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Finite-Element Analysis of a Composite Frame under Large Lateral Cyclic

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Article in Journal of Structural Engineering · July 2007

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(2007)133:7(1018) · Source: OAI

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 Finite-Element Analysis of a Composite Frame under Large
Lateral Cyclic Loading
Feng Zhou1; Khalid M. Mosalam, M.ASCE2; and Masayoshi Nakashima, M.ASCE3

Abstract: This paper presents finite-element 共FE兲 modeling and nonlinear analysis of steel-concrete composite frames subjected to very
large cyclic loading. A three-dimensional FE model is developed to carry out the nonlinear analysis. Modeling details of the steel frame,
the reinforced concrete 共RC兲 slab, the interactions between the RC slab and the frame beams, and the associated constitutive relationships
for cyclic loading are presented. A composite frame previously tested by the writers is analyzed using the proposed FE model. Good
correlation is observed between the experimental and analytical hysteresis curves up to rotation amplitude of 0.04 rad. One of the notable
observations during the loading to large rotations is the fracture at steel beam ends. To simulate such behavior, a simplified fractured steel
connection model is introduced. The proposed nonlinear model is found to be capable of capturing the fracture behavior of beam ends to
an acceptable accuracy.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-9445共2007兲133:7共1018兲
CE Database subject headings: Earthquake resistance structures; Steel frames; Composite beams; Cyclic loads; Lateral loads;
Fractures; Finite element method.

Introduction
Performance-based engineering 共PBE兲 has become a standard
norm in the research, development, and future practice of earth-
quake engineering, particularly after the 1994 U.S. Northridge
and the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu 共Kobe兲 earthquakes, for example,
SEAOC 共1995兲, FEMA 共2000a,b兲, Ministry of Land, Infrastruc-
ture and Transport 共2000兲, and Midorikawa et al. 共2003兲. Among
the various issues associated with PBE, it is essential to charac-
terize the “collapse margin”, defined as the margin of safety, mea-
sured from the instant of damage considered in seismic design
under large earthquakes to the instant of loss of capacity to sus-
tain gravity. The need for this characterization is obvious, because
extreme earthquake events that are far larger in intensity than
those considered even in the most contemporary seismic design
are believed to occur.
The development of numerical analyses in the simulation of
nonlinear responses of structural systems is remarkable, and many
general-purpose program codes have been made available for nu-
merous individuals engaged in the research and practice of earth-
quake engineering, for example 共ABAQUS 2006; ANSYS 2005;
DIANA 2006; MARC 2006兲. However, it remains unverified
1
Structural Engineer, Shanghai Research Institute of Building
Science, 75 South Wanping Rd., Shanghai, 200032, China.
2
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1710.
3
Professor, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto Univ.,
Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan.
Note. Associate Editor: Benjamin W. Schafer. Discussion open until
December 1, 2007. Separate discussions must be submitted for individual
papers. To extend the closing date by one month, a written request must
be filed with the ASCE Managing Editor. The manuscript for this paper
was submitted for review and possible publication on April 26, 2006;
approved on December 27, 2006. This paper is part of the Journal of
Structural Engineering, Vol. 133, No. 7, July 1, 2007. ©ASCE, ISSN
0733-9445/2007/7-1018–1026/$25.00.
whether or not these program codes are able to estimate the col-
lapse margin with reasonable accuracy. Moreover, there is no gen-
eral consensus on the modeling choices within these program
codes that are most suitable for composite frames. The writers
contend this because of the scarcity of actual data 共either by ob-
servations or experiments兲 by which to evaluate the effectiveness
and limitations of these program codes, and their underlying mod-
eling assumptions and choices for the estimation of the collapse
margin.
The third writer and his research group carry out a compre-
hensive experimental research project in which steel structural
frames fabricated in full scale are loaded to complete or near-
complete collapse 共Nakashima et al. 2006, 2007兲. The obtained
experimental data are believed to serve as benchmarks by which
the capacity of numerical analyses can be assessed and calibrated.
Along this line, this paper presents a study on numerical simula-
tion using one of the general-purpose finite-element 共FE兲 program
codes, namely DIANA 共2006兲.
The purpose of the numerical simulation is to trace the experi-
mental behavior up to collapse as conducted in the experimental
program outlined in Nakashima et al. 共2007兲. The focus of the FE
simulation is on the tested steel frame subassemblage 共Nakashima
et al. 2007兲, which consists of a reinforced concrete 共RC兲 slab on
top of steel beams connected firmly to the beams by steel studs. In
light of the characterization of the collapse margin of steel mo-
ment frames, it is of great interest to examine the effects of com-
posite action on the damage progression and eventual collapse.
