An Insight into the Flexibility of Light Beam-to-column Connections

摘要

In steel design practice, the structural frames are usually designed to either simple or rigid design methods. The choice is governed by the degree of moment fixity provided by the typical beam-to-column connection details that are used. In the simple design method, the connections are assumed to be pin-jointed for analysis, capable of transferring only shear from beams to columns, whereas in the rigid design method, connections are assumed to develop full moment fixity. Two light connections: a simple shear resisting and a moment resisting, were experimentally tested to study their force-deformation behaviour. The test results shown that in reality, the connections do not behave as completely flexible or completely fixed; real behaviour falls in between. Although a light shear resisting connection, using two bolts in beam web, behaved more or less like a pinned connection, the performance of moment resisting connection, achieved by welding the beam flanges to the column flanges and connecting the beam web with column flange using two bolts, was very much different from the expected behaviour of a fixed connection.