Seismic Design and Steel Connection Detailing
Seismic Design and Steel Connection Detailing
Seismic Design and Steel Connection Detailing
CONNECTION DETAILING
Michael L. Cochran is the
vice president of Brian L.
Cochran Associates Inc.
Consulting
Structural
Engineers, Los Angeles,
California, and a licensed
structural
engineer
in
California. Cochran has over
15 years of professional
design experience, having
been involved in the structural
design of both new construction projects and seismic
Michael L. Cochran
retrofit of existing buildings,
with the majority of the structures being in the 1-10 story
range. Project types include commercial, retail, multi-family residential, recreation, educational and laboratory buildings.
Cochran is a past president of both the AISC
Professional Members National Committee and the AISC
Professional Members Committee - Los Angeles City
Chapter. Mr. Cochran has also been a past presenter for
both SEAOC and AISC discussing steel braced frame
design.
ABSTRACT
The seismic design of connections for both steel moment
frame and braced frame members has become much more
complicated since the original adoption of the 1997 UBC,
current adoption of IBC2000 and pending adoption of
IBC2003 in the next year of so by the various States and
local Building Departments. Since the 1994 Northridge
Earthquake, there have been significant changes in the
AISC Seismic Provisions for Steel Buildings (1997 edition,
1997 Supplements #1 and #2, 2002 edition) impacting
design of both steel moment frame and steel brace framed
lateral resisting systems. The results from the SAC program, initiated after the Northridge Earthquake, lead to the
development of the FEMA 350 - 354 documents which are
being extensively used for steel moment frame design.
The intention of this paper is to provide some practical
and useful information regarding connection design for
both steel moment frames and steel braced frames. The
emphasis is detailing for Seismic Design Categories (SDC)
of D and higher which require Special Steel Moment
Frames (SMF) and Special Concentric Braced Frames
(SCBF). Detailing methods presented in this paper for SMF
and SCBF may still be applicable to the steel Intermediate
Moment Frame (IMF), steel Ordinary Moment Frame
(OMF), and steel Ordinary Concentric Braced Frames
(OCBF) in lower SDC A, B and C.
(A)
(B)
Beam flange
(one side only)
(PLAN VIEW)
Figure 2: FEMA 350 FIGURE 3-6
Steel Column
Slab-on-grade
3.
Dowels to slab
Grade
beam
#5 dwls
at 12
4
Footing
DO NOT WRAP
FILLET WELDS
AROUND COLUMN
CORNERS
BASE PLATE
MAY HAVE C. P.
WELDS AT
FLANGES
(PLAN VIEW)
NO FILLET WELDING IN K AREA
Zipper
Vee
Depth
Eccentricity
Yield
Line
(Hinge)
x
y
x
Gusset Plate
Gusset Plate Stiffness Can Influence
Brace Buckling Direction
Plan View
Yield Line
(Hinge)
Isometric View
C
Beam
2T minimum required in order to develop a ductile
hinge in the gusset plate (recommend design for
3T minimum)
2t offset
(from brace tip)
Detailed 2T
Offset from
Yield Line
Theoretical Curved
Yield Line as gusset
attempts to bend
around tip
2T (min)
4T
(max)
Offset
Gusset Plate
2T (min)
4T (max)
Offset
Compressible
Material
16
Plan view
Brace
Compressible
Material each
side of gusset
plate
Slab
Beam
Brace
Gusset Plate (T)
Slab
Beam
Beam
2T (min)
4T (max)
Offset
Brace
Added Stiffener
Plate
Yield Line 90
degrees to slope of
brace
Slab
2
X + 2
Top of Footing
Brace
Critical Angle
First Restraint
Point
Beam
Critical Angle: The angle on the side of the brace which
governs the gusset plate dimensions
4.
= 30
Brace
= 30
Required Weld length
2t min. offset
= 30
Critical Angle
(intersects Column first)
Brace
= 30
Required Weld length
2t min. offset
Yield Line Length
Critical Angle
(intersects beam first)
L1
L2
Beam
1
1
ty
p.
Gusset Plate
p.
ty
1
Brace
Along the upper edge of the gusset plate, you can see
that the yield line intersects the free edge of the
gusset plate and not the column flange. If the column
and beam were the same depth, and the brace slope
was 45 degrees then each end of the yield line would
hit the column flange and beam flange
simultaneously. Since have this framing
configuration this will rarely happen in real life, there
will always be a gusset plate free edge intersection of
the yield line.
1 = 30
2 = 30 Minimum
3T
Stiff. Plate
Per Plans
L1
L2
Beam
Critical Angle
1
yp
.
1
t
Brace
Fabricator Notes:
3T
Stiff. Plate Per Plans
1
2
Brace
Radius the corner
3T = 3 x thickness of
plate
W = Required Weld
length along brace
A = To be determined
= To be determined
Example
Detail
Provided
Information
Fabricator Instructions
L = Given
3T = 3 x thickness of plate
W = Required Weld length
along brace
A = To be determined
1 = To be determined
2 = To be determined
Structural Drawing
L = Given
S5.1
1
p.
ty
30o
3T
o
30
L
Given
Brace
typ
L = Given
3T = 3 x thickness of
plate
W = Required Weld
length along brace
A = To be determined
Beam
Beam
A
L
Given
L Given
Beam
3T = 3 x thickness of
plate
L/2
W = Required Weld
length along brace
L/2
A = To be determined
2
1 = To be determined
2 = To be determined
p.
ty
1
Brace
1
ty
p.
Gusset Plate
3T
2.
3.
4.
5.
7.
Section Net
Area
Field Verification
As part of the design process, the actual constructed
brace / gussest plate connection should be field
verified that is complies with the structural drawings.
See Figure 29.
L Given
Beam
L/2
3.
4.
L/2
*
1
ty
p.
A
2
2.
Brace
1 typ.
* Corner of bar should intersect with edge of
gusset plate prior to hitting beam flange
2T
Yield Line
2T Min
4T Max
<2
W18x
Weld
Tube or
Pipe brace
Brace Plan View
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to recognize the time and effort
put in by the AISC Professional Members Committee
- Los Angeles Chapter that spent many months in
helping create the original brace frame presentations
for SEAOC in 1999 and 2000 from which most of
this paper has been based and written.
Conclusions
The design of SMFs and SCBFs has become more
complex in the recent codes. The design of steel
moment frames has been well covered by FEMA 350
and the AISC 2002 Seismic Provisions For Steel
Buildings. Design information has been provided for
the top of column steel moment frame connection
and detailing to provide fixity at the momet frame
column base.
SCBF brace frame design and gusset plate design has
been presented including the introduction of the
Critical Angle Concept as a method to help in
proper sizing of the gusset plates and the Yield Line
Concept for proper detailing to promote hinging in
the gusset plate resulting from the brace buckling
out-of-plane. Gusset plate fabrication notes and field
verification notes have been discussed and examples
presented as to what might be shown on the structural
drawings. Some good bracing gusset plate design
recommendations have also been presented.