The test subassemblage is loaded cyclically with increasing rota-
tions up to 0.13 rad. Reaching this excessive rotation demand,
severe cracks and degradation in stiffness and strength of the RC
slab and fractures at all beam ends are observed. Moreover, the
overall strength of the composite system deteriorated to about
30% of the maximum resistance.
For the FE numerical simulation in DIANA 共2006兲 under cy-
clic loading, attention is paid to the choice of the concrete con-
stitutive model. Moreover, a stud model considering the slip
along the interface between the RC slab elements and the steel

1018 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2007


Fig. 1. Test specimen: 共a兲 elevation; 共b兲 plan 共numbering of
beam-ends shown in parentheses兲 共units in mm兲
beam elements is adopted. It is shown that it is essential for robust
reproduction of the collapse mechanism, characterized by fracture
of all beam ends, to develop a special fracture model using dis-
crete interface elements with brittle behavior beyond an elastic
limit, in terms of a tensile strength calibrated with the experimen-
tal results.
Outline of the Experiment
Nakashima et al. 共2007兲 carry out an experimental investigation
on a two-story two-bay-by-one-bay composite structure, designed
following the post-Kobe Japanese seismic design method for steel
moment frames, and is subjected to very large cyclic loading. The
test structure shown in Fig. 1 has a plan dimension of 10 m in the
longitudinal direction and 3.5 m in the transverse direction. The
columns 共designated with C兲 are made of cold-formed square
tubes 关400 mm in width with thicknesses of 12 and 19 mm for the
exterior 共1C1 and 2C1兲 and interior 共1C2 and 2C2兲 columns, respec-
tively兴, and beams 共designated by G for girder, B for beam, or CB
for cantilever beam兲 are made of hot-rolled wide-flange sections
共H-400⫻ 200⫻ 9 ⫻ 16 for G1, G2, B1, B2, and CB, and H-300
⫻ 150⫻ 6.5⫻ 9 for B3 and B4兲. The through-diaphragm connec-
tion details are adopted where short brackets are shop welded to
the columns 共Nakashima et al. 2007兲. The test structure consists
of two longitudinal frames with the same dimensions and cross
sections connected by transverse beams. A RC floor slab is placed
only on one of the frames, with a width of 1.75 m on both sides
of the steel beams. The frame is designated as “composite frame,”
and the other frame is designated as “bare steel frame.” The RC
floor slab is comprised of a 75 mm deep ribbed metal deck and
90 mm thick concrete. The ribs run parallel to the longitudinal
beams. Rows of studs having a diameter of 19 and 16 mm, a
height of 110 mm, and spacing of 200 and 300 mm are welded on
the longitudinal and transverse beam tops, respectively, to achieve
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2007 / 1019
full composite action between the steel beam and the RC slab
based on the standard practice in Japan 共Nakashima et al. 2007兲.
The columns are assumed to extend to the midheight, i.e.,
1.525 m, of the first and second stories with pin devices installed
at the column bottoms. Steel braces are connected to the column
tops by gusset plates. Because of the out-of-plane flexibility of
these plates, the column tops are also regarded as pin supported.
Two jacks, one connected to each longitudinal frame, are attached
at the column tops to apply a predefined cyclic displacement pat-
tern. Overall drift angles, defined as the horizontal displacement
at the loading point divided by the loading height 共i.e., 3.05 m兲,
of 0.005, 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.1, and 0.13 rad are ap-
plied in the cyclic loading. Three cycles are repeated for each
amplitude for drift angles not greater than 0.06 rad. For larger
drift angles, only one cycle is applied for each amplitude. For
complete details of the tested composite frame, refer to
共Nakashima et al. 2007兲.
Previous Studies on Numerical Simulation
of Composite Beams
To evaluate the inelastic behavior of composite systems, many
numerical models with different levels of modeling details have
been developed. These models as a whole can be categorized into
two groups: 共1兲 composite beam elements incorporating charac-
teristics of RC to represent the overall nonlinear behavior; and 共2兲
detailed FE models with elements of different types to locally
model each load-carrying structural component and the interac-
tion among these components.
