Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Effect of biaxial bending moment on the behavior of steel extended

end-plate connection
Mohamed E. Nawar b, *, Ahmed Elshafey a, Kamel Kandil a, Boshra Eltaly a
a
Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt
b
Civil Engineering Department, Higher Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kafr-Elsheikh, Egypt

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The majority of design codes provide design concepts for stronger axis moment of column-beam connections. In
Biaxial bending moment some cases, weak axis moment cannot be avoided. Such cases exist extensively in the oil and gas industry due to
End-plate connections the horizontal forces from friction forces and anchor forces at the pipe supports. There is a gap in knowledge in
Moment rotation curve
designing these connections. This paper is an introduction for a better understanding of the behavior of the
Finite element analysis
Nonlinear analysis
connections subject to the weak axis moment beside the strong axis moment. An experimental program contains
six extended end-plate steel beam to column connections subjected to uniaxial and biaxial bending moment
(UBM and BBM) were carried out. Also, a finite element model (FEM) that included Material, contact, and
geometric nonlinearities, was developed to simulate these connections. The results of the FEM and the test were
compared besides, the characteristics of the connections subjected to UBM were determined and compared with
the Eurocode 3 prediction, and a good agreement between them was found. The effect of BBM on the deformed
shape, the characteristics, and the ductility of the connection are presented and discussed. The study extended to
the implementation of an extensive parametric study that ended with proposing equations to obtain the char­
acteristics of the connection under BBM. The results of this study indicate that the weak axis moment beside the
strong axis moment leads to a significant effect on the resistance moment and rotational capacity with a slight
effect on the initial stiffness. Also, it is found that the proposal equations give a satisfactory prediction for the
characteristics of the studied connections.

1. Introduction relationship are experimental tests, numerical analysis, and analytical

The behavior of connections has a significant effect on the overall
behavior of the structure. In this context, evaluation of the actual
response of steel connections is a main concern of researchers for more
than ten decades, particularly bolted end-plate connections. End-plate
connections have many advantages such as their economy, simplicity
of fabrication, and good structural performance [1–5]. Previously, rigid
joint and pin joint are the most famous expressions used to describe the
behavior of the joints. Recently, there is an expression that lies between
them and is called semi-rigid connections [6]. Researchers have
concluded that the last expression is more realistic to represent that type
of connection as described in some practical design codes such as
Eurocode [7] and AISC [8].
The graph of bending moment (M) versus the corresponding rota­
tion) θ (and its characteristics are significant tools that can be used to
represent the semi-rigid connections. The common methods to get this
models. The second and third method derived their validity from the
calibration with the first method or both. Numerous studies used the
regression analysis of the collected data from the three methods to ex­
press mathematically the moment rotation curve characteristics such as
linear, bi-linear, multi-linear, exponential functions, polynomial func­
tions, B-spline, power function, the Richard-Abbott, and the Ramberg-
Osgood function [9–14]. Mofid et al. [15,16], Mohamadi-Shoreh and
Mofid [17], and Shi et al. [18] used the analytical analysis and the
mathematical expressions based on the theory of plate, the yield line
theory, and the virtual work procedure to determine the characteristics
of the M–θ curve.
Analytical analysis of the connection using the component method
and the mechanical properties of individual elements of the connection
was frequently used, particularly the Eurocode. Wales and Rossow [19]
introduced the first study using a component method. Several re­
searchers used the component method to predict the M–θ curve

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: eng_mnawar@yahoo.com (M.E. Nawar).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.112348
Received 16 October 2020; Received in revised form 1 March 2021; Accepted 30 March 2021
0141-0296/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M.E. Nawar et al. Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

based on the calibrated FEM with experimental results to analyze the

end-plate connections [24–30].
The previous studies as the above summary were performed
considering the bending moment about the strong axis of the connec­
tions. In some cases, steel connection is subjected to both weak axes
bending moment and strong axis bending moment as in the case of
structures carrying oil pipelines. Another example of such loads is due to
the effect of the braking force of the crane on the connection between
the bracket and column. This paper is an effort to provide a better un­
derstanding of the behavior of the connections subject to biaxial bending
moment (BBM) as a first step under the effect of static load. An experi­
mental program contains testing six extended end-plate steel beam-to-
column connections subject to BBM up to failure was designed. Also,
FEM using the ANSYS software was employed and calibrated with the
experimental test results. This paper aims to study the effect of BBM on
the characteristics of M–θ curve, calibrate a FEM model that can make an
extensive study for these connections, and determine the main effective
parameters to carry out an extensive parametric study as a second step of
the study of the performance of the steel connection under BBM
(moment about a strong and weak axis).

Fig. 1a. Details of specimens. 2. Experimental procedure

2.1. Details and geometry of the test

Table 1
Description of specimens.
Extended end-plate steel connection is the most common connection
Test ID D (mm) tp (mm) Applied loads used to connect the beam to the column for the land offshore structures.
PV PH When a beam is loaded by pipes, it has a vertical load that comes from
T-20-12-V 20 12 √ – the weight of the pipes and the fluid inside and the lateral load comes
T-20-12-VH 20 12 √ √ from the pipe anchors support due to the thermal expansions and the
T-20-15-V 20 15 √ – friction. In this case, the connection is subjected to BBM. There is a gap
T-20-15-VH 20 15 √ √
in knowledge in designing these connections. Six specimens of extended
T-16-10-VH 16 10 √ √
T-16-12-VH 16 12 √ √ end-plate steel connections between the cantilever beam and column
under the effect of UBM and BBM were conducted. Two specimens are
subjected to UBM and four specimens were subject to BBM. Details and
characteristics [20–23]. The finite element model FEM using a software description of the specimens are shown in Fig. 1a and Table 1. The
program such as ANSYS and ABAQUS was distinguished by the possi­ cantilever form of the connection is one of the most common configu­
bility of obtaining data as well as a good representation of the materials rations for determining the behavior of the connections used in many
nonlinearities, contact, and sliding between connection elements. The previous researches such as [1,14,27,31] and more others. Low cost,
finite element approach was the appropriate approach for the para­ ease of manufacturing and implementation, and suitable for laboratories
metric analysis of end-plate connections. Most of the earlier studies were to conduct the test are the most important advantages of this form.

