On beam-to-column connections used in steel frames, site welded non-bracket type connections with weld access holes are becoming popular. In order to make up for less deformation capacities due to the presence of weld access holes, beam flanges are commonly widened. Although such doing leads to the improvement of structural characteristics, it restricts architectural plans and results in higher costs. This paper reports on the achieved improvement as to the deformation capacities of connections with weld access holes when the holes are filled up with welding, without beam flange widening.
