Cyclic testing of steel column-tree moment connections with weakened beam splices

Abstract

Traditionally, the beam splice assemblies of column-tree connections are designed according to the full-strength design principle. Actually, the beam splice is set up at a certain distance from the column face, thus the plastic moment capacity of the beam splice does not need to be greater than the plastic moment capacity of the beam. This paper experimentally presents the effects of the weakened beam splice on the seismic performance of column-tree steel moment connections. Cyclic tests of two column-tree connection specimens with weakened beam splices and one specimen following the full-strength design principle were conducted to verify their inelastic behavior and failure modes. The test results showed that the moment resisting capacity of the column-tree connection specimens with weakened beam splices did not obviously decrease. Also, their energy dissipation capacity was better than that of the specimen following the full-strength design principle.