Stability behaviour

rigid sway frames

of semi-

Yoshiaki Goto and Satsuki Suzuki

Department of Civil Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku Nagoya, 466
Japan

Wai-Fah Chen
School of Civil Engineering,

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

(Received June 1992)

Due to the inelastic behaviour of beam-to-column connections, the

stability behaviour of semi-rigid steel frames is affected not only by
the loading and unloading characteristics of connections at the
critical points, but also by their prior load history up to these points.
Thus, the analysis of inelastic critical and post-critical behaviour of
semi-rigid frames becomes very complicated, when compared with
that of the usual pinned or rigid frames. This paper utilizes a method
developed by the authors to examine precisely how the stability
behaviour of semi-rigid frames is influenced by factors such as
modelling of connections, load conditions, geometrical imperfections, and the load history caused by cyclic wind load. Based on these
results, the validity of the effective length factor as applied to the
design of semi-rigid frames is discussed.
Keywords:

stability, semi-rigid steel frames,

In a conventional
analysis and design of steel
frameworks,
the beam-to-column
connections
are
treated either as a fully rigid or an ideally pinned joint.
Although these idealizations considerably simplify the
analysis and design procedures, the predicted response
of frames may not be realistic. Most connections in
building frames are semi-rigid and their rigidities lie
somewhere between the rigid and the pinned case. To
assess the stability behaviour of semi-rigid frames more
realistically, it is necessary to incorporate the connection
flexibility in the analysis.
The stability of a structural system can be studied
from the behaviour around its critical points, commonly
referred to as the bifurcation point and the limit point.
Since semi-rigid connections can exhibit inelastic
behaviour even under a relatively small connection
moment, connection nonlinearity has to be considered in
the stability analysis. The critical behaviour of frames
will be affected not only by the loading and unloading
characteristics of connections at the critical points, but
also by their load history. As a result, the stability
analysis of semi-rigid frames becomes much more complicated than that of pinned or rigid frames.
In a usual stability analysis, as summarized by Jones
0141-0296/93/030209-11
0 1993 Butterworth

- Heinemann

effective

length factor

and Chen and Lui, the simple load-control

incremental procedure with or without the NewtonRaphson iterative procedures is generally adopted and
no special attention is paid to the analysis around the
critical points. Consequently, they cannot give accurate
information about the limit-load instability, or inelastic
bifurcation shown by Romstad and Subramanian,
Ackroyd$, Cook, Simitses and Vlahinos6, Yu and
Shanmugan, Lui and Chen8, Goto and Chen, Poggi
and Zandonini and Mazzolani, among others.
Goto et al. 12.13presents a rigorous method for the
inelastic analysis of critical and post-critical behaviour
of semi-rigid frames with or without load history in connections. This method will be used to analyse the
inelastic bifurcation and the limit-load instability of
semi-rigid frames. The present analysis implements a
highly accurate connection model developed on the basis
of connection
experiments
which includes cyclic
behaviour.
This paper will examine how the stability behaviour of
semi-rigid frames is influenced by the following factors:
modelling of connections, load conditions, geometrical
initial imperfections, and load history due to cyclic wind
load. Member plastification is ignored. Based on these
et al.

Ltd

Engng Struct. 1993 Volume 15 Number 3

209

Stability behaviour of semi rigid sway frames: Y. Goto et al.

results, the validity of the effective length factor concept

as applied to the design of semi-rigid frames is
discussed.

Analysis of critical behaviour

The secant and tangent stiffness equations of a beamcolumn are derived in closed-form from the governing
differential equations, where the moderate rotations as
well as the bowing of a member are precisely considered
(Goto et al. ~'1" 14).
The semi-rigid connections are represented by a
discrete rotational spring with an inelastic property. The
nonlinear behaviour of virgin connections under monotonic loading is expressed by the modified exponential
model'5 which curve-fits the experimental data accurately in the form:
/!

