Numerical and Experimental Study on Welded and Bolted Steel Beam-Column Connections Subjected to Cyclic Loading

This paper presents experimental and numerical studies for predicting the seismic responses of welded and bolted steel beam-column connections, namely, welded unreinforced flange and bolted web connection, and welded unreinforced flange and welded web connection. Cyclic tests of these connections composed of members applied widely to steel structures are conducted to examine their seismic performance. Numerical simulations with a focus on the bolted joint are conducted using a nonlinear finite element code. Two different strategies of modeling bolted parts are provided to improve the computational effciency of numerical analysis: solid contact elements and more simply using shell connector elements. Numerical solutions obtained for full connection models are experimentally validated. The rotational capacity and dissipated energy of the welded and bolted connections are discussed. The local responses for stress and strain in the vicinity of welded and bolted joints are also investigated.