A REVIEW ON THE SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF STEEL MOMENT CONNECTIONS WITH REDUCED BEAM SECTIONS

During the 1994 Northridge earthquake and 1995 Kobe earthquake, the typical beam-column moment connection(bolted-web-welded-flange)in steel moment-resisting frame suffered unexpected brittle failures. A brief review on beam-column connections used in steel moment resisting frame after 1994 Northridge earthquake and 1995 Kobe earthquake is presented in this paper. The development of steel moment connections with reduced-beam sections is addressed. The performance on steel moment connections with reduced-beam sections is analyzed. According to the results of tests and numerical analyses, steel moment connections with reduced-beam sections give a positive influence on the aseismic performance of steel moment resisting frame. It is suggested that by trimming the beam flanges according to the moment profile, the ductility of the connections can be improved and the ductile design on steel frame can be realized.