Of various composite beam modeling methods, the simplest is
to use conventional beam elements with different moment-
rotation relationships assigned to the positive and the negative
bending actions. More detailed models are developed by various
researchers, e.g., Salari et al. 共1998兲 and Ayoub and Filippou
共2000兲. In their models, the beam element consists of two beam
components that represent a steel beam and RC slab, with the two
components connected through a special interface. Partial com-
posite action can be taken into account by the deformable inter-
face modeled as concentrated or distributed springs 共Spacone and
El-Tawil 2004兲. The cross section is typically discretized into
many fibers with a uniaxial stress-strain relationship assigned to
each fiber. Ayoub and Filippou 共2000兲 calibrate their model using
an L-shaped beam-column specimen under cyclic loading, and the
measured shear force-slip behavior of the connectors is adopted in
the analysis. The test and analysis come to good agreement up to
a beam rotation of 0.05 rad. Although the simulation of cyclic
loading and strength degradation is more easily achieved by this
approach, the local information from the analytical results is lim-
ited. Moreover, the simulation has to depend on accurate test
results.
Compared with the composite beam element model, the de-
tailed FE approach using variety of elements to explicitly simu-
late the composite nature is computationally more elaborate.
However, various material constitutive relationships can be easily
incorporated into these detailed FE models, and local behavior of
the composite systems can be reproduced. Sebastian and McCo-
nnel 共2000兲 develop a FE model for the analysis of composite
structures in which layered elements are used to represent the RC
slab and the steel beams. The ribbed composite slab on profiled
steel sheeting is also modeled. The model is calibrated by com-
parison with published experimental data on composite beams
subjected to vertical monotonic load.

Fig. 2. The FE model of the test structure with frame members
modeled by their centerlines and RC slab represented by its midplane
General purpose FE programs have also been widely adopted
to carry out computational modeling of composite beams. Baskar
et al. 共2002兲 use ABAQUS 共2006兲 to analyze steel-concrete plate
girders subjected to negative bending. In the model, studs are
modeled as beam elements. Moreover, smeared cracking of the
concrete is utilized. Zhang et al. 共2004兲 analyze a reduced beam
section moment connection with a composite floor slab subjected
to lateral cyclic loading. In their model, the composite floor slab
is modeled using shell elements available in ABAQUS 共2006兲
element library. The shear studs are simulated by spring elements.
The FE model is calibrated against the measured responses from
experimental study by Jones et al. 共2002兲. The test and analysis
come to good agreement for a story drift angle up to 0.06 rad.
However, instead of a detailed material modeling of the concrete
properties, a simplified elastic-plastic compression-only stress
material is utilized for the concrete.
From the available literature, it is noticed that although there is
intensive numerical modeling of composite beams, research on
detailed FE modeling of composite structural elements bent in
double curvature 共due to lateral loads兲 and sustaining large rota-
tions in cyclic loading is still scarce. The scarcity of such research
can be attributed in part to the difficulties in accounting for stiff-
ness recovery effects of concrete material during cyclic load re-
versals, particularly for large loading cycles.
Computational Modeling
The concrete rotating crack model, available in DIANA 共2006兲,
has proven to be robust and stable in the simulation of RC struc-
tures with extensive cracking, such as the two-way slabs sub-
jected to blast loading analyzed in Mosalam and Mosallam
共2001兲. Therefore, it is decided to develop a computational model
using the program DIANA 共2006兲 for the simulation of nonlinear
behavior of the steel-concrete composite structure. To faithfully
reproduce all complicated boundary conditions, the entire test
structure—including the two frames, composite, and bare
steel—is modeled, as shown in Fig. 2. The accurate simulation of
the steel beam and the detailed deck-RC slab composite action
should involve using solid elements and contact analysis, which is
not feasible for such a simulation of an entire test structure.
Therefore, the geometrical details of the deck-RC slab are greatly
simplified in the simulation by using shell elements to represent
the entire deck-RC slab.
1020 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2007
The purpose of this paper is to examine how accurately a FE
analysis can trace the nonlinear cyclic behavior of a composite
frame sustaining very large deformations. In such deformations, it
is very plausible that steel beams would fracture, as observed in
the test 共Nakashima et al. 2007兲. It is, however, a formidable task
to predict when fracture will precisely occur because of the high
uncertainty in the material and geometrical properties governing
the fracture process. In light of this, two phases of numerical
simulation are considered in this study. One is the simulation with
no consideration of steel fractures, designated as a pretest simu-
lation, and the other is the simulation with explicit consideration
of the steel fractures, designated as a post-test simulation. In the
latter simulation, the instants of fracture are determined in refer-
ence to the test results. In the rest of this section, modeling as-
sumptions and results of the pretest simulations are presented
first. Subsequently, post-test simulations are discussed in the fol-
lowing section.
Modeling Steel Beams and Columns
The steel beams and columns shown in Fig. 1 are modeled using
two-node straight beam elements based on the Bernoulli hypoth-
esis, and the typical lengths of beam and column elements are
adopted to be 250 mm and 305 mm, respectively.
