ABSTRACT
Dr Jaspart: It depends upon the type of imperfection, for example lack of fit. What is clear, is that if you test some joints which are nominally similar, obviously the lack of fit will be different. So when we test these in the laboratory for moment-rotation curves, the resistance is not very different in such cases, but the stiffness is different. That is a problem, because the difference in the joint stiffness will affect the behaviour of the frame. Most studies have shown, however, that such variation in stiffness is not very high.
