Refined Finite Element Analysis of Steel Frames by the Shifted Integration Technique

Abstract

The Shifted Integration technique, which has been developed for the efficient nonlinear finite element analysis of framed structures, is extended to the plastic collapse analysis of frames with semi-rigid joints. By using the SI technique in short cubic elements inserted at member ends, both of the nonlinear characteristic of joints and the elastoplastic property of member ends can be independently taken into account in these short elements. The highly accurate analysis of semi-rigid frames is made possible in the framework of displacement-type finite element method using only standard cubic beam elements. Several numerical studies are conducted in order to illustrate the validity of the proposed method.