Seismic behavior of steel moment frame connection using side stiffener plate by fragility curve and its comparison with WUF-W connection

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Steel moment frames are among the conventional structural systems for bearing gravity and lateral loads, which are especially common in high-rise structures due to their lower weight. Since the most important member in the system of steel moment frames is the connections and degree of plasticity is decisive in the performance of moment frames. Therefore, detailed research and investigation regarding the performance of these connections in steel structures is of particular importance. Due to the fact that steel moment connection with side stiffener plate has been widely considered in the last three decades due to the ease of implementation and improvement of seismic behavior, many studies have been conducted to improve the performance of steel moment connection with side stiffener plate.

In this article, due to the fact that fragility curves are a suitable tool for estimating the probability of vulnerability, it has been determined and used to check the adequacy of the connection behavior and compare it with the pre-approved WUF-W connection. In order to determine the fragility curves, incremental dynamic analysis and finite element analysis have been performed.

According to the results of analyzes and examination of structural failure parameters in different earthquake intensities, it was shown that the probability of structural failure using steel moment connection with sidestiffener plate is lower than the pre-approved WUF-W connection. Therefore, the steel moment connection with side stiffeners has higher reliability and due to its higher rigidity and ductility, it is able to withstand more kneading cycles at higher spectral accelerations.

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