M = FM(O,.) = S

A~{1 - exp(-O,/(2ic)}

i=1
/n

+ S

RjH(O~- ~ ) ( 0 ~ - ~ )

(1)

j=l

where M is the moment and Or is the relative rotation of

a connection. A~, Rj, and ~ are constants derived by a
least square method using experimental data. H(x) is the
Heaviside step function with respect to x and c is a scaling factor for the exponential function.
As for the connection behaviour under cyclic loading,
only few experimental data are known and it is difficult
to use the curve-fitting technique as in the monotonic
loading. Thus, the cyclic behaviour is assumed here to
be described by the bounding surface model 5~ in
which the plastic tangent stiffness k~t of the connections
is approximated by (Figure 1)
(2)

k ~ = k ~ + h6/(6,,, - 6)

Bounding line

am

p i

am

where h is the hardening shape parameter: ki~ is the

slope of the bounding line: 5 is the distance of the current moment state from the corresponding bounding
line, and 5i,, is the value of 6 at the initiation of each
loading process. These quantities are schematically
illustrated in Figure 1, using the moment-plastic rotation (0~') curve. The hardening shape parameter h as
well as the slope of the bounding line k hM are determined by the best fitting with the experimental curve of
the virgin connections under monotonic loading.
The analysis of the critical behaviour of a semi-rigid
frame is divided into two categories. One is for the limitload instability, and the other for the inelastic bifurcation. In the limit-load instability analysis, the
incremental arc-length method ~" is combined with the
Newton-Raphson iterative procedures. At bifurcation
points, solutions have an inherent singularity in the
tangent stiffness matrix which cannot be eliminated by
the use of the arc-length method. Thus, |k)r the analysis
of inelastic bifurcation, an accurate, yet simple method
utilizing the structural tangent stiffness equation along
with the Hill theory of the uniqueness of elastic-plastic
solids I* was developed le. This method can idcntil~ the
bifurcation point, and trace the post-bifurcation path.

Frames with semi-rigid connections

Three types of rectangular semi-rigid frames with a
fixed base as shown in Figure 2 are chosen as typical
examples to examine the inelastic critical and postcritical behaviour. One is a single-bay portal frame and
the others are a two-storey, one-bay frame and a onestorey, two-bay frame. These frames are designed as
type 2 construction > under the loads described in
Table 1. The design load, along with the height and baywidth of the frames under consideration, is the same as
that of the two-storey, single-bay frame used previously
by Moncarz and Gerstlc >. As for the bcam-to-column
connections, the top and seat angle connection corresponding to specimen 23 tested by Hechtmann and
Johnson -'i is used as a typical semi-rigid connection.
since this connection is adequate for design forces and
its moment-rotation curve is readily available. The
experimental curve of this connection under monotonic
loading is shown in Figure 3, and compared with the
modified exponential model. The constants used in the
modified exponential model (equation (1)) are summarized in Table 2. After the first unloading occurs in
the connection, the bounding surface model (equation
(2)) is used to describe the inelastic cyclic behaviour.
The hardening shape parameter h, the initial stiffness
k~t and the equation for the bounding line are determined from Figure 3 as:
h = 21.34 ( k N - m ) ,

,0f

~" Bounding
Boundina line
ine

Figure 1 Schematic illustrauons of bounding surface model for

semi-rigid connections

210

Engng Struct. 1993 Volume 15 Number 3

k~t = 147.2 ( k N - m ) ,

M = 1.852 0~' + 104.0 ( k N - m )

(3a-c)

Two types of loading conditions are used here to

examine the stability of semi-rigid frames (Figure 4).
One is the uniformly distributed vertical load on beams
and the other is the concentrated vertical loads on columns. The concentrated loads in the columns are determined such that half of the total distributed load on each
beam is applied equally on columns located at both ends
of the beam.

Stability behaviour of semi-rigid s w a y frames: Y. Goto et al.

Lb

Lb

~r

_J

Lb

Lb

-~----Zc

tc

~,Ab

=t

Zc

t
Lcl

xcf

_re

LcI
_Tbl, A b I

.re

A~

Lc

Ac

Ac

ACl

-re
A;~
V

~r

7~, 7"

Single boy, porfol frome

Zc = 7 0 7 6 cm 4
Ac = 5 7 . 0 3 e m 2

Two-storey, one-boy frome

2"c = 7 0 7 6 c m
,4c = 6 2 . 6 5 c m

Zbl =
Abl =

Zb = 15610crn 4
Ab = 5 8 . 8 4 c m 2
Figure 2

4
2

35080cm
83.87cm

One-storey, two- boy frome

.Z"c

= 3430cm

,4c

= 45.68crn

4
2

.l"Cl

= 9906cm

ACl = 56.71crn z

Lb = L c = 2Lcl = 7 3 1 . 5 c m
Eb = E c = 1.998 x 1 0 5 M P o

Geometry of semi-rigid frames

Effect of modelling of connections

In a conventional stability analysis of semi-rigid frames,
the linear elastic or nonlinear elastic model as
schematically shown in Figure 5, is often used to
approximate the actual connection behaviour. We shall
now investigate the effect of these approximations on the
overall critical behaviour of semi-rigid frames, as compared with the more realistic results obtained by the present inelastic connection model. To examine the effect
of connection modelling, the bifurcation phenomena of
the perfect frames shown in Figure 4 will be analysed.
In this analysis as well as in what follows, the arc-length
of the vertical-load-displacement curve is monotonically increased. In addition to the actual connection,
specimen 23, two other connection models with different rigidities will also be used. They are defined as
follows.
Assume that the moment-rotation curve of specimen
23 can be represented by M = F~(Or) under monotonic

