Parametric analysis of welded beam-to-column connection with T-Stiffener

Abstract

In this paper, a comprehensive parametric analysis of steel beam-to-column connection using T-Stiffener-is-conducted to determine the effect of connection geometric parameters on moment and stress distribution. The general-purpose finite element program, ANSYS is used to model the connection plate components with shell elements whereas welds are modeled with link elements reflecting weld stiffness. The finite element mesh configurations are selected on the basis of h-refinement procedure. Geometric and material nonlinearities are incorporated in the analysis by adopting the modified Newton-Raphson technique and nonlinear stress-strain curve respectively, it is found that parameters describing the thickness of T-Stiffener web and flange plates and the ratio of beam flange width to T-Stiffener flange width have a significant effect on the connection behavior and stress distribution. Unlike conventional design assumptions, the applied moment is found to be almost equally distributed among the T-stiffener web and flange plates. Stress analysis shows that the moment capacity of a connection designed by the conventional method is limited to 43% of the beam allowable moment.