CYCLIC MECHANICAL MODEL OF SEMIRIGID TOP AND SEAT & DOUBE WEB ANGLES CONNECTIONS

In this paper a cyclic mechanical model is presented to simulate the behaviour of Top and Seat & Web Angle beam-to-column connections. The introduced mechanical model is compared with Eurocode 3 Annex J, its extension and with experimental results. To have a better insight regarding the actual response of the joints, available results of the experiments, carried out on full-scale top and seat angle joints under monotonic and cyclic loading, are first considered. Subsequently a finite element model of the test setup is developed. The application of the proposed model, its comparisons with the experimental curves, with the Eurocode 3 Annex j and with its modification, clearly show the excellent quality of the model proposed.