loading. The behaviours of the other two connection

models are
expressed by
M = FM(Or)/2 and
M = 2F~O,), respectively. Using these relationships,
we determine a linear elastic model and a nonlinear
elastic model. The nonlinear elastic model uses the
moment-rotation equation under monotonic loading,
regardless of whether the connections are loaded or

150

I kuz
,E

IO0

I
Table 1 Applied loads
Dead load

g = 0 . 3 3 5 N/cm 2
or 0 . 2 4 5 kN/cm of each girder

Live load

p = 0 . 2 3 9 N/cm 2 on lower floor of t w o - s t o r e y

frame only, or O. 175 kN/cm of lower girder

Wind load

w = 0 . 0 9 5 7 kN/cm 2 which results in concentrated

floor loads:
W1 = 2 5 . 6 kN for floors of o n e - s t o r e y frame and
lower floor of t w o - s t o r e y frame
W2 = 12.8 kN for upper floor of two-storey frame

50

"

i
O

I
IO

15

20

Or( x 10-3rod)

Figure 3

Modelling of top- and seat-angle connection tested by

Hechtmann and Johnson 2. ( ~ experimental value; (
),
modified exponential model

Engng Struct.

1993 Volume

15 Number 3

211

Stability behaviour of semi-rigid sway frames: Y. Goto et al.

Table 2
C
Ai
(i = 1, 6)
R1
T1

tangent stiffness of the connections remains in their

initial stiffness range. However, the simplified model as
seen from Figures 6(a) - (c) , considerably overestimates
the bifurcation load for the frames under distributed
load, since the linear elastic model cannot properly
reflect the reduction of connection tangent stiffness due
to loading near the bifurcation point.
As for the post-bifurcation behaviour, the linear
elastic model yields the bifurcation curves where the
magnitude of the applied load remains constant. The
characteristics of the post-bifurcation curves are rather
different from those obtained by the realistic inelastic
connection model. This difference is evident, especially
for frames under concentrated loads, because the linearelastic model cannot express the reduction of connection
tangent stiffness caused by the sudden increase in the
connection moment after bifurcation. It can therefore be
concluded that the linear elastic connection model can be
utilized to calculate the bifurcation load of semi-rigid
frames with an appropriate modification of the elastic
constant, although an appropriate modification is in
itself a very difficult task. However, the linear model
cannot be used to analyse the post-bifurcation
behaviour.
Next, the accuracy of the nonlinear elastic connection
model will be examined. Unless unloading occurs, the
nonlinear elastic model coincides exactly with the
inelastic model. From Figures 6 ( a ) - 09, it can be seen
that the nonlinear elastic approximation for connections
can almost precisely predict the bifurcation phenomena
of semi-rigid frames except for the post-bifurcation
behaviour under distributed load. This implies that
unloading occurs mainly in the post-bifurcation range of
the frames under distributed load. However, even for
this post-bifurcation behaviour, the discrepancy between

Constants of modified exponential model

0.17345750
0.15077925
0.13416943
0.68622477
0.15788006
0.18289890
9.78

x
x
x
x
x

10 ~, - 0 . 7 4 4 5 7 3 0 1
104
102, - 0 . 2 2 7 4 7 2 5 3
104
10

x 103,
x 104,

Ai(i = 1 to 6), RI: (kN, m), C, TI: (rad)

unloaded. The nonlinear connection model is both reversible and path-independent. The linear elastic model is
determined such that the spring constant coincides with
the initial stiffness of the connection curve.
The stability analysis results are illustrated in Figures
6(a) - 09 expressed in terms of the sum of vertical load
P~ versus the horizontal displacement u for six loading
and geometrical cases. (The sum of the vertical load is
hereinafter expressed by Pz). The horizontal displacement u at the left comer of the frame is marked with a
small solid triangle in Figure 4. PEt is the lowest bifurcation load of the frames with inelastic connection
models. L~ is the height of the frames. These values are
used here to nondimensionalize the physical quantities.
All frames used in the present analysis fail in the sway
buckling mode.
First, the validity of application of the linear elastic
connection model to frame stability analysis is
examined. From the d o t - d a s h curves in Figures
6(d) - 09, it can be seen that the bifurcation point for the
frames under concentrated load case can be obtained
accurately by this simplified model, because the connections are not loaded to the bifurcation point and the

