The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Application of "dog bones" for improvement of seismic behavior of steel connections

Popov, Egor P.; Blondet, J. Marcial; Stepanov, Lev

UCB/EERC-96/05, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1996-06, 89 pages (517.55/P66/1996)

This report summarizes the results of cyclic testing of five full scale beam-column connection specimens. The test program was performed in two phases. The first phase involved testing of three identical beam-column connection specimens. Two of these specimens failed suddenly with abrupt fracture of the column flange which initiated near the top beam flange weld. This mode of failure was considered unacceptable, and therefore the connection was redesigned. The new design incorporated circular cuts on the beam flanges to reduce the beam flexural capacity, and thus to induce plastic deformation away from the welded connection. Two new specimens were fabricated and tested in the second phase of the project. The behavior of these specimens was considered to be satisfactory.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-96-05.pdf (7 MB)