analytical
model that captures the possibility of connection
fracture and the subsequent loss of strength and
stiffness. This connection model was developed and
calibrated on the basis of laboratory experiments. It
was employed in the seismic analysis of a 13-story
building which experienced fractured connections in the
Northridge earthquake and for which there are
seismograph records and a damage survey. Results from
several analyses indicate that the inelastic and
fracture models are capable of predicting the behavior
of steel moment frame buildings and of estimating the
level of damage.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899