Steel is modeled to exhibit elastic-plastic bilinear behavior
based on von Mises yield criterion, with the modulus of elasticity
Es and the yield strengths b f y and c f y for the beams and columns,
respectively. To take kinematic hardening into account, a fraction
model is employed. The model, also called Besseling model
共Besseling 1958兲, is a conveniently available option to simulate
the kinematic hardening behavior of plasticity in DIANA 共2006兲.
In this model, it is assumed that there are two fractions with
weights ␾1 and ␾2 = 1 − ␾1. The first fraction represents the linear
elastic behavior, and the second fraction represents the elastic-
perfect plasticity governed by von Mises criterion. In this model,
␾1 is given by
2S
␾1 = 共1兲
1 − 2␯s
2+ 共1 − S兲
1 + ␯s
where S⫽hardening factor and ␯s⫽steel Poisson’s ratio. In this
study, S is taken to be 0.01 and ␯s = 0.3, which are commonly
adopted for steel. Hence, ␾1 and ␾2 are calculated as 0.009 and
0.991. This fraction model in DIANA 共2006兲 is employed in a
numerical example of a beam element and the obtained results are
identical to those from a conventional kinematic hardening model
in ABAQUS 共2006兲.
Modeling RC Slab
The FE model of the RC slab consists of four-node quadrilateral
curved shell elements based on an isoparametric degenerated-
solid approach. The 2 ⫻ 2 Gauss integration scheme for the area
of elements is used. Seven integration points are adopted for the
integration along the element thickness to capture the nonlinear
response of the RC slab.
As shown in Fig. 3, the adopted metal deck is in a trapezoidal
form, and the rips of the metal deck are arranged parallel to the
longitudinal beams. To account for the RC slab with the profiled
sheet, an equivalent thickness of 127.5 mm equal to a 90 mm
constant slab thickness plus one-half of the profile depth, i.e.,
37.5 mm, is assigned to the shell elements that represent the RC
 Fig. 3. Profile of the slab model
slab. Accordingly, the middle plane and top surface of the shell
elements representing the RC slab are located at 101.25 and
165 mm, respectively, above the top surface of the beam top
flange, similar to the test structure 共Fig. 3兲.
Concrete has complex constitutive relationships with different
tensile and compressive properties. It fails under compression
through crushing and under tension through cracking. The rotat-
ing crack model 共DIANA 2006兲, in which the formation of mul-
tiple cracks at a point can be considered, is used for modeling
cracking. The superiority of the rotating crack model with respect
to other fixed-crack models is discussed in Naito et al. 共2001兲.
The formulation of the rotating crack model is based on the con-
cept of the coaxial stress-strain relationship in the principal direc-
tions of the strain tensor. To model rotating cracks, the total strain
formulation is adopted 共DIANA 2006兲.
In the current computational model, softening after the onset
of a crack is idealized using the model by Hordijk 共1991兲 with an
assumed Mode-I fracture energy GIf , whose value is selected
based on the recommendations in CEB-FIP 共1993兲. The nonlinear
compressive stress-strain behavior of the concrete is idealized
using a parabolic relationship with assumed compressive fracture
energy Gc as indicated in Fig. 4. The Mode-I and compressive
fracture energies, when divided by the crack bandwidth h 共Bazant
and Oh 1983兲 of the shell FE 关taken as the square root of the area
of the used square FE 共Rots 1988兲兴, represent the areas under the
stress-strain relationships in tension and compression, respec-
tively. These areas control the ultimate crack strain and ultimate
compressive strain beyond which the concrete loses its entire ten-
sile and compressive capacities, respectively. The employed
parameters of the concrete uniaxial tensile and compressive
stress-strain relationships are summarized in Table 1.
Unlike the fixed-crack concrete models, which are frequently
used in commercial codes such as 共ABAQUS 2006兲, the shear
retention which accounts for the shear transfer across the crack is
not required for the rotating crack model. This is attributed to the
coaxial stress-strain concept where the crack is always oriented in
the principal directions, i.e., where the shear stress is zero. A
reduction in the compressive strength due to transverse cracking
and the confinement of concrete due to transverse compressive
stresses is accounted for using the models in Vecchio and Collins
共1993兲 and Selby and Vecchio 共1997兲, respectively. Moreover,
unloading and reloading are modeled with a secant approach
where loading-unloading-reloading is monitored with unloading
Table 1. Material Parameters Used in the FE Model of Composite Frame
Es 共GPa兲 ␯s bfy 共MPa兲 cfy 共MPa兲 rfy 共MPa兲 Ks 共kN/mm兲
205 0.3 312 366 400 229
Fig. 4. Unidirectional concrete material model
constraints rk, k = 1 – 6, Fig. 4, which models the stiffness degra-
dation for tension and compression separately in three dimen-
sions. Moreover, the deterioration of the material, due to cracking
in tension and crushing in compression for three-dimensional
concrete structures, is monitored using six internal damage vari-
ables ␣k, k = 1 – 6, Fig. 4. Further details on the concrete model
can be found in Mosalam and Mosallam 共2001兲 and in DIANA
共2006兲.
