APPLICATION AND ADVANTAGES OF REDUCED BEAM SECTION (RBS) IN STEEL BEAM-COLUMN MOMENT CONNECTION

Mechanics

Reduced beam section (RBS) moment resisting connections have been known as a famous steel moment connections for steel structures, because of their economical advantages and seismic ductility. Improvement of seismic ductility and decreasing the stress concentration in the end of the beams, that connect to the column with RBS connection. In the common RBS connection, plastic section modulus of beam decreases with diminishing of beam flange width in the plastic hinge zone, and forming of plastic hinge transfer to the reduced region from the column face. Using of steel corrugated plates in the beam web is a manner of section weakening in the beam plastic hinge zone. In this method the beam web is omitted in the plastic hinge limit and corrugated plates are placed in this limit, substitute of beam flat web. Corrugated plates because of their accordion effect don’t have bending rigidity and they don't participate in the bending load carrying. Then using of these plates in the plastic hinge region reduces the beam plastic section modulus and plastic hinge is formed in corrugated region. This proposed RBS connection, in addition to providing the requirement of reduced section, with increasing the beam out of plane stiffness in the plastic hinge zone because of corrugated plates shape, prevents any buckling modes in this region. In this paper after presentation of new RBS connection with corrugated plates in the beam plastic hinge zone, seismic design procedure of this connection is presented with using of finite element analysis and notice to code limitations about design methods, construction and installation of RBS connections.

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