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Performance of seismic steel beam–column moment joints

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Abstract

During the Puebla earthquake on September 19, 2017, about 200 steel buildings were subjected to a severe shake in the State of Mexico, Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico City. Although null or minor structural damage was reported, design and assembly opportunity areas in some beam–column moment joints were identified during the post-seismic inspections. With this in mind, six beam–column connections, widely employed in steel frame structures by the local practice, were experimentally tested through natural-scale. A damage concentration with not enough ductile response for high-ductility steel structures was reported. Welding parameters and fabrications details are emphasized to improve the response for new structures, and a rehabilitation suggestion for existing structures is discussed. This research is part of a study that aims to establish the vulnerability of steel structures in Mexico.

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Availability of data and material

Analytical models, earthquake ground motions, and results are available upon request to the corresponding author.

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Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

The master fellowship granted to the second author by the National Science and Technology Council of Mexico (Conacyt) is gratefully acknowledged. Also, the authors wish to acknowledge Marcos Chávez-Cano, Carlos Moss, Gabriel Guerra, and the Staff of the Materials and Structures Laboratory of the Engineering Institute, UNAM.

Funding

Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) for the master fellowship granted to the second author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 02200, Mexico City, Mexico

    Edgar Tapia-Hernández

  2. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

    Alejandro Santiago-Flores & Héctor Guerrero-Bobadilla

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  1. Edgar Tapia-Hernández
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  2. Alejandro Santiago-Flores
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  3. Héctor Guerrero-Bobadilla
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Contributions

Beam–column connections were experimentally tested through natural-scale. A damage concentration with not enough ductile response for high-ductility steel structures was reported. The study aims to establish the vulnerability of existing steel structures. Test results were compared with ASCE 41 predictions.

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Correspondence to Edgar Tapia-Hernández.

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Tapia-Hernández, E., Santiago-Flores, A. & Guerrero-Bobadilla, H. Performance of seismic steel beam–column moment joints. Bull Earthquake Eng 20, 6741–6761 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-022-01456-2

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