Fig. 1b. Mechanical model of extended end-plate connection [23].

2
M.E. Nawar et al.
Fig. 2. Tests setup and distribution of instrumentations. (a) 3D Sketch of the test setup, (b) Laboratory test, and (c) Distribution of instrumentations on the specimen.
The specimens are a full scale of cantilever beam-to-column con­
nections with constant geometry except for the thickness of end-plates
(tp) and bolt diameter (D). The column is comprised of three steel
plates each with 1,000 mm length. The cross-section is 240 × 20 mm for
the web plate and 200 × 30 mm for each flange. Six cantilevers
assembled from standard HEB200 section with a length of 750 mm and
stiffened with a haunch cut from the same section of the HEB with a
length of 350 mm. The column was stiffened using four plates with 240
× 100 × 15 mm dimensions at the beam flange levels and cantilevers
were stiffened at the applied load position and the middle by four plates
with dimensions of 170 × 95 × 10 mm. Six end-plates were used; the
plates have the same dimensions of 200 × 440 mm but they have
different thicknesses. One plate is with a thickness of 10 mm, three
plates are with a thickness of 12 mm, and two plates are with a thickness
of 15 mm. All components of the column and the cantilevers were
assembled using the Gas Metal Arc Welding process; GMAW. End-plates
connected to cantilevers using over design weld and to the column using
3
Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348
six bolts with a nominal diameter and M20 (grade 8.8) in four specimens
and using M16 (grade 8.8) in two specimens. The bolts are arranged in
three rows with two bolts in the row. The connections were designed to
resist the shear force by the shear and bearing strength of the bolts and
plates, respectively where the connection type used is the snug-
tightened joint.
According to Eurocode [7], the extended end-plate connection under
the effect of UBM transfers loads from beam to column through three
zones; tension zone, compression zone, and shearing zone. Each zone
contains a number of components that contribute to the overall behavior
of the connection. From the assembly of these components, the char­
acteristics of the connection are obtained. Fig. 1b shows the extended
end-plate connection components and their assembly in a mechanical
model [23]. The tension zone is the most effective zone on the behavior
of the connection, especially the bolts and the plate, which are the focus
of this study.
The specimens were designed according to Eurocode [7] to confine
M.E. Nawar et al. Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

300 Table 3
Mechanical properties of the connection components.
Element Part fy fu E (GPa) εu εf
250 (MPa) (MPa)

Column plate 250.51 429.61 194.449 0.179 0.236

200 (Average)

