An Analysis of the Design of Multistory Steel Frames with Semirigid End-Plate Connections

Because of the absence of the calculation theory and design method for the semirigid end-plate connection which is wildly used in portal frames,which leads to the significant difference between the calculation result and the real stressed state of the end-plate connection,especially for multi-story frame.Using the initial connection stiffness and the moment-rotation(M-) curve,obtained from both experiments and finite element methods,and taking the semirigid end-plate connection as a spring element,a FEM model is set up by Ansys to calculate and analyze,and the influence of semirigid connections on the multistory steel frames design is studied in this paper.The result shows that the steel frames with semirigid connections are different from those with rigid connections.The flexibility of the connections affects the behavior of the frames and their influences can not be ignored in the steel frames design and analysis.