Cyclic behaviour of steel beam-to-column connections: Interpretation of experimental results

The present paper is focused on the structural behaviour of beam-to-column steel joints. In particular, full-scale bolted cleat angle connections subjected to cyclic flexural moment loading are considered. Aiming at assessing the influence of column size on the global response of the joint, experimental tests have been preliminarily carried out on different joint configurations. Both fatigue constant amplitude deformation tests and variable amplitude deformation tests are performed. Obtained results show that the global joint behaviour is mainly influenced by connecting elements, independently from the applied deformation history. Experimental outputs are then used for the calibration of an available cyclic model, which shows its capability to correctly interpret the response of the joint. Comparison between experimental and numerical results, in terms of both energy dissipation and moment capacity degradation all over the deformation history, are finally provided.