| The abrupt brittle failure of the bolted-web-welded-flange (BWWF) moment connections during the 1994 Northridge earthquake had all the structural engineers convinced that this type of connection was incapable in providing reliable ductility for the lateral-load-resisting system. One of the promising solutions is by reducing beam flanges to the moment connection. Stress concentration, therefore, would shift to localize, instead, in that weak portion. This research further investigates the viability for seismic resistance of the reduced-beam-section (RBS) connections and frames. Three profiles of RBS connections and a BWWF connection are selected and analyzed using the nonlinear finite element analysis. Their assessments provide important characteristics used in modeling and nonlinear structural analyses. Their corresponding frames are designed and subjected to nonlinear time history analyses. The analysis results indicate that RBS connection frames have the stress demands at the joint connections reduced to the safe nonfracture level under severe ground motions. |
