Seismic performance of welded flange plate (WFP) connections in composite steel structures

This paper studies the seismic behavior of welded flange plate (WFP) connections of steel beams to H-shaped columns with composite floors. Nonlinear finite element models of exterior beam-column connections under monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings are developed in ABAQUS commercial software. Geometric, material, and contact nonlinearities are considered in the models, and the specimens are loaded up to the final failure point. The von-Mises J2-plasticity model with bilinear kinematic hardening and ductile damage parameter is employed to simulate steel constitutive behavior, and reinforced concrete is modeled by the Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) model enhanced with embedded steel rebars. Load-carrying capacity, ductility, failure modes, strain distribution, and energy dissipation capacity of the specimens are compared, and various effects of composite action are studied. The research represents the importance of considering the composite action in the design process, which contrasts with the common practice. Based on these observations, a novel reduced beam section detailing is proposed, which circumvents the issues with current design configurations, and provides an optimal seismic behavior for WFP composite connections. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd