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Simplified seismic fatigue evaluation for rigid steel connections

Ayman A. Shama1, John B. Mander2 and Stuart. S. Chen3

1. Parsons Corporation, 100 Broadway, New York, NY 10005, USA

2. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

3. Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA

Abstract: A simplified fatigue-life model is proposed for assessing the seismic inelastic rotational capacity of steel connections. First relations are developed for rigid steel connections under lateral loading. Next this is extended to account for the effects of the welded steel moment frame (WSMF) connections of the so-called pre-Northridge type. The seismic fatigue theory is validated against experimental results. The experiments were conducted under increasing ductility amplitudes until the onset of fracture. Miner’ rule was used to convert the test results to given an equivalent constant amplitude cyclic fatigue life. Satisfactory agreement is obtained when comparing the experimental observations with the theoretical predictions.

Keywords: fatigue; cyclic load; seismic; pile-to-cap; moment frames; connections; steel