Brown, Nigel David (1995) Aspects of sway frame design and ductility of composite end plate connections. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis reports work on two aspects of framed structures: part I is concerned
with sway frames and part II with the ductility of composite flush end
plate connections.
Part I has investigated the effect of adopting standardised end plate connections
as the method of providing the load path between the structural members of
a steelwork sway frame. Practical low to medium rise multi-storey frame geometries
have been designed in accordance with limit state principles in conjunction
with the Wind-Moment Method. Each frame was analysed by undertaking a
second-order elastic-plastic computer analysis to ascertain their structural performance,
with particular emphasis directed towards problems associated with
stability and sway deflections. The computer simulation necessitated the formulation
of a prediction equation that modeled the initial stiffness characteristics of
the standard connections. This model has been verified by comparison with full
scale experimental test results, mainly taken from the literature.
The investigation confirms that standardised end plate connections provide
levels of stiffness and resistance which enable unbraced steel frames to be safely
designed by the Wind-Moment method. There are however certain frame geometries
where serviceability considerations dictate that stiffening to the frame
would be necessary, if the standardised end plate connections were used.
Part II has investigated the ductility of five major axis composite flush end
plate connections that incorporate nominally identical amounts of reinforcement
in conjunction with either 457 or 533 serial size Universal Beams. Other variable
parameters include end plate thickness and horizontal spacing of the rebars. The
work was undertaken experimentally and the results analysed in the context of
connection performance.
The results have shown that it will not prove difficult to ensure virtually rigid
behaviour of the overall composite connection, despite the use of relatively thin
end plates. Moreover, the experiments also show that the rotation capacity of
composite connections in which 1% reinforcement is provided, would be sufficient
to allow plastic methods of design to be used for composite beams with 457
serial size designations; however, ductility remains a problem when the depth
of beam is further increased. To this end, an empirical model for assessment of
ductility has been proposed, based on the observed deformation characteristics
of the joint as a whole. This enables the total rotation capacity of one type of
a composite connection to be determined when the failure occurs by fracture of
the reinforcing bars.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) T Technology > TG Bridge engineering
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Structural frames, Bridges -- Design and construction
Official Date:	December 1995
Dates:	Date Event December 1995 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Engineering
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Anderson, D.
Sponsors:	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) ; Steel Construction Institute (Great Britain) (SCI) ; University of Warwick. Dept. of Engineering
Extent:	xviii, [559] p.
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/3708

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