The steel reinforcement mesh is modeled as an embedded grid
having an equivalent thickness representing the cross-sectional
area per unit length. This equivalent thickness is determined for
the analyzed RC slab as 0.189 mm2 / mm corresponding to ap-
proximately 0.15% reinforcement ratio in both orthogonal direc-
tions. The embedded reinforcing grids with equivalent thickness
in the concrete shell elements are numerically integrated using the
2 ⫻ 2 Gauss integration scheme. These grids add stiffness and
strength to the surrounding concrete. Reinforcement strains are
computed from the displacement field of the concrete elements,
where the reinforcing grids are embedded. This implies a perfect
bond between the reinforcement and the surrounding concrete.
The reinforcing steel is modeled to be elastic perfectly plastic
based on von Mises yield criterion with the modulus of elasticity
Es and the yield strength r f y with parameters shown in Table 1.
Modeling RC Slab-Steel Beams Interaction
In the composite action, the horizontal shear transfer is normally
provided by a combination of chemical bond, mechanical inter-
lock, and end anchorage of stud bolts. For the current case, the
effects of the first two shear transfer mechanisms are negligible.
Only the stud bolts are taken to provide shear transfer. Since the
behavior of shear studs is represented by a shear-slip relationship,
a horizontal spring is employed for each shear stud in each of the
two horizontal directions. The vertical and rotational displace-
ments of a particular node on the shell element 共representing the
RC slab兲 and its corresponding node on the beam element of the
steel beam are constrained to be the same. In the model, stiff links
modeled by beam elements are introduced in the gap between the
centerline of the beam element and the middle plane of the shell
Qu 共kN兲 Ec 共GPa兲 ␯c f c 共MPa兲 f t 共MPa兲 GIf 共J / m2兲 Gc 共J / m2兲
100.53 21.1 0.2 35.73 2.33 111.56 111.56E3
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2007 / 1021
Fig. 5. Introducing springs in the FE model to represent the shear
studs 共another spring is introduced in the orthogonal horizontal
direction but not shown兲
Fig. 6. Base shear-drift angle relationship of composite frame

elements. Two links 共representing the upper and lower parts of a

stud兲 are connected at a pair of nodes of the steel beam and the
RC slab with two orthogonal springs connecting the free ends of
the two links, as shown in Fig. 5, where only one spring is shown.
An elastic perfectly plastic material model is assigned to the
spring elements. The elastic shear stiffness of the stud Ks 共Table
1兲 is approximated by
Ks = 0.9GsAsc/l 共2兲
where Gs, Asc, and l⫽the shear modulus of the stud, the stud
shank cross-sectional area, and the stud length, respectively. The
factor 0.9 accounts for the effective shear area for a solid circular
cross section. The maximum shear force of a stud Qu 共Table 1兲 is
estimated by an empirical formula proposed by Oehlers and
Johnson 共1987兲. This formula takes into account concrete crush-
ing and stud yielding, such that
mental curves are showing more gradual nonlinear response dur-
ing this loading stage. Bilinear modeling of the steel material and
the use of beam elements to simulate the columns and beams may
account for such differences between the experimental and ana-
lytical results.
In reference to the hysteresis curves shown in Fig. 6, accumu-
lation of dissipated energy, defined as the sum of the product of
resistance and displacement increment in each loading step, for
the composite frame with the progress of loading is presented in
Fig. 7. In the figure, the white and black bars represent the results
from the experimental and analytical curves, respectively. To be
consistent with the loading history of the computational model,
the dissipated energy obtained from the experiment is calculated
for the first cycle of loading for each amplitude. The shown good
comparison is a further confirmation of the accuracy achieved by
the developed computational model of the tested composite

冉 冊冉冊
frame.
Ec 0.4
f ⬘c 0.35
Fig. 8 shows the relationship between the beam bending mo-
Qu = 4.1f uAsc 共3兲
Es fu ment versus the rotation angle at the Beam ends B12 and B45 in
where f u⫽ultimate tensile strength of the stud; f ⬘c ⫽concrete com- 关Fig. 1共b兲兴. For clarity, the curves correspond to the loading with
pressive strength; and Ec and Es are elastic moduli of concrete only amplitude of 0.04 rad for the experiment and the loading
and steel, respectively. with amplitudes of 0.005 to 0.04 rad for the analysis. Good cor-
relation between the experimental and analytical is also notable
for the local behavior. As for the composite beam shown in Fig.
