Numerical study of steel rigid collar connection affecting cyclic loading

Abstract In existing connections, the continuity plates are used to transfer forces from beam to column. The continuity plate can be used easily in the H-column from the practical point of view, but in a box-column, it is difficult and economically expensive. In this study, an innovative short and large collar connection has been proposed in which the continuity plates have been removed. Moreover, geometric parameters and mechanical properties are evaluated to achieve an ideal collar connection. This paper studies the cyclic behavior of the collar connection using finite element method and ABAQUS software. All details of this steel connection including welds and bolts were considered in the numerical model. For verification purposes, the numerical results of three connections including bolted tee, bolted endplate, and welded RBS were compared with experimental results. Subsequently, 18 models of the proposed collar connections were evaluated under the influence of cyclic displacement. The results indicated that seismic behavior of the large collar connections is appropriate, and this connection can be used in special steel moment frame systems. Moreover, seismic behavior of the large collar connections for deep beams showed a proper behavior over 0.04 radian rotations. In addition, the column will remain without any remarkable plasticity and local buckling.