A PRACTICAL METHOD FOR INCORPORATING FLEXIBLE CONNECTIONS IN PLANE FRAME ANALYSIS

A practical method for incorporating realistic flexible connections in plane frame analysis, including the effect of connection sizes and sh ear deflection, is presented. The general algorithm can be easily impl emented in a standard plane frame analysis program and, once implement ed, it can be an ideal tool for production work in the steel industry. Connection stiffness is programmed directly into the analysis using t he moment-rotation equations developed by Frye and Morris or may be en tered separately as data. practical application of this method of anal ysis is demonstrated by modifying a standard plane frame analysis prog ram to include the effect of flexible connections. Solutions obtained using this modified program, CPlane, were verified against the finding s of Moncarz and Gerstle. A simple plane frame structure was analyzed under various lateral load intensities for different connection assump tions. It was found that the inclusion of connection behavior signific antly altered the internal force distribution and design of the struct ure.