Analysis Results 8共b兲, both the experimental and analytical results indicate unsym-
Geometric nonlinearity based on a Total Lagrange description is metrical moment-rotation relationships, in which the strength is
included, which accounts for large displacements and rotations. greater in positive bending relative to negative bending. The com-
Since the vertical load considered in the analysis is only the self- posite beam end fractured during the experiment, and the analysis
weight of the test specimen, the axial load applied to the columns does not capture this behavior, which is not modeled in the shown
is judged to be too small to produce significant P-⌬ effects in the pretest analytical prediction. Simulation of fractures is discussed
experiment or in the analysis. The regular Newton-Raphson solu- in the next section for the post-test analytical evaluation. A com-
tion strategy, in which the tangent stiffness matrix is recalculated
for each iteration of a given loading step, is adopted with an
increment of 0.001 rad of drift angle. In the analysis, only one
cycle is applied at each amplitude level even before 0.06 rad,
where three cycles are actually applied in the experiment. This is
conducted to reduce computational time and because of the ob-
served limited degradation with repeated cycles at each amplitude
in the experiment. Fig. 6 shows the results 共for the cycles of 0.005
to 0.04 rad amplitudes兲 obtained for the composite frame. The
dashed and solid lines are the analytical and experimental curves,
respectively. As shown in the figure, correlation between the two
curves is good, and the differences in stiffness and maximum
strength are less than 10 and 5%, respectively. However, differ-
ences between experimental and analytical curves in the yielding
stage are notable. Relative to the analytical curves, the experi- Fig. 7. Dissipated energy of composite frame

1022 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2007

Fig. 8. Moment-rotation relationship of beam-ends: 共a兲 bare steel
Beam-end B12 关Fig. 1共b兲兴; 共b兲 composite Beam end B45 关Fig. 1共b兲兴
parison between Figs. 8共a and b兲 indicates the benefit of the
strength increase and the detrimental early fracture caused by the
presence of the RC slab in the composite frame compared with
the bare steel frame.
In the previously discussed computational model, each stud is
represented by elastic perfectly plastic springs, as shown in Fig. 5.
To evaluate the effects of interface slip between the RC slab and
the steel beams on the behavior of the composite frame, the elas-
tic perfectly plastic springs are replaced by elastic springs with
stiffness equals Ks from Eq. 共2兲. Fig. 6 also presents the overall
drift angle versus shear force relationship for this case of elastic
studs. As shown in Fig. 6, the difference between the analytical
and experimental maximum strengths in this case with elastic
studs is about 15%, instead of 5% in the case of elastic perfectly
plastic studs. This confirms that interface slip plays a non-
negligible role in the strength of the concerned composite frame.
Connection Fracture of Welded Steel Moment Frame
The previous section described the pretest simulation, which did
not account for beam fractures. The post-test simulation, with an
explicit consideration of the steel fractures, is described below.
Fracture Model
A few empirical analytical models have been proposed in recent
years to represent the brittle fracture of welded steel connections
in frames modeled using beam elements. It should be emphasized
that many computational studies exist on fracture of steel beam-
to-column connections using two-dimensional and three-
dimensional finite-elements. These studies are not reviewed here
as the focus is on computational models using beam elements
instead. Gross 共1998兲 developed a hysteresis model having a bi-
linear envelope prior to the weld fracture and a bilinear regime
with reduced stiffness and strength afterwards. Two hysteresis
relationships are devised by Luco and Cornell 共2000兲 to simulate
the fracture of the bottom flange only, and the fracture of both the
top and bottom flanges. In these models, the connection fracture
is assumed to occur either when the plastic rotation of the beam
end reaches a particular amplitude or when the beam bending
moment exceeds a critical value. Obviously, these models are fit
only for analyses using the concept of concentrated plasticity.
The models mentioned above assign empirical values for the
fracture rotation and the succeeding degradation of stiffness and
strength. This paper adopts a more detailed approach in the con-
text of beam elements, in which the fracture detection is based on
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2007 / 1023
Fig. 9. Conceptual beam-to-column connection model for fracture
the material stress-strain relationship, rather than the moment-
rotation relationship of the cross section. The outline of the model
and the parameters used to define the material behavior are shown
in Fig. 9. Since the beams and columns are modeled with one-
dimensional elements along the member centerline, a fractured
connection model is inserted into the beam at a distance repre-
sented by one-half of the depth of the column cross section mea-
sured from the column centerline. The fractured connection
model consists of eight rigid beam elements, four on either side of
the fracture plane in the vertical direction. Four line interface
elements connect these four pairs of rigid beam elements. Each
line interface is a numerically integrated four-node line interface
element 共DIANA 2006兲. Based on the evidence that the top flange
remained unfractured during the experiment, the two top nodes of
the rigid beams are forced to have the same translations with
rotations constrained as the interface element allows translations
only. Considering the prevalence of the bottom flange and web
failure mode, this assumption is deemed reasonable.