&

t~
12
w"

Figure 4

212

Loading conditions of semi-rigid frames

Engng Struct. 1993 Volume 15 Number 3

&l

2p

Stability behaviour of semi-rigid sway frames: Y. Goto et al.

I Reversible and
/ path independent

,,,

I I
I , / ~ Actual moment -rotation curve
~11
undermonotonicloading

/
,=
*~

Reversible and
poth independent

_/
~

!kMZ : Initiol stiffness

er

Figure 5

Simplified semi-rigid connection

rr

l!r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I:;

+i

. "

t\~

..

....

I,.

+ 'rl].]v
0.15

Equilibrium curve
Connection model

I,

Ib Ic

O.Sl t I 2

0.15

0.05

e
a
[nelastic:

0.1

u,%

I e I f
, Nonlinear elastic:
--m~

0.05

o.t5

u,'Lc
q
I h
I
, Linear elastic:

M=~Cer~
o.s I t I 2

u/z<

0.1

~\_,'~,~.b
t-

o.i

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

+I

..

0.15

~ome.,-,o,.,,o.
M=%terr
equation
t

0.05

..............

l
~,

"

I~\~

o.J

.
"-

..

u,%

O.

0.05

~I~

.~" ?_OJ~

~ c ,

~ -

/c

u/Lc

1=-

25r

4t."

Ii

er

models

z.5r,- ................

"-

-----c,f

0.05

O.t5

0.~

0.15

U/Lc

i
i

'=~*ke~
o.s I 1 I 2

* : Under monotonic loading.

Figure 6

Effect

of

modelling

of

connections

on

bifurcation

behaviour

Engng Struct. 1993 Volume 15 Number 3 213

Stability behaviourof semi-rigidsway frames: Y. Goto et

al,

does not lose its stability until the loads reach the limit
point. In contrast, if the vertical loads are applied as concentrated on the columns as in Figure 4(b), the loads
drop dramatically after bifurcation and the frame loses
its stability. This occurs because the tangent stiffness of
the connections that have not been loaded up to the bifurcation suddenly decreases due to the sway deformation
of the frame after bifurcation. These bifurcation
phenomena of semi-rigid frames are quite different from
those of the usual pinned or rigid frames where the
elastic bifurcation behaviour is less influenced by
loading conditions.
In actual frames, it is rare that either distributed loads
or concentrated loads are applied independently. Thus,
we shall analyse the bifurcation of frames
simultaneously carrying the uniformly distributed loads

the inelastic model and the nonlinear elastic model is

small. Therefore, the nonlinear elastic connection model
could be used as an adequate approximation to the
inelastic model in a stability analysis of semi-rigid
flames including the post-bifurcation behaviour.

Effect of loading conditions

It has been shown partly in the preceding section as well
as in the numerical examples given by Goto et al.~2,
that the post-bifurcation behaviour of semi-rigid frames
with inelasticity in connections is strongly influenced by
the vertical load conditions. That is, if the loads are
applied as distributed and vertically on the beams as in
Figure 4(a), the loads can increase even after bifurcation
because of the unloading of connections and the frame

PX =2P+pyLb
2p/(2P+PxLb)

I .0~

1.0

0.5

0.8

0.0

PX=(2p*pyLb) 19

1.0

Py

0.60,

b"

~ ~

0.5

0.05

0.15

(2P+pyLb)

ioO i:1o.,o,,.,o-,
~a

u/Lc

Lb

I
O. I

u/Lc
P'3 = 4p + 2pyLb

"e,.

