PREDICTION OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF TOP-AND-SEAT CLEATED STEEL BEAM-TO-COLUMN CONNECTIONS UNDER CYCLIC REVERSAL LOADING

An efficient use of beam-to-column connections improves the seismic performance of semi-continuous braced steel frames, if joints may undergo large plastic deformations without forming brittle collapse mechanisms. Remarkable benefits are associated with this design philosophy. Therefore, accurate and suitable methods for the prediction of the nodal response under cyclic reversal loading must be defined for use in design. This paper proposes two different approaches for estimating the behaviour of top-and-seat cleated connections under cyclic reversal loading. The first is based on the monotonic moment-rotation curve, while in the second method, the connection response is built up by considering the cyclic behaviour of the relevant components. For each of these approaches two models are presented and validated on the basis of experimental studies on top-and-seat cleated connections tested by the author and by other researchers.