Seismic performance of beam-to-column steel frame joints with novel types of energy dissipation connectors

In this paper, two novel types of energy dissipation connectors are proposed for beam-to-column steel frame joints. In the beam-to-column joints, connectors are used as the main source of deformation and energy dissipation to ensure that the beams and columns remain elastic during deformation, which increases the energy dissipation capacity, reduces seismic damage to the structure, and enables rapid repair of the structure via connector replacement after earthquakes. Tests were conducted on two beam-to-column joints with different types of energy dissipation connectors, and a comparative analysis was performed of the seismic performances of the two beam-column joints. The proposed beam-to-column joints exhibited satisfactory energy dissipation capacity and hysteretic performance. The beam-to-column joints effectively contained damage within the connectors, whereas the other structural members remainedessentially elastic during the seismic process. To further understand the proposed joints, the beam-to-column joint with the better seismic performance between the two types of joints was selected to establish finite element models, verify the validity of the results of a finite element analysis and to analyse the influence of different geometrical parameters of the energy dissipation connectors on the seismic performance of the joints.