Vertical Load Beam (Average) Web 291.90 439.20 184.650 0.109 0.198
Flange
Load

150 Plates t = 10 244.17 396.00 181.180 0.13 0.185

mm
t = 12 339.09 492.00 181.260 0.103 0.21
100 mm
Horizontal Load t = 15 352.28 502.72 205.536 0.138 0.192
mm
50 Bolts D = 16 809.02 943.00 211.210
mm
D = 20 811.11 941.00 206.155
0 mm
0 2 4 6Time 8 10 12
eccentricity during the test on the top of the column as shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 3. Sequence load procedures on the specimen.
Then, all recorded readings were adjusted to be zero. The specimens
were subjected to monotonic vertical and horizontal load up to failure.
For specimens subject to BBM, the loading procedure was started with
Table 2
Horizontal to vertical loading ratio. applying a certain vertical load and then it was stopped to apply a
horizontal load as a ratio from the applied vertical load. This procedure
Test ID Min. (PH/PV) % Max. (PH/PV) % Average (PH/PV) %
was repeated up to failure. Fig. 3 illustrates the procedure of specimen
T-20-12-VH 15.08 25.91 20.63 loading and Table 2 shows the ratio between the applied vertical and the
T-20-15-VH 15.03 21.77 17.74
horizontal load; (PH/PV)% during the test. These ratios were chosen
T-16-10-VH 7.07 11.58 9.03
T-16-12-VH 7.27 10.78 8.89
based on the loads causing moments about the weak axis that are mostly
companion to the vertical load, and their value does not exceed 25% of
them.
the failure of the end-plate and/or bolts without the development of the The presentation and discussion of test results were presented along
full plastic moment capacity of the cantilever beam, the column, or the with the corresponding results from the FEM in Sec. 4 to avoid the
weld. Each specimen has an ID that contains four parts, for example, T- repeating and reduce the manuscript volume.
20-12-V and T-20-12-VH. The first part T is the abbreviation of the test
word and the second and the third part denote the diameter of the bolts 2.4. Material properties
and the thickness of the end-plate, respectively. The last part refers to
the configuration of the loading where V and VH refer to the specimens Seven tensile samples were taken from the connection component to
subjected to bending moment about strong axis only (UBM) and the determine the material properties of each part. Yield stress; fy, ultimate
specimens subjected to biaxial bending moment about strong and weak tensile stress; fu, Young’s modulus; E, ultimate strain; εu, and the strain at
axes (BBM), respectively. rupture load; εf for each sample were summarized in Table 3. In addi­
tion, the tensile tests were performed on the two bolts. The mechanical
2.2. Test setup and instrumentations properties of the welds are 440 MPa for yield stress, 540 MPa for tensile
stress.
The experimental program was performed at Reinforced Concrete
and Heavy Structures Lab, Structural Engineering Department, Tanta 3. Finite element analysis
University, Egypt. Fig. 2 shows the setup of the specimen and the dis­
tribution of instrumentations. The column base was supported on a Numerical 3D model was emplyed using the general purpose Finite
laboratory frame by eight M20 bolts with Grade 8.8. The top end was Element (FE) analysis program, ANSYS workbench. The proposed model
supported by two channels to prevent the torsional of the column. Be­ was claibrated with the test results and the component method approch
sides, a permanent 500 kN load with 100 mm eccentricity was applied wich insreted in the Eurocode [7] for tested specimens. All elements of
on the top of the column before the beginning of the test to reduce the the connections (column plates, cantilever parts, end-plate, and bolts…
occurrence of the bending moment on the column and the base. Vertical etc) were meshed by multizone mesh method and modeled using 8-
and horizontal load (PV and PH) cells were supported at the end of the nodes solid structural element SOLID185 as shown in Fig. 4. The
cantilever beam to cause BBM on the connections. Six Linear Variable Multi-Zone mesh method, which is a patch independent meshing tech­
Displacement Transducers (LVDT) and four PI-Gauges (Pi) were used to nique, provides automatic decomposition of geometry into mapped
measure the required displacement. The vertical and the horizontal (structured/sweepable) regions and free (unstructured) regions. It
movements of two load points on the cantilever beam (LVDT5 and automatically generates a pure hexahedral mesh where possible and
LVDT6) were measured. Also, the horizontal displacement of the end- then fills the more difficult to capture regions with unstructured mesh.
plate (LVDT1, LVDT2, LVDT3, and LVDT4) and the gap between end- SOLID185 element is suitable for modeling of 3D solid structures in two
plate and column flange at beam flanges level (Pi1, Pi2, Pi3, and Pi4) forms: homogeneous and layered structure. It is defined by 8-nodes,
were measured. each node has three degrees of freedom (translation in three global
axes directions). The element allows to define plasticity, hyperelasticity,
2.3. Testing procedure stress stiffening, creep, large deflection, and large strain capabilities
[32]. The contact between each adjacent two parts were defined with
Electronic recording started and all the equipment was verified. The surface-to-surface contact elements TARGE170 and CONTA173. Friction
test was started by applying a permanent load of 500 kN with 100 mm contact, with friction coefficient of 0.2, was imposed between end-plate

4
M.E. Nawar et al.
Fig. 4. General view of the FE model (Boundary conditions and elements meshes).
and column flange, bolts head and washers, washers and end-plate, and
channels and cover plate. The contact between bolts’ shanks and holes
was provided as frictionless contact due to existing clearance in bolts
holes. While bonded contact was provided between other parts such as;
beam and beam stiffeners, beam and haunch, beam and weld, beam and
end-plate, haunch and end-plate, weld and end-plate, column and col­
umn stiffeners, column and base plate, column and cover plate, nut and
bolts shank, nut and washers, and washers and column flange. The
nonlinear stage of the stress strain curve was represented by the Multi-
linear Kinematic Hardening assumption according to Azap [33] and it
gave satisfactory results. The Passion’s ratio was taken as 0.3. New­
ton–Raphson method was used to make force convergence and large
deflection was defined.
4. Discussion of results and verification of FEM
In this section, deformation of the six specimens was presented and
discussed. The determination and plotting of M-θ curves and its char­
acteristics from the experimental and FEM results are discussed and
compared. All curves and characteristics were determined according to
the strong axis of the connections. The effect of the weak axis moment;
Mw on the connection’s behavior was studied by comparing the char­
acteristics of the strong axis of the connections under the effect of UBM
and BBM and discussion of the difference.
4.1. Specimens deformation
Fig. 5 shows the deformed shape of the end-plates and the bolts at the
end of the test due to the experimental tests and the FEM. For the con­
nections which were subjected to vertical load only; UBM (T-20-12-V
and T-20-15-V), contact between the end-plate and the column flanges
decreased and turned into a separation which extended up to the bottom
beam flange. The separation was accompanied by elongation of upper
four bolts. The region of end-plate between the upper four bolts suffered
an interaction between the end-plate and the bolts which is considered
the main source of the connection deformation. With more loading, the
end-plate bent and the upper four bolts bent. From Fig. 5, it can be
observed that the boundary between the separation and the contact
regions between the end-plate and the column flange lied at the bottom
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Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348
flange level. This line considers the neutral axis of the connection’s
rotation. For the connections subject to vertical and horizontal load;
BBM (T-20-12-VH, T-20-15-VH, T-16-10-VH and T-16-12-VH), a sig­
nificant change in the connection deformation in comparison with the
above two specimens was observed. Referring to Fig. 6, the effect of the
horizontal load increased the contact or decreased the separation of the
edge (a-a) of the end-plate and vice versa for the end-plate edge b-b. For
the two connections; T-20-12-VH and T-20-15-VH subjected to BBM
with Mw/Ms ≈ 20% and 18%, respectively, the visual monitoring for the
deformation of two edges a-a and b-b, indicated that the separation of
edge a-a was decreased to stop at the middle flange while the contact
height of the edge was increased in comparison with T-20-12-V and T-
20-15-V. On the contrary for edge b-b, the edge separation was extended
to the full depth. When the BBM ratio Mw/Ms reduced to 9% as in T-16-
10-VH and T-16-12-VH, the change in the two end-plate edges defor­
mation was limited as shown in Fig. 5. Also, BBM changed the stresses
distribution for the bolts as was evident from the deformed shape of the
bolts where bolts 2 and 4 had the most effect of the BBM. Behavior of
bolts 1, 3 and 6 did not have a significant change while bolt 5 was ex­
pected to be not exposed to any stresses.
4.2. Moment-rotation relationship
Moment rotation; M-θ curves for the specimens were obtained from
the recorded applied loads versus the recorded deformations. Four in­
struments PI-Gauges (Pi1, Pi2, Pi3, and Pi4) from the test and the corre­
sponding ones from the FEM are the tools needed to determine the
rotation θ. The moment of a joint about the strong axis (Ms) was taken as
the product of vertical applied load multiplied by the distance between
the load point and the face of the column flange (L = 700 mm + tp) as
shown in Fig. 7 and Eq. (1).
The connection rotation about the strong axis; θs is the sum of the
shearing rotation contributed by the panel zone of the column and the
gap rotation caused by the relative deformation between the end-plate
and the column flange [29,30,34,35]. In this study, the column sec­
tion was designed so that it behaves as a rigid element. For the panel
zone, it is a part of the future study plan and hence, the shearing rotation
is naught and the supply of the connection rotation became only due to
the gap rotation. According to the deformed shape of the connections, θs
M.E. Nawar et al. Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

