Behavior of Flush End-plate Moment Connections subjected to Bending and Axial Forces

In order to study the true behavior of connections in structures without a rigid diaphragm, such as industrial sheds, that the beams carry moments in addition to axial forces, the combination of bending and axial force should be considered substantially. In this paper, two different end-plate moment connections were designed with one based on the thick plate behavior, and the one based on the thin plate behavior. Then, the behavior of both connections subjected to the combination of bending and axial forces were examined and the interaction diagram was drawn. It was seen that the axial force can result in a mode shift and a consequential reduction in the bending capacity of the connection. The interaction diagrams of both samples were similar to each other, proposing the hypothesis that the general shape of the interaction diagram is not a function of connection dimensions. Next, the connections were subjected to cyclic loading and as it was predicted, the connections with thin plate were failed in more cycles compared to the ones with thick plates. It was also observed that the ultimate moment capacity, yielding moment, initial stiffness, and energy dissipation of connection all increased in presence of compressive force, and they were all decreased when subjected to tensile force.