Investigation on using stiffness in Slotted web connection under cyclic load

A lot of moment resisting steel frames were damaged, after Northridge earthquake. In these building, the usual rigid weld connection didn’t work properly and fielded. In the rigid weld connections, available Shear force in the flanges and lateral torsional buckling are the main reason for weld fracture.Slotted web connections, by improving many weaknesses present in moment connections were introduced by Seismic Structural Design Associates (SSDA), and has been classified as a special moment connection in the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), managed to qualify for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regulations.The Slotted Web connection design rationale that sizes the beam slot length, shear plate, and connection weldments, is based upon successful FEMA/AISC ATC-24 protocol test results and extensive inelastic finite element analyses of the beam and column stress and strain distributions. Incorporated in this rationale, which has been accepted by numerous departments of building and safety, are the UBC and AISC Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Specifications and the 1997 AISC Seismic Design Provisions for Steel Buildings and its supplements. In this connection, the separation of beam flanges removes the shear force from beam flange and it causes to transfer it on beam web. This connection is using moment resisting steel frame structure with proper behaviour and good seismic performance One of disadvantage of this connection is fast buckling of beam flange, to revise this problem in Slotted web connection we add a couple of vertical stiffness up and down the beam flange. Using of these stiffness, not only prevent fast buckling but also increase ductility and seismic performance and when we use these stiffness we will see, the absorbing of energy in hysteric loop will be more than the usual Slotted web connection.