The four line interface elements represent the top flange, upper
half of the web, lower half of the web, and the bottom flange. The
flange and web widths are specified as the out-of-plane thickness
of the used interface elements. These line interface elements are
based on the plane stress assumption with separate constitutive
relationships between the normal 共axial兲 and tangential 共shear兲
stresses and the corresponding opening and sliding displacements,
respectively. No coupling between the normal and tangential di-
rections is accounted for in these elements. A discrete brittle
cracking model is incorporated into the line interface elements in
the normal direction. As shown in Fig. 9, the interface behaves
elastically with very high stiffness before the tensile stress of the
interface element reaches a values corresponding to fracture, f F. It
has to be stressed that the actual state of stress in fractured steel
beam-to-column connections is beyond what the presented ap-
proach can simulate. Moreover, the fact that the fracture stress f F
has to be calibrated by experimental results is a clear limitation of
this simplified fracture approach. When the tensile stress exceeds
the specified fracture strength, the stress suddenly drops to zero.
In the tangential direction, the material model of the interface
element is assigned a very high elastic stiffness, i.e., no slip is
expected and this assumption is in agreement with the observation
from the experiment, where fracture is predominantly Model-I
fracture. The line interface element is integrated with the three-
point Lobatto scheme. The Lobatto quadrature is adopted instead
of the standard Gaussian quadrature, because it has integration
points at the element end nodes, which coincide with the locations
where fracture initiates. Note that the entire fractured connection
Fig. 10. Base shear-drift angle relationship of composite frame: 共a兲
to 0.04 rad; 共b兲 to 0.06 rad
model is a zero-length element along the beam axis with the same
cross-section dimensions as those of the adjacent beam elements.
The combination of the fractured connection model and the
adjacent beam elements can be viewed as springs in series. Since
the fractured connection model is used to capture the fracture
behavior only, its elastic stiffness is effectively infinite so that the
displacements of the two nodes that are linked by the fractured
connection model are virtually the same. Prior to fracture, the
moment-rotation hysteretic behavior of the connection is the same
as that of the normal ductile connection. Once the fracture occurs,
the location where the fractured connection model is introduced
becomes a real hinge, with the rotation center positioned at the
beam top flange. When the normal displacement of the interface
element becomes negative, the separated cross sections make con-
tact again, and the stiffness of the fractured connection is re-
newed. At this point, a full recovery of strength is considered in
the computational model.
Application to Composite Frame and Comparison
with Experimental Results
The fractured connection model is used to capture the experimen-
tal results involving fractures of steel connections. For each of the
eight beam-to-column connections, one fractured connection
model is inserted along the main beam in the location at one-half
of the column depth measured from the beam-to-column connec-
tion. The connections are classified into two groups: the interior
and the exterior connections, for which different fracture stresses
are assigned. The fracture stresses are determined by trials, so that
the first fractures to both the exterior and interior connections
would occur at the same instances of loading the analytical model
as those recorded during the experiment. The fracture stresses
thus selected are 325 and 360 N / mm2 for the exterior and interior
connections, respectively. Those values are larger than the yield-
ing stress of 312 N / mm2 共Table 1兲 obtained from the associated
coupon tests.
Fig. 10 shows the shear force versus overall drift angle rela-
tionships for the composite frame. The plots of loading to the
amplitudes of 0.04 and 0.06 rad are shown in Figs. 10共a and b兲,
respectively. Up to the amplitude of 0.06 rad, all four connections
of the composite frame fractured in sequence during the experi-
ment. In Fig. 10, Labels 1 to 4 and Labels a to d show the ex-
perimental and analytical sequences of fracture, respectively. The
analysis traced the experimental behavior reasonably well. A
closer look, however, exhibits some discrepancy in the strength.
