ABSTRACT
The major findings of a recently completed investigation into the performance of several types of beam-to-column connections are presented. The primary aim of the project was to resolve questions about the performance of the steel in rotary straightened wide-flange shapes. Full-scale test specimens utilized common beam and column sizes as well as welded flanges and cover plates, and bolted webs; they were designed using the AISC seismic criteria. Certain specimens used rotary straightened columns; others had gag straightened columns or unstraightened columns. The loading was either quasi-static in accordance with ATC-24 or dynamic (1 Hz). A total of 17 connections were tested; the results show that the form of column straightening protocol has no effect on the performance of the connections. Quasi-static testing is adequate for seismic purposes, although dynamic testing is more severe and probably closer to seismic conditions.
