COLLAPSE BEHAVIOR OF SWAY FRAMES WITH END-PLATE CONNECTIONS

A test program consisting of 10 frame specimens loaded to collapse at the National University of Singapore as part of the broad investigatio n on ''analysis and design of semi-rigid frames'' has been completed a nd briefly reported in Liew et al. (1997). This paper provided the det ails of three test specimens and describes the test observations of th e sway frames under the combined actions of gravity and lateral loads. The load-deformation responses of the test frames and their connectio ns under sequential and non-sequential loading are determined and comp ared with theoretical predictions. The moment-rotation characteristics of such connections are determined so that advanced analysis can be c arried out and compared with the test results to determine if the ulti mate load carrying capacity and load-deflection characteristics of suc h frames can be predicted by the proposed analysis method. This paper focuses the discussion on three of the frame specimens constructed usi ng extended end plate connections. Comparison of test results with sec ond-order refined plastic hinge analysis and Eurocode are made using t he moment-rotation characteristics of individual beam-to-column connec tions established through tests. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All ri ghts reserved.