Fig. 5. Experimental and numerical deformed shape of the connections.

was obtained based on that the bottom compression flange is the neutral Fig. 8 shows the comparisons between the moment rotation curves of
axis of the rotation. The rotation was determined in two values from two Ms-θs12 and Ms-θs34 as the test and FEM results for the six specimens.
methods; θs12 and θs34. From both curves M-θ, it can be concluded that there is a good agree­
The first rotation (θs12) was obtained by dividing the average of Pi1 ment between the test results and the FEM model results and the dif­
and Pi2 by the distance between the locations of Pi1 and Pi2 (mid of the ferences is in the acceptable range. The calculated rotation using Eq. (3)
upper flange) to the centre of the compression flange; z1. The second one (θs34) is less than Eq. (2) (θs12) at any value of the moment-rotation
(θs34) was determined by dividing the average of Pi3 and Pi4 by the curve. This difference shows that the gap between the end-plate and
distance between the locations of Pi3 and Pi4 (mid of the middle flange) the column flange at the full height of the beam web does not form the
to the centre of the compression flange; z2 (See Eq. (2), and 3 and Fig. 7). triangle shape because the upper part of the web has more stress than the
middle. Also, it can be concluded that the difference in the stress dis­
M S = PV × L (1)
tribution of the web of the beam produce nonlinear deformation in the
1 web of the beam in the direction of beam axis. This study will be built on
θs12 = (Pi1 + Pi2 )/z1 (2) the critical value of the rotation (θs12) to represent the characteristics of
2
the connections.
1
θs34 = (Pi3 + Pi4 )/z2 (3)
2

