Seismic behavior of exterior connections with steel beams bolted to CFT columns

In order to improve the constructability and meanwhile ensure satisfactory seismic behavior, an innovative type of connection for concrete filled circular steel tube (CFT) column-to-steel beam composite structures was conceived and studied. The proposed connection details are characterized by an extended endplate that is welded to a steel beam in factory and then bolted to a CFT column using high-strength steel rods in the field. An experimental investigation on seismic behavior of the proposed bolted endplate connection and evaluation of the effect of concrete floor slabs and reduced beam sections was conducted by testing three full scale joint models. The experimental results indicated that the presence of floor slabs contributed to the strength of joints significantly and reduced beam sections were effective in moving the buckling zone away from the welds. Analytical models for the bolted endplate connections were also constructed using OPENSEES1.7.3 to simulate the experimental results.