ZP/ (2P* P.vLb)

a

~ \

1.0

0.5

b 0.909 , 0.333

0.5

py

py

oo

I Lc
Lb I

Lb

C
Figure 7

214

Effect

of load

c o n d i t i o n s on b i f u r c a t i o n behaviour

Engng S t r u c t . 1 9 9 3 V o l u m e 15 N u m b e r 3

0.05

u/Lc

o.8

0.05

1.0

~py

0.5

Lc

,2p

O. I

0.15

Ill

o.o ]

0.1

0.15

Stability behaviour of semi-rigid sway frames: Y. Goto et al.

on beams and the concentrated loads on columns. In the

present analysis, several ratios are considered between
the sum of concentrated loads and that of distributed
loads. The ratios are held constant in the loading process. The results of this analysis are summarized in
Figures 7(a)- (c) which show the sum of vertical-loads
versus horizontal-displacement. These results are
similar to those in Figure 6. I t should be noted,
however, that the sum of vertical load in these figures is
nondimensionalized by the bifurcation loads P~, of the
frames under concentrated loads only.
From Figures 7(a)- (c), it can be seen that the loaddisplacement curves under the combination of concentrated loads and distributed loads lie between the two
extremes, i.e. the curve under concentrated loads only
and that under distributed loads only. As the ratio of
concentrated loads increases, the load-displacement
curve monotonically approaches the upper bound, i.e.
the curve under concentrated loads only. If the ratio of
the concentrated loads defined in Figure 7 becomes
more than 0.8, the load-displacement curve exhibits a
significant drop after the maximum load is reached,
similar to the results under concentrated loads alone. On
the other hand, if the ratio is less than 0.2, the curve is
almost coincident with the lower bound, i.e. the curve
under distributed loads alone. However, with increasing
displacement, all equilibrium curves converge to one
curve.

Effect of geometrical imperfections

An initial geometrical imperfection e for the semi-rigid
frames is introduced in Figures 8(a)-09 as the out-ofplumbness. For this type of imperfection, we consider
two magnitudes which will cover the practical range as
tabulated in Figure 8.
The results of the buckling analysis for the frames
with inelastic semi-rigid connections are shown in
Figure 8 in terms of the relationship between the sum of
vertical-loads P~ and the horizontal-displacement u at
the upper left corner of the frames as marked with a
small solid triangle. These figures are classified according to the loading conditions as well as the types of
frame. For comparison, Figure 8 also includes the bifurcation behaviour of perfect systems. The PEmaxvalues
tabulated in Figure 8 denote the maximum load on the
equilibrium path and their locations are marked with a
small open triangle on the equilibrium curve. From
Figure 8 it can be seen that all frames with imperfections
exhibit limit-load instability. However, the buckling
behaviour is different according to whether the
distributed loads are applied on beams or the concentrated loads are applied on columns.
As for the frames under distributed loads, the
maximum loads corresponding to the limit points are not
so much reduced by the presence of imperfection and
they are still located on the load level higher than the
bifurcation load of the corresponding perfect systems.
In contrast, the maximum loads of the frames subjected to concentrated loads are considerably reduced by
the increase of imperfection. Furthermore, the maximum loads of imperfect systems are always smaller
than the bifurcation loads of corresponding perfect
systems. These results suggest that the stability of semirigid frames under concentrated loads is much more sen-

sitive to the geometrical imperfection, as compared with

that under distributed loads. This tendency is almost the

same as that of the frames where horizontal loads
resulted from the out-of-plumbness of vertical loads and
applied as an initial imperfection ~2.

Effect of history of cyclic wind load

Owing to the inelastic behaviour of connections, a
history of cyclic wind load will produce imperfections in
frames, such as residual deformation, residual connection moment and change of connection stiffness.
However, these induced imperfections are different in
nature from either the initial geometrical imperfection
discussed in the preceding section or the imperfection
due to the horizontal load ~2. Thus, the imperfections
caused by cyclic wind load may have a different effect
on the critical behaviour of semi-rigid frames from that
of other imperfections. The precise difference has not
yet been fully examined, though the critical behaviour of
semi-rigid frames with a history of cyclic wind load has
been analysed ~2. Here, we will specifically examine
how the critical and post-critical behaviour of frames
with a history of cyclic wind load differs from that of
frames with only an initial geometrical imperfection
equivalent to the residual deformation due to the cyclic
wind load.
The detailed procedure of applying the history of
cyclic wind load has been given by Goto et al. J2. This
procedure will only be explained briefly here.
Prior to the application of a cyclic wind load, the
vertical load, either distributed or concentrated, is
increased to its design level. Then, a history of cyclic
wind load is applied in the following manner. First, the
horizontal load is increased monotonically up to the
maximum value and is then reduced to zero. Next, the
wind direction is reversed and this load is applied from
the opposite side in a similar manner. During this cyclic
loading, the vertical loads are kept to their design-load
level. The wind cycle is then repeated until the
hysteresis loops of connections become convergent. In
the present wind cycles, two amplitudes are considered.
One corresponds to the design wind load and the other
is twice as large.
To examine the critical behaviour of the frames with
a history of cyclic wind loads, the arc-length of the
vertical-load-displacement curve is increased from the
design load level after the removal of the wind load.
The initial geometrical imperfection, i.e. an out-ofplumbness used in the comparative analysis, is given so
that its magnitude agrees with the residual deformation
produced by the cyclic wind load.
The results of the present analysis are illustrated in
Figures 9 and 10 for the frame with the lateral imperfection caused by the cyclic wind load and for the frame
with an initial geometrical imperfection, respectively.
The results for perfect systems without imperfections
are also included as comparisons. Herein, for simplicity,
the load-displacement curves are shown only for the
single-bay portal frames because identical results are
obtained for other frames. It should be noted that the
values of initial geometrical imperfection as tabulated in
Figures lO(a) and (b) coincide with the residual deformations produced by the cyclic wind loads shown in
Figures 9(a) and (b).