6
M.E. Nawar et al.
Fig. 6. Definitions for the end-plate.
4.3. Characteristics of the M-θ curve
For the traditional steel connections which subjected to UBM, several
studies presented how to obtain the characteristics of M-θ curve
[7,16,36]. Herein, for each specimen, the characteristic of the moment
rotation curve was calculated from the test and FEM results according to
Coelho et al. [31], in comparison to the component method which
inserted in the Eurocode [7] and summarized in Table 4. Based on the
FEM, only additional two connections (T-16-10-V and T-16-12-V) were
analyzed to complete understanding the behavior of the connections
which have 16 mm bolt diameters under the BBM effect. The charac­
teristics of M-θ curve according to Coelho et al. [31] are yield flexural
resistance; My, plastic flexural resistance; MRd, maximum bending
moment; Mmax, initial rotational stiffness; Sin, post-limit stiffness; Sp,
corresponding rotation for plastic flexural resistance and maximum
moment; θRd and θmax, respectively, and θcd rotation capacity. Fig. 9 il­
lustrates how to obtain these characteristics from M-θ curve. Herein, for
moment rotation curves, particularly moment rotation curve due to
FEM, the θmax rotation corresponding the maximum moment is the same
of the rotational capacity θcd (see Fig. 8). The Eurocode [7] presented a
simplified method based on the component method to obtain the
Fig. 7. Parameters of the moment rotation relationship.
7
Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348
moment rotation curve characteristic. These characteristics are the MRd
moment resistance and the Sin rotational stiffness where the post-limit
stiffness (Sp) is considered equal to zero. From Table 4, it can be seen
that there is a good agreement between the test, FEM and Eurocode
prediction for the characteristic of the connections under UBM in
particularly, for the yield moment resistance where the maximum
discrepancy does not exceed 10% for all connections. The test and the
FEM are over-estimate the Eurocode for the plastic moment resistance
by about 2–11%. The prediction of the rotational stiffness is under-
estimate the Eurocode by about 5–9% and 7–17% for the test and
FEM results, respectively. The deviation of the FEM results from the test
results, especially in the nonlinear stage, may be due to that the bolts
have some preload during the installation of the bolts and was ignored in
the FEM. Also, the definition of the contact state between the bolt’s
shank and holes as frictionless may be one of the reasons for the devi­
ation of FEM results. This status may be turned into friction contact
when the bolts bend after loading. Besides, some of the error that may
occur at deriving the properties of the connections from the M-θ curve as
a result of rounding in the tangents drawing as illustrated in Fig. 9.
4.4. The effect of BBM on the characteristics of the connections
There is no approach to obtain the characteristics of the moment
rotation curves of the connections subjected to BBM. In this paper, the
case study of the applied loads depends on that the ratio between Mw and
Ms does not exceed 25%. Also, the characteristics of the moment rotation
curve of the strong axis of the connections subjected to BBM was
determined according to Coelho et al. [31] as the traditional connections
that subjected to UBM as shown in Fig. 9.
Tables 6, 7, 8 and 9 show a comparison between the characteristics of
the connections that subjected to BBM and the corresponding one sub­
jected to UBM. According to the experimental results, for the connec­
tions T-20-12-V and T-20-012-VH, the effect of BBM with Mw/Ms ≈ 20%
reduces moments capacities (My, MRd, and Mmax), rotational stiffness
(Sin), and rotational capacity (θRd, θmax) by about 14%, 14%, 12%, 9%,
17% and 30%, respectively. The decreasing of the rotational stiffness
and the rotational capacity led to the increasing of the post–limit stiff­
ness Sp by about 46% as shown in Table 5. For the connections T-20-15-V
and T-20-15-VH with Mw/Ms ≈ 18%, BBM decreased connection’s
characteristics values by about 16%, 9%, 9%, 4%, 17% and 22% for My,
MRd, Mmax, Sin, θRd, and θmax, respectively. The post-limit stiffness was
increased by about 65% (see Table 6). The FEM predications are in good
agreement with the experimental results with maximum discrepancy of
±6% for the values shown in Tables 5 and 6.
Based on the FEM only, for connections T-16-12-V and T-16-12-VH
with Mw/Ms ≈ 9%, My, MRd, θRd, and θmax were reduced by about 11%,
M.E. Nawar et al.
Fig. 8. Moment-rotation Ms-θs curves for the strong axis of the connections.
6%, 14, and 27%, respectively while Mmax and Sin had little reduction by
about 2% (refer to Table 7). Also, for T-16-10-V and T-16-10-VH with
Mw/Ms ≈ 9%, all characteristics had a limit reduction that does not
exceed 6% except the rotational capacities; θRd, and θmax, were reduced
by about 8% and 9%, respectively (see Table 8). The post-limit stiffness
Sp were increased by about 59% and 23% for T-16-12-VH and T-16-10-
VH, respectively.
In general, the four comparisons concluded that BBM affects the
main characteristics of the connection in particular, rotational capacity
8
Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348
except rotational stiffness; Sin. The rotational stiffness had a limit effect
under BBM in comparison to the traditional connection that subjected to
UBM. In another words, the weak axis moment causes contraction for
the nonlinear stage of the M-θ curve of the connection strong axis.
5. Effect of biaxial bending moment on the ductility of the
connection.
Ductility is an important property which reflects the length of the
M.E. Nawar et al. Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

Table 4
Characteristics of moment-rotation curve of the uniaxial bending moment connections.
Specimen Yield moment My (kN.m) Plastic moment resistance MRd (kN.m) Rotation stiffness Sin (kN.m/rad)
ID
Test FEM Eurocode Test/ FEM Test FEM Eurocode Test/ FEM Test FEM Eurocode Test/ FEM
Euro /Euro Euro /Euro Euro /Euro

T-20-12-V 140.21 145.36 132.70 1.06 1.10 220.95 219.17 199.05 1.11 1.10 57,699 52,858 63,570 0.91 0.83
T-20-15-V 152.32 149.00 150.41 1.01 0.99 235.31 245.81 225.62 1.04 1.09 66,066 65,197 69762.89 0.95 0.93
T-16-10-V N.A 75.54 72.50 – 1.04 N.A 115.38 108.42 – 1.06 N.A 43,919 51547.53 – 0.85
T-16-12-V N.A 103.60 99.62 – 1.04 N.A 152.22 149.44 – 1.02 N.A 62,277 57846.82 – 1.08

ψ Rd = θRd /θy (4)

250
ψ max = θmax /θy (5)
Sin
200 From this table, it can be concluded that the proposed FEM models
Mmax Sp
proved to be able to represent these connections with high accuracy. The
MRd ductility indices at the ψ max maximum moment affected BBM almost like
150 its counterpart at the ψ Rd plastic moment capacity except for connection
Moment

T-20-12-VH. Based on the FEM results, the ψ Rd was reduced by about

My 10%, 6%, 5%, and 5% for connections T-20-12-VH, T-20-12-VH, T-16-
100 10-VH, and T-16-12-VH, respectively in comparison to its counterpart
under UBM. While these ratios increased for the ψ max to become 17%,
8%, 6%, and 8% for the four connections, respectively.
50