In the first and second fractures that occurred at the two exterior
connections 关Beam-end numbers B45 and B65 in Fig. 1共b兲兴 in the
1024 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2007
Fig. 11. Moment-rotation relationship of composite Beam end B45
关Fig. 1共b兲兴 accounting for fracture of connections
experiment, the bottom flanges fractured instantaneously, which
results in a very sharp drop in bending moment 共and accordingly
base shear兲 resistance, as indicted by Labels 1 and 2 of Fig. 10. In
the third fracture that occurred at an interior connection 关Beam-
end B56 in Fig. 1共b兲 and Label 3 in Fig. 10共b兲兴, cracks initiated
and opened gradually along the width direction of the beam lower
flange with repeating cycles. Accordingly, the drop in resistance is
more gradual. In fact, bending moment and base shear drops are
nearly invisible for the fourth fracture at another interior connec-
tion 关Beam-end B54 in Fig. 1共b兲 and Label 4 in Fig. 10共b兲兴. The
decrease of the rate of bending moment reduction primarily due
to a reduction in stress intensity after previous fractures occurred.
It is also notable that the fourth fracture occurred at around zero
rotation. This indicates that the fracture is controlled not only by
strength but by cumulative damage as well. On the other hand, the
model assumes that fracture is controlled only by the fracture
strength. The experimental and analytical relationships between
the bending moment and the rotation angle are compared in Fig.
11 for the first fractured composite connection, i.e., the beam-
end designated as B45 in Fig. 1共b兲. As expected from the
calibration of f F values, the FE model traces the fracture behavior
successfully.
Fig. 12 presents the shear force versus the overall drift angle
relationships of the composite frame for loading up to the end of
the test, i.e., 0.13 rad. With the increase in the loading amplitude,
discrepancy between the experiment and analysis widens. More-
over, large out-of-plane deformation occurs during the experiment
at the beam bottom flange and web due to the lack of lateral
torsional resistance following the bottom flange fracture. This
leads to only a partial recovery of resistance when fractured parts
of the beam cross section contacted again, whereas the presented
fracture model always assumes full recovery of resistance. The
analysis is terminated due to numerical divergence 共refer to the
symbol ⫻ in Fig. 12兲. This divergence is attributed to cracking of
the concrete slab, separation, and recontact of fractured connec-
tions and yielding of the steel members in such a large deforma-
tion range involving extremely large nonlinearity, accompanied
by drastic changes of the tangent stiffness. However, this diver-
gence occurred after reaching a displacement level corresponding
to 0.1 rad, far beyond what one should expect from any existing
computational model with all of these interacting sources of
nonlinearities.

Fig. 12. Base shear-drift angle relationship of composite frame 共to
0.13 rad兲
Conclusions
With respect to traditional “prescriptive code”, PBE requires pre-
dictive analytical models to evaluate the limit state of the struc-
tural behavior. This paper discusses the development of these
types of predictive models through validation and to some extent
calibration, based on a unique experimental study of a composite
steel frame structure with a RC slab loaded cyclically up to very
large lateral deformations. The major findings of this study are
summarized in the following paragraphs.
A FE model is developed for simulating the hysteretic behav-
ior of a composite frame which exhibits strong material nonlin-
earity under load reversals due to initiation, opening, and closing
of cracks in the RC slab. The adopted total strain crack model of
DIANA 共2006兲 offers a stable numerical solution to evaluate the
hysteretic behavior of concrete. The numerical results are com-
pared with the corresponding experimental results, and good cor-
relations in terms of stiffness and strength verify the effectiveness
of the developed FE model. The capabilities of the model are
extended to include steel fracture of composite connections. By
incorporating a fracture model, the FE simulation is able to trace
the effects of weld fracture and succeeding nonlinear perfor-
mance. Because of the complicated nature of fracture and the
simplified assumptions of the adopted fracture model, the pre-
sented model is calibrated by the corresponding experimental re-
sults regarding the onset of steel fracture.
As was partially shown in this paper, composite action is af-
fected significantly by interface slip between a steel beam and
concrete slab. In addition, the composite action is also likely to
vary with respect to the beam length, thickness of the RC slabs,
and width of columns as supported by several monotonic tests
reported in the literature.
Because of the limitation on time and cost associated with
large-scale experiments, the proposed FE model, which can ac-
count for the effects of cyclic loading and large deformation and
calibrated with the current experimental data, is a reasonable al-
ternative to enrich the existing information on hysteretic behavior
and seismic design of composite steel beams with RC floor slabs.
Certainly, more advanced and predictive models are still
lacking—particularly for detecting the onset and propagation of
fracture in the steel frame members of such composite systems.
Acknowledgments
The research was sponsored by the Japanese Society for the Pro-
motion of Science 共Basic Research Category S: 14102018兲. The
third writer was the principal investigator of this project, and
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2007 / 1025
writers are grateful for the support. The second writer was a vis-
iting professor at Kyoto University during the time of this study,
and appreciates the generous support from Kyoto University.
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