Lila Bahadur Khatri, Jianwei Huang

Abstract: Hollow structural sections (HSS) are suitable for various structural applications, such as columns, bracing members, cladding supports, and truss members. Recently, HSS members have been researched as one type of moment resisting frame systems for structures. Several studies have been conducted on the behaviors of HSS-to-HSS concentric moment connections subjected to cyclic loading, however, studies on the cyclic bending behaviors of eccentric connections are very limited. This paper aims to investigate the effects of the connection eccentricity on the load capacity of the HSS-to-HSS moment connection subjected to cyclic loading by using finite element (FE) simulations. Two connection configurations were examined with different beam width-to-column width ratios (β); both unreinforced and reinforced connections were examined for each configuration. The results from this study showed that the moment capacity of an unreinforced HSS-to-HSS moment connection increases as the connection eccentricity increases, whereas the connection eccentricity has minimal effects on the moment capacity of a reinforced HSS-to-HSS moment connection. Also, with the same connection eccentricity, the connection with a higher beam width-to-column width ratio (β) demonstrates a higher moment capacity for both unreinforced and reinforced moment connections.

Keywords: Hollow structural section (HSS), moment connection, eccentricity, finite element, cyclic loading.

Date Published: November 15, 2023
DOI: 10.11159/ijci.2023.010

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