0
Rd max cd
Rotation Table 7
Characteristics of moment-rotation curve of T-16-12-V and T-16-12-VH
Fig. 9. Moment-rotation curve characteristics according to [31]. specimens.
Characteristic FEM
yield plateau of the moment rotation curve [23,31]. Two ductility T-16-12-V T-16-12-VH VH/V
indices were concluded for each connection to represent the effect of
My (kN.m) 103.60 92.50 0.89
BBM on the Ms-θs curve at two stations: plastic moment capacity (MRd)
MRd (kN.m) 152.22 142.57 0.94
and maximum moment (Mmax). Two indices were obtained according to Mmax (kN.m) 182.00 178.20 0.98
Eqs. (4) and (5) and were summarized in Table 9. Also, a comparison Sin (kN.m/rad) 62277.13 61666.67 0.99
between ductility indices for each a pair of connections was presented in Sp (kN.m/rad) 6024.91 9577.70 1.59
this table. θRd (mrad) 3.20 2.75 0.86
θmax (mrad) 10.44 8.64 0.83

Table 5
Characteristics of moment-rotation curve of T-20-12-V and T-20-12-VH specimens.
Characteristic Experimental FEM

T-20-12-V T-20-12-VH VH/V T-20-12-V T-20-12-VH VH/V

My (kN.m) 140.21 120.84 0.86 145.36 124.00 0.85

MRd (kN.m) 220.95 190.10 0.86 219.17 192.09 0.88
Mmax (kN.m) 285.12 249.83 0.88 265.61 243.81 0.92
Sin (kN.m/rad) 57699.59 52539.13 0.91 52858.18 50612.24 0.96
Sp (kN.m/rad) 3365.38 4926.83 1.46 3489.47 5264.55 1.51
θRd (mrad) 6.80 5.65 0.83 6.40 5.15 0.80
θmax (mrad) 27.87 19.48 0.70 25.23 18.55 0.74

Table 6
Characteristics of moment-rotation curve of T-20-15-V and T-20-15-VH specimens.
Characteristic Experimental FEM

T-20-15-V T-20-15-VH VH/V T-20-15-V T-20-15-VH VH/V

My (kN.m) 152.32 127.33 0.84 149.00 128.04 0.86

MRd (kN.m) 235.31 214.39 0.91 245.81 210.14 0.85
Mmax (kN.m) 288.22 263.00 0.91 278.94 256.80 0.92
Sin (kN.m/rad) 66066.88 63665.00 0.96 65197.40 64315.66 0.99
Sp (kN.m/rad) 3364.90 5539.20 1.65 2796.91 4450.53 1.59
θRd (mrad) 5.90 4.90 0.83 6.00 4.90 0.82
θmax (mrad) 23.86 18.72 0.78 24.11 19.23 0.80

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M.E. Nawar et al. Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

Table 8
Characteristics of moment-rotation curve of T-16-10-V and T-16-10-VH
specimens.
Characteristic FEM
T-16-10-V T-16-10-VH
My (kN.m) 75.54 72.50
MRd (kN.m) 115.38 110.61
Mmax (kN.m) 176.36 170.50
Sin (kN.m/rad) 43919.41 43413.17
Sp (kN.m/rad) 4069.64 4998.81
θRd (mrad) 3.80 3.50
θmax (mrad) 28.56 25.95
6. Parametric study
A parametric analysis was conducted using the calibrated FEM to
study the effect of BBM on the main characteristics of the extended end-
plate connections. The study focuses on the behavior of the end-plate
and the bolts under the effect of BBM. As for the contribution of the
column zone panels, it is assumed that it has a rigid behavior, and its
effects on the overall behavior of the connection under the BBM are
planned in the future. The results inferred here can be relied upon
provided the column region is stiffened as in Figs. 1a and 1b.
6.1. Description of the parametric study.
An analysis of forty-eight of extended end-plate connections using
the configuration of the tested connections in Figs. 1a and 1b was con­
ducted. The column was replaced with a supporting plate with 30 mm
thickness to save the time of the analysis (see Fig. 10). The end-plate
thickness (tp) and the percentage between the Mw and Ms (β) are the
parameters of the study. The studied connections were divided into eight
groups. Each group contains six connections with the same tp and six
percentages of β. The used end-plates thicknesses are 8, 10, 12, 15, 18,
20, 24, and 30 mm and the six percentage β are 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%,
and 25%. All connections have 20 mm bolts diameter. The eight end-
plates thicknesses were selected to include the three possible failure
modes included in the Eurocode-3 under the effect of UBM. Each group
got an ID which comprises two parts; C- tp. The first part is C and is the
abbreviation of connection word and the second part denotes the tp.
When β value is equal to zero, this means that the connection is subject
to UBM only. Each connection was loaded vertically and horizontally
according β values at the cantilever end until the solution ended. The
supporting plate was defined as a fixed support. The material properties
of 12 mm plate thickness and 20 mm bolts diameter existing in Table 3
were used to define all parts of the connections.
determined according to Fig. 9. The ratio between the four character­
istics of the connections subjected to BBM at any value of β and the
control connection at β = 0 were determined and plotted as shown in
Fig. 11. In Fig. 11, the nomenclatures Myo, MRdo, Sino, and θcdo refer to the
VH/V
characteristics of control connection while My, MRd, Sin, and θcd refer to
the characteristics at any value of β.
0.96
It can be concluded that the characteristics of the connections that
0.96
0.97 have thin end-plate thickness are less affected by BBM in comparison
0.99 with the connections that have thick end-plate. For the thin end-plate
1.23 connections, the end-plate is the main parameter on the connection
0.92 behavior so these connections have high ductility. In contrast for thick
0.91
end-plate connections, the bolts are the main factor on the connection
behavior and hence they have a little ductility and the effect of BBM
leads to accelerate the failure of bolts.
The connections that have tp = 8 mm have a less reduction for the
connection characteristics under the effect of BBM. It is observed the
increase of the reduction rate of the value of the characteristics with
increasing tp = 8–15 mm, particularly for My and MRd. where My and MRd
reduced with 5–18.5% and 1.6–14.5% at β = 15% and reduced with
13–40% and 3.5–30% at β = 25%, respectively. For the connections that
have tp = 15–30 mm, the reduction rate of My and MRd reduced where My
and MRd reduced with 18.5–25% and 14.5–20% at β = 15% and reduced
with 40–47% and 30–38% at β = 25%, respectively (see Fig. 11a and b).
For the rotation capacity (θcd), the rate of reduction due to the BBM
effect with increasing tp at any value of β is almost constant. For the
connections that have tp = 8–15 mm, the θcd, reduced with 11–18% and
20–26% at β = 15% and 25%, respectively, while the connections that
have tp = 15–30 mm the θcd, reduced with 18–26% and 26–34% at β =
15% and 25%, respectively as shown in Fig. 10d. The initial rotational
stiffness (Sin) has a slight reduction under the effect of BBM where the
maximum reduction ratio was 4.5% for C-30 at β = 25% as shown in
Fig. 10c.