Engng Struct. 1993 Volume 15 Number 3

215

;9

PE : PXkb
e/Lc

P~mox/PEt]

0.0001

0.002

1.24
1.18
1.15

1"5 F

Bifurcation point

I~ ="7.:y Lb

I.SF

Bifurcation

py

Vq

e/Lc
0

~mox/~t

b
c

0.001
0.002

1.25
1.22

1.32

py
e--~

0.5

e-,,

0.5

Lc

a
0

0.05

O. I

0.15

0.05

O. I

U/Lc

0.15

u/Lc

p~= Z@Lb
e/l_ P~_rnox/PT,(
I

D5

f-/ B i f u r c a t i o n point

//

0.001

1.27
1.21

o 0.oo,

point

1.0 R ' - - - -

P~ = 2p

,.,.

e/Lc
a
b
c

1.0a ~

P:Emox/P:Et

0
0,001
0.002

1.0
0.842
0,781

Lc

Lb

0.05

0.1

0.15

,,/L~
I. 0 ~

38
P;E = -~"P

Bifurcation point

0.05

0.1

0.15

u/Lc
I. 0

,.._._ Bifurcationpoint

P~- = 4p

e/Lc
p/'~

,~-.~\\

0.001

P~max/P:~t
1.0

o.6,4

e ....~ v

05

a
b
c

e/L c

P'~m~ / P ~

0
0.001
0.002

1.0
0.704
0.614

Figure 8

216

0.05

,,.~

O. I

0.15

B u c k l i n g b e h a v i o u r o f f r a m e s w i t h initial g e o m e t r i c a l

Engng Struct.

o5

1 9 9 3 V o l u m e 15 N u m b e r 3

f
imperfection

0.15

0.1

0.15

u/L c

Stability behaviour of semi-rigid sway frames: Y. Goto et al.

1.5
Bifurcntion point

P==2p

I.O ,---- Bifurcation point

p= =PyLb

W(kN)

P~:max/P~;t

25.e

0.918
0.825

1.0
~a

1.0
W(kN)
a

25.6
51.2

P~max/P~!
(:~.~
~IAIO.5

1.24

1,24
1.24

0.5

a
Figure 9

0.05

O. I

O, 15

u/Lc

O.I

0.05

0.15

u/L c

Buckling behaviour of frames with history of cyclic wind load

As can be seen from Figures 9(b) and lO(b), the frames

under concentrated load exhibit virtually the same
critical and post-critical behaviour, i.e. a limit-load
instability regardless of whether the frames have imperfections due to either the cyclic wind load or the initial
geometrical imperfection. This implies that the buckling
behaviour of frames under concentrated loads is affected
primarily by the residual deformation, compared with
the other imperfections caused by the load history, such
as the residual connection moment and the change of
connection stiffness.
For frames under distributed loads applied on beams,
it is recognized from Figures 9(a) and lO(a) that they
behave rather differently according to whether they have
the imperfection due to the history of cyclic wind load or
the initial geometrical imperfection. Different from the
initial geometrical imperfection, the imperfection due to
the history of cyclic wind load has little effect on the
critical and post-critical behaviour. Extreme examples are
found in the behaviour of single-bay portal frames as
shown in Figure 9(a) along with that of two-storey singlebay frames ~2. In spite of the history of cyclic wind load,
these frames exhibit both bifurcation and limit-load
instability coincident exactly with the corresponding
perfect systems with virgin connections. This is because
the imperfections caused by the cyclic wind load are
gradually reduced with an increase in the distributed load
applied on beams and they practically disappear before
bifurcation.

