The paper presented the seismic performance of T-stiffener moment connections for use in steel moment-resisting frames. The connections were strengthened by welding the vertical and horizontal clement of the T-stiffener to the beam flange and column f...
The paper presented the seismic performance of T-stiffener moment connections for use in steel moment-resisting frames. The connections were strengthened by welding the vertical and horizontal clement of the T-stiffener to the beam flange and column f1ange. Finite clement analysis and experiments were conducted to determine the behavior of T-stiffener-reinforced connections. The results of the finite element analysis confirmed the effectiveness of the T-stiffener, whose horizontal element lengthened to mitigate local stress concentrations of the beam flange on the horizontal stiffener. Full-scale specimens were also tested cyclically to study hysteresis behavior. The main parameters used were the ratio of the T-stiffener to beam strength and the shape of the horizontal element. As the length of the horizontal element increased, the deformation capacity of the connections enhanced. Likewise, all specimens behaved according to the Ramberg-Osgood curve and showed stable hysteresis behavior.