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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. General

In recent years, structures are designed to sustain safely the applied actions
that occur during the life of the building and in service with the aim to have adequate
durability and sustainability. Structural steel is one of the most important building
materials in modern area. The major advantage of steel is its high strength relative to
strength of other structural materials such as wood, masonry and concrete.
In modern construction, steel structure is used for almost every type of
structure including heavy industrial building, high-rise building, equipment support
system, infrastructure, bridge, tower, airport terminal, heavy industrial plant, pipe
rack, etc. Steel offers architects more design freedom in color, texture and shape. Its
combination of strength, durability, beauty, precision and malleability gives architects
broader parameters to explore ideas and develop fresh solutions. Steel’s long spanning
ability gives rise to large open spaces, free of intermediate columns or load bearing
walls.
Steel structures can be thought of as an assemblage of different members -
beams, columns etc., that are joined through specifically designed connections to form
a single composite unit. Connections are responsible for facilitating the transfer of
gravity and lateral loading between members and eventually to the structure’s
foundations.
The steel structures are constructed by properly connecting the available
standard sections. The connections are an important part of steel structure and are
designed more conventionally than any individual members. There is a discrepancy
between the actual behavior and the analysis of steel structure is large, therefore the
connections are complex to analyze and design. The cost of structural steel consists of
major portion of connections and that is the reason primary importance should be
given to the design of connections for safety and economy of structure.
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Most buildings today are built directly on the ground, which fixes the base of
the building to the earth. Because the base of the building is connected to the ground,
when the ground moves (during the earthquake) the building also moves, causing the
building to sway back and forth with the ground. A fixed base building (build directly
on the ground) will move with an earthquake's motion and can sustain extensive
damage as a result.
Every buildings or structures are constructed to resist not only gravity forces but also
lateral forces of wind and earthquake loads. The main business of structural engineer
is to design structures safely, economically and efficiently. Structural engineer need to
study the stability of the structure and select the suitable column base support types to
produce a safe economic structure which will serve its intended purpose.
Therefore, in this study, the two buildings with unchanged floor plan are
considered in seismic zone II and IV to study the structural behavior of connections in
different seismic zone.

1.2. Objectives of the Study

The primary objectives of the study are as follows;
1. To study the different types of connections in steel structure
2. To compare the stability of the building under two seismic zones
3. To compare the structural behavior of connections in steel building under two
seismic zones

1.3. Scopes of the Study

The scope of the study is restricted to achieve the objectives. These are as
follows:
1. The proposed building is rectangular shape six-storeyed steel building.
2. Proposed building is studied under seismic zone II and IV.
3. Analysis is done by using ETABS software.
4. The required data and loads are based on the limitations according to the code
UBC 97.
5. Connection designs are calculated by RAM connection software.
6. The structural members are checked based on AISC-LRFD 93.
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1.4. Implementation Program

Study on Background theory

Data Collection Study on ETABS Software

Data Preparation and Modeling for proposed structure

Analysis of proposed building Analysis of proposed building

under seismic zone II under seismic zone IV

Storey Drift
Stability Checking
Overturning
P- Effect
Design of connections by RAM connection
Torsion
Sliding
Comparison on design results of connections

Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendation

Figure 1.1. Flow Chart for Design Process

1.5. Outlines of the Study

This thesis includes five chapters. Chapter 1 is the general introduction.

Chapter 2 presents literature review which consists of structural framing systems
loading and stability theory and about connections. Chapter 3 presents data
preparation for proposed building, modeling, load combination, analysis and stability
checking, design of connections. Chapter 4 is comparison of analysis results of
connections behavior for proposed building. Discussions, conclusion and
recommendation are presented in Chapter 5.
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