6.2. Effect of BBM and end-plate thickness on the connection

characteristics.

The M-θ relationship according to the strong axis of the connection

was plotted for each connection as mentioned in clause 4.2. The analysis
depends on the comparison with the connections under UBM and hence,
the connection that has β = 0 is the control connection of its group. The
Fig. 10. Geometry of the parametric Study Connections.
main characteristics of each connection; My, MRd, Sin and θcd were

Table 9
Comparisons between the connection’s ductility indexes.
T-20-12-… T-20-15-… T-16-10-… T-16-12-…

V VH VH/V V VH VH/V V VH VH/V V VH VH/V

At MRd (ψ Rd = θRd/θy) Test 2.80 2.46 0.88 2.56 2.45 0.96 – – – – – –

FEM 2.33 2.10 0.90 2.63 2.46 0.94 2.21 2.10 0.95 1.92 1.83 0.95

At Mmax (ψ max = θmax / θy) Test 11.47 8.47 0.74 10.35 9.36 0.90 – – – – – –
FEM 9.18 7.57 0.83 10.55 9.66 0.92 16.60 15.54 0.94 6.28 5.76 0.92

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M.E. Nawar et al. Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

Fig. 11. Effect of BBM on the Main Characteristics of the Connection.

Fig. 13. Values of F1 for Determine My under the Effect of BBM.

6.3. Proposed equations for the design

A proposal for the design of the end-plate connection under the effect
of BBM is presented in this section. This proposal relies on incorporate
the effect of WAM in the characteristics of the connection according to
the strong axis. Among the most important characteristics that designers
need to design such connection are: My, MRd, and Sin. From the above-
Fig. 12. Definition of Eq. (6) Parameters.
presented results and discussions, it was concluded that the WAM be­
side the SAM reduces the main characteristics of the connection. Three
factors were concluded from the parametric analysis to obtain the

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M.E. Nawar et al. Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

Table 10
Details of Four Connections.
Model Connection Beam End-plate Bolts Diameters
ID Section Dimensions (mm) (mm)

Model M-16-6 IPE 400 180 × 484 × 6 16

(1)
Model M-16-12 IPE 400 180 × 484 × 12 16
(2)
Model M-24-18 HEB 500 300 × 616 × 18 24
(3)
Model M-24-27 HEB 500 300 × 616 × 27 24
(4)

MRd = MRdo × F2 × α (8)

Sin = Sino × α (9)

Fig. 14. Values of F for Determine MRd under the Effect of BBM.
• To use this method, the following conditions are taken into
consideration:
– The connection form on which the proposal equations are based is
shown in Fig. 15.
– The yield stress and ultimate stress of the used steel materials are 340
Mpa and 500 Mpa for steel plate and 810 Mpa and 943 Mpa for bolts,
respectively (Conducting studies on different steel material proper­
ties will be carried out in the future studies).
– The column is assumed to be rigid and restrained from torsion (The
inclusion of the column panel into account is also planned in future
studies).

