Steel moment frames with welded connections

The 1994 Northridge earthquake has shown that steel structures may experience large cracks and fractures at welded beam-to-column connections. These local failures have raised design and detailing issues that have become the focus of extensive professional and research efforts directed towards improvement of the performance of steel structures in future earthquakes. This paper focuses on design and material issues that may have contributed to the problem and presents potential solutions based on research performed to date.