Nonlinear FEM analysis of steel beam-to-column connections with extended end plate

Abstract

Even if it has been shown that steel beam-to-column connections with extended end plate has a semi-continuous behaviour, many structural analyses consider these joints either fixed or pinned. For advanced structural analysis of connections and frames it is necessary to know the behaviour of the joint. The characteristics of the joint can be identified on the moment-rotation curve. This paper presents a comparative study of the moment-rotation curve for a standardized node calculated according Eurocode 3, and obtained by FEM analysis using IDEASTATICA and ANSYS finite element analysis program. The analyses were performed for the models with non pre-tensioned bolts. Also, an additional study was performed in ANSYS to identify the influence of the thickness of the extended end plate.