Effective length of semi-rigid frames

When the effective length of rigid frames is determined
on the basis of elastic bifurcation load it is generally considered to be exact. The connections of semi-rigid
frames, however, exhibit inelastic behaviour at low
moment level and it would be appropriate to at least consider the inelasticity in connections in the bifurcation

analysis, although beams and columns could still remain

elastic.
In the previous sections, the critical behaviours of
semi-rigid sway frames have been examined. It was
shown that the bifurcation behaviour of semi-rigid
frames is considerably influenced by load conditions.
This is quite different from the rigid frames where the
elastic bifurcation behaviour is almost the same
regardless of vertical load conditions and the postbifurcation path is always stable.
The bifurcation behaviour of semi-rigid frames is
shown schematically in Figure 11 in comparison with
rigid frames. As can be seen, the semi-rigid frames with
vertical loads uniformly distributed on beams exhibit an
increase in vertical loads after bifurcation and the postbifurcation behaviour is as stable as that of rigid frames.
It is therefore reasonable in this case to determine the
effective length based on the bifurcation loads as in the
rigid frames.
In contrast, if the vertical loads are applied as concentrated on the columns of semi-rigid frames, the loads
decrease dramatically after bifurcation and their postbifurcation path is unstable. Due to this post-bifurcation
behaviour, the semi-rigid frames under concentrated
loads are very sensitive to imperfections, i.e. the initial
out-of-plumbness either due to geometry or due to vertical loads and residual deformations resulting from
cyclic wind load. Consequently, the maximum load of
semi-rigid frames with these types of imperfections is
always located on the load level lower than the bifurcation load. It is therefore questionable in this case to
define the effective length based on the bifurcation
loads. The bifurcation load could underestimate the
effective length significantly. Although it is difficult to
define a rational effective length of semi-rigid frames
under concentrated loads, a conservative value of
vertical loads to define the effective length could be
obtained as follows.

Engng Struct. 1 9 9 3 Volume 15 Number 3

217

Stability behaviour of semi-rigid s w a y frames: Y. Goto et al.

PE = Py Lb
e/L c

1.5 r

Bifurcation
/

point

0.00024

P~

IP~/
~-"

~ma_x
1.24

point

1.0

P;; =2p

1.2 1

0.5

e/Lc

P~ mox/P~ L

b
c

0.00029
0.0013

1.0
0.920
0.821

51

/-b
[

0.05

0.1

0.15

u/L c

0.05

0.1

0.15

u/ Lc

Figure 10 Buckling behaviour of frames with identical initial geometrical imperfections

P:

P:

Bifurcation
/ point

Bifurcation point

P=

P=

Ps=

7,

,~

Figure 11 A schematic comparison of bifurcation behaviour between semi-rigid frames and rigid frames

218

Engng S t r u c t . 1 9 9 3 V o l u m e 15 N u m b e r 3

~I

lb.
v

Lb

Stability behaviour of semi-rigid sway frames: Y. Goto et al.

From Figure 7, it can be seen that the lower bound of

the post-bifurcation path of semi-rigid frames is given
by the equilibrium curve under distributed load only and
the bifurcation load for this case could almost assure a
reasonable lower limit of the ultimate loads of frames
under various loading conditions. Thus, the bifurcation
load under distributed load could be used as a conservative value to define the effective length of semi-rigid
frames.

Conclusions
Using the accurate method proposed recently by the
authors, the critical and post-critical behaviour of semirigid frames has been examined precisely. The present
study has focused on how the stability behaviour of
framed structures is influenced by the behaviour of connections, loading conditions, initial geometrical
imperfections, and a load history caused by cyclic wind
load. Based on the present study, the validity of the
effective length concept as applied to design for semirigid frames is discussed.
As for the modelling of connections, the linear elastic
model is simple to use and easy to implement in a computer program. Its application, however, should be
limited to the analysis of the bifurcation point and should
not be used for the analysis of post-critical behaviour. On
the other hand, the nonlinear elastic connection model
yields acceptable results even for the case when
unloading occurs in the post-critical range.
The bifurcation behaviour of semi-rigid frames is
much influenced by vertical load conditions. Specifically when the vertical loads are applied primarily as
concentrated on columns, the post-bifurcation behaviour
of semi-rigid frames is unstable, being different either
from rigid frames or from semi-rigid frames under
distributed loads applied on beams. Consequently, the
semi-rigid frames under concentrated loads are very sensitive to imperfections and their load carrying capacity
is considerably decreased from the bifurcation load due
to imperfections. Thus, the bifurcation load for this case
could underestimate the effective length. Although it is
difficult to define a rational effective length under concentrated loads applied on columns, the bifurcation load
under distributed load that almost assures the lower limit
of the ultimate loads of semi-rigid frames could be used
as a conservative value to define the effective length.

