Hysteretic Behavior of Bolted Beam-Column Connection with Reduced Beam Section

This paper is devoted to the study of bolted beam-column connection with reduced beam section (RBS) which is considered to have reasonable seismic performance. Four exterior beam-column connections, including three bolted connections and one reference welded connection were tested under cyclic loading. The effects of RBS and additional end-plate on the hysteretic behavior of the bolted connection are investigated. The discussions are in terms of the failure mode, hysteretic curves, load-bearing capacity, stiffness and ductility of the connection. Test results indicate that the bolted connection with RBS will lead to plastic hinge formation within the RBS region, and both the energy absorption capacity and ductility are slightly improved with the parameters of the RBS used in experiment. Additional end-plate for the outer row of bolts does not lead to significant improved performance. A finite element analysis model is prepared to further analyze numerically the hysteretic behavior of this kind of connection. The model takes into account material and geometrical non-linearities, contact between adjacent surfaces and the pretension force in the bolts. The predicted failure mode and load versus storey-drift hysteretic curves show satisfactory agreement with experimental results. Parametric study is then conducted on the influence of RBS parameters, end-plate thickness and bolt diameter on the seismic behavior of the connection. Recommendations on the RBS parameters and a design method are proposed.