Numerical study on the seismic performance of the damage-control beam-to-column joint with artificial steel hinge

Abstract

The replaceable artificial steel hinge is adopted for beam-to-column joints at the intended beam-hinge location to achieve damage concentration and seismic resilience of steel structures. In this study, a detailed finite element model of damage-control beam-to-column joint with artificial steel hinge was developed and the feasibility was validated through the comparisons with the representative tested specimens, in terms of failure mode and hysteresis behavior. A subsequent numerical study on the seismic performance of the proposed damage-control beam-to-column joint was comprehensively conducted with the validated numerical model, and the influences of slipping distance, slip coefficient, bolt load, and width of the steel plate fuse were considered. The parametric study results demonstrated that the slipping distance had an obvious effect on the hysteresis behavior of the proposed damage-control beam-to-column joint. The beam-to-column joint with longer slotted holes behaved better energy dissipation and ductility behavior, while it exhibited better bearing capacity with shorter slotted holes. The effect of the slip coefficient and the bolt load was similar, and the maximum bearing capacity was barely affected. The slipping behavior was delayed with a higher slip coefficient or bolt load due to a larger load required for slippage, while the hysteretic curves were improved. The width of the steel plate fuse had an obvious effect on the development of bearing capacity, while it had little effect on the energy dissipation capacity and ductility.