References
1 Jones, S. W., Kirby, P. A. and Nethercot, D. A. The analysis of
frames with semi-rigid connections: a state-of-the-art report', J Constructional Steel Res. 1989, 3 (2), 1 - 13
2 Chen, W. F. and Lui, E. M. Stability Design of Steel Frames, CRC
Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 1990
3 Romstad, K. M. and Subramanian, C. V. 'Analysis of frames with
partial connection rigidity', J. Struct. Div., ASCE 1970, 96 (11),
2283 -2300
4 Ackroyd, M. H. 'Nonlinear inelastic stability of flexibly-connected
plane steel frames', PhD Thesis, University of Colorado, Boulder,
Colorado, 1979
5 Cook, N. E. 'Strength of flexibly-connected steel frames under load
histories', PhD thesis, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 1983
6 Simitses, G. J. and Vlahinos, A. S. Elastic stability of rigidly and
semi-rigidly connected unbraced frames, steel framed structures, R.
Narayanan led.), Elsevier Applied Science, London, 1984,
pp. 115-152
7 Yu. C. H. and Shanmugam, N. E. "Stability of frames with semi-rigid
joint'. Comput. Struct. 1986. 23 (5), 639-648
8 Lui. E. M. and Chen. W. F. 'Analysis and behaviour of flexiblyjointed frames', Engng Struct. 1986, 8, 107-118
9 Goto, Y. and Chen, W. F. 'On the computer-based design analysis
for the flexibly jointed frames', J. Construct. Steel Res. 1987, 8,
203 - 231
10 Poggi, C. and Zandonini, R. 'A finite element for the analysis of
semi-rigid frames, connections in steel structures', Proc. Workshop
on Connections and the Behavior, Strength and Design of Steel Structures, 1987, Cachan, France, pp. 238-247
11 Mazzolani, F. M. Influence of semi-rigid connections on the overall
stability of steel frames. Connection in Steel Structures, Proc.
Workshop on Connections and the Behavior, Strength and Design of
Steel Structures, Cachan, France, 1987, pp. 272-275
12 Goto, Y., Suzuki, S. and Chen, W. F. 'Analysis of critical behavior
of semi-rigid frames with or without load history in connections', Int.
J. Solids & Struct. 1991, 27 (4), 467-483
13 Goto, Y., Suzuki, S. and Chen, W. F. 'Bowing effect on elastic
stability of frames under primary bending moments', J. Struct.
Engng, ASCE 1991, 117 (1), 111-127
14 Goto, Y. and Chen, W. F. 'Second-order elastic analysis for frame
design', J. Struct. Engng, ASCE 1987, 113 (7), 1501-1519
15 Dafalias, Y. F. and Popov, E. P. 'Plastic internal variables formalism
of cyclic plasticity', J. Appl. Mech. 1976, 43, 645-651
15 Chen, W. F. and Kishi, N. 'Semi-rigid steel beam-to-column connections: data base and modelling', J. Struct. Engng, ASCE 1989, 115
(1), 105-119
16 Dalalias, Y. F. and Popov, E. P. 'Plastic internal variables tbrmalism
of cyclic plasticity', J. Appl. Meal1. 1976, 43, 645-651
17 Riks, E. "An incremental approach to the solution of snapping and
buckling problems', btt. J. Solids & Structures, 1979, 15, 529-551
18 Hill, R. 'A general theory of uniqueness and stability in elastic-plastic
solids', J. Mech. and Phys. Solids, 1958, 6, 236-244
19 AISC, 'Specification for structural steel buildings: allowable stress
design and plastic design' (9th edn), American Institute of Steel Construction. Chicago, 1989
20 Moncarz. P. D. and Gerstle, K. H. "Steel tiames with nonlinear connections', J. Strm't. Div., ASCE 1981, 107 (8), 1427-1441
21 Hechtmann, R. A. and Johnson, B. G. "Riveted semi-rigid beam-tocolumn building conncctions, progress report No. 1'. AISC Publication
(Appcndix B). 1947

Engng Struct. 1993 Volume 15 Number 3

219