Cyclic Testing of Bolted Flange Plate and Double Split Tee Type Weak-axis Steel Moment Connections

Steel beam-to-column connections are very important for steel moment-frame structures. Beam-to-column connections have a great influence not only on the seismic performance but also on construction costs and construction durations. These days in Korea, most of the connection details are comprised of the column-tree type beam-to-column connections due to the Japanese influence. But this type of connection is inefficient when it comes to transportation and requires numerous components. The Bolted Flange Plate(BFP) and the Double Split Tee(DST) type weak-axis connections on the other hand are simple in construction and the load transfer is more direct. So, in order to research their respective seismic performance, this paper prepared two specimens and conducted a full-scale test. The study obtained the story drift ratio curves and the total plastic rotation curves of the specimens. Through the analysis of the curves this paper aims to conclude that the two connections meet the requirements pertaining to the Special Moment Frame, which prescribes that the story drift ratio should reach 4%. This paper demonstrates that the BFP and DST type connections display good plastic behaviors.