Comparison of analytical methods for evaluation of stress at beam-to-column connections in steel rigid-frame piers and modeling of FEM

Abstract

Recently, the fatigue damage at the beam-to-column connections, where many plates intersect and stress concentration is produced, in steel piers has been reported. However, in the above specifications, no procedures for evaluating stress concentration and fatigue strength is given. In this study, in order to identify the stress concentration, through comparison of stress concentrations obtained from the formula proposed by Okumura-Ishizawa method, from conventional FEM, and from the constant shear flow panel FEM. In addition, we proposed appropriate FEM to identify the stress distribution and concentration at the beam-to-column connections. Furthermore, the effect and role of the fillet plates for mitigating the stress concentration are given.