7. Verification of the proposed equations

This section presents the validity of using the previously proposed

a) Beam without Haunch. b) Beam with Haunch equations to predict the important characteristics of steel connection
design in the extended end-plate form under BBM. These equations are
D is the bolt’s diameter.
based on the parametric study in the previous clause. The parametric
Fig. 15. Configuration of Approved Connections in This Study. study relied on the use of one configuration for the beam (beam with
haunch) and the use of a uniform bolt diameter for all connections (20
reduction ratio due to the effect of WAM. These factors are F1, F2, and α mm). Here, checking for those equations is represented by analyzing
are obtained from charts in Fig. 13, Fig. 14, and Eq. (6), respectively. F1 some different connections in the geometry for the parametric study
and F2 represent the reduction ratio of the yield moment and plastic with the use of different bolts diameters.
resistance moment, respectively, while α expresses the shape of the Table 10 shows the details of four examples of the extended end-
beam cross-section. The following steps show how to use this proposal:- plate connections that used to verify the proposal equations. All con­
nections have the configuration shown in Fig. 15a. Each connection of
• Calculate the characteristics Myo, MRdo and Sino according to the SAM each example was analyzed six times with six values of β; 0%, 5%, 10%,
only using any analysis method or practical code. 15%, 20%, and 25%. The calibrated FEM was used to analyze the
• Calculate the ratio (β) between the WAM and SAM:β = WAM twenty-four connections using the same material properties in para­
SAM %.
metric study. The M-θ curve for each connection was plotted and its
• Calculate the ratio (ρ) between the stress area of bolt (As) and end-
As (in mm2 )
three main characteristics were determined according to Fig. 9. The
plate thickness (tp): ρ = tp (in mm) . three main characteristics of each connection under the effect of BBM
• Get the factors F1 and F2 for My and MRd, respectively, from the charts were determined using the proposal equations. The using of the proposal
shown in the Figs. 13 and 14. equations based on using the characteristics of the four connections that
• Calculate the cross-section factor (α) using Eq. (6). subjected to UBM only and analyzed by the FEM. Tables 11, 12, 13, and
14 show comparisons between the FEM and the proposal equations re­
(0.0924 + 0.333β)/0.0924
α= ( )/( ) (6) sults to predict the characteristics of the end-plate connections under the
effect of BBM. From the tables, it can be concluded that there is a good
y y
Ix
+ βx
Iy Ix
agreement between the proposal equations and the FEM for predicting
where the characteristics of the extended end-plate connections under the ef­
fect of BBM, especially for plastic resistance moment (MRd).
– Ix and Iy are the moment of inertia of the beam section about the Finally, it can be concluded that the proposed equations can be used
major and minor axes in mm4, respectively. to obtain the main characteristics of the extended end-plate connections
– x and y are the coordinates of the point having the maximum tensile under the effect of BBM using any method of analyzing these connec­
stress on the beam section as shown in Fig. 12. tions under the effect of UBM only.
• Determine My, MRd, and Sin using Eqs. (7), (8) and (9), respectively.
My = Myo × F1 × α (7)

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M.E. Nawar et al. Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348

Table 11
Example 1 to Evaluate the Proposed Equations.

Table 12
Example 2 to Evaluate the Proposed Equations.

Table 13
Example 3 to Evaluate the Proposed Equations.

Table 14
Example 4 to Evaluate the Proposed Equations.

13
M.E. Nawar et al.
8. Conclusions
This paper presents the effect of BBM on the behavior of steel beam-
to-column connections. Experimental tests on six extended end-plate
connections under the effect of UBM and BBM were conducted. FEM
using ANSYS software was employed and its outcomes were compared
with the tests’ outcome. Material, contact, geometric nonlinearities and
sliding between the elements of the connection were included in the
FEM. Deformed shape, moment rotation curves, characteristics of the
moment-rotation curves: yield flexural resistance, plastic flexural resis­
tance, maximum bending moment, initial rotational stiffness and post-
limit stiffness and the ductility of the connections were the main pa­
rameters studied and presented. Also, the characteristics of the con­
nections that subjected to UBM were determined according to the
Eurocode and compared with the test and FEM results. The study
extended to the implementation of an extensive parametric study that
ended with proposing equations for obtaining the characteristics of the
connection under BBM. The proposed equations were calibrated with
solved examples. From the discussion and comparisons of the results, the
following conclusions can be drawn: -
(1) The proposed FEM is able to simulate these connections with high
accuracy under the effect of the loads. Also, there is a good
agreement between the FEM, experimental results and Eurocode
for prediction the characteristics of the traditional connections
and the differences are in an acceptable range.
(2) Effect of BBM on the end-plate connections makes a significant
change in the deformed shape of the main components of the
connection such as the end-plate and bolts.
(3) In general, the comparisons concluded that BBM affects the main
characteristics of the connection in particular, rotational capacity
except rotational stiffness Sin. The rotational stiffness had a limit
effect under BBM in comparison to the traditional connection that
subjected to UBM. For the connections which have a thin end-
plate thickness and with Mw/Ms = 20% (T-20-12), the main
characteristics of the connection such as the MRd plastic moment
resistance and the Sin initial stiffness of the connections were
reduced by about 14% and 9%, respectively. With increasing the
thickness of end-plate to be 15 mm (T-20-15-VH), the reduction
ratio of MRd and Sin becomes 9% and 4%. For another group of the
connections of T-16-10 and T-16-12 (the group in which, Mw/Ms
≈9%), the reduction ratios of MRd were 4% and 6%, respectively,
while the Sin had a slight reduction does not exceed 1%.
(4) In another words, the weak axis moment causes contraction for
the nonlinear stage of the M-θ curve of the connection strong axis.
This contraction leads to a decrease in the rotational capacities;
θRd, and θmax, with 8–17% and 9–30%; respectively, and an in­
crease in the post- limit stiffness Sp with 23–65%. Also, The BBM
reduced the ductility indices of the connections by 5–17%. These
ratios depend on the end-plate thickness and Mw/Ms ratio.
(5) From the parametric study it was concluded that connections
leads to a significant effect on the resistance moment and rota­
tional capacity with a slight effect on the initial stiffened capac­
ity. The characteristics of the connections that have thin end-
plate thickness are less affected by BBM in comparison with the
connections that have thick end-plate. The effect of BBM on the
extended end-plate connections leads to a significant effect on the
resistance moment and rotational capacity with a slight effect on
the initial stiffened capacity.
(6) The proposed equations to take the effect of BBM on the design of
extended end-plate connections showed their high acceptability
compared to the examples solved using the proposed FEM.
Author Statement
Incomplete Submission Being Revised.
14
Engineering Structures 239 (2021) 112348
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance provided by the
staff of Reinforced Concrete and Heavy Structures Lab, Structural En­
gineering Department, Tanta University, Egypt, for their support in
conducting the tests is most appreciated.
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