Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953

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Journal of Constructional Steel Research

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Hysteresis behavior of concrete filled square steel tube column-to-beam partially

restrained composite connections
Su-Hee Park a , Sung-Mo Choi a,∗ , Yo-Suk Kim a , Young-Wook Park b , Jin-Ho Kim c
a
Department of Architectural Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul, Republic of Korea
b
Hanmi Parsons, Seoul, Republic of Korea
c
Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology, Kyungkido, Republic of Korea

article info abstract

Article history: This study presents the development of an improved detail for a Concrete Filled Steel Tube (CFT) square
Received 22 April 2009 column-to-beam partially restrained composite connection (PR-CC) and the evaluation of its hysteresis
Accepted 11 January 2010 behavior under cyclic loading. The detail of the connection was designed to prevent brittle failure at the
bottom of the connection due to the composite effect and to simplify its fabrication process. The suggested
Keywords: connection is a welded type of bottom beam flange connection and the existing PR-CC is a bolted type
Partially restrained composite connections
with a seat-angle. To evaluate their hysteresis behavior, specimens were fabricated at full scale and tested
Concrete filled square tube (CFT)
Cyclic loading test
under cyclic loading. Results revealed that the suggested type fractured at the welding zone without a drop
Bolted seat-angle connection in capacity due to the anchors inside the steel tube, and reached over 0.04 radian of the plastic rotational
Welded beam flange connection angle. The stiffness of the suggested type was about 10% greater than the existing type because the bolted
Reinforcing steel connection allowed more deformation than the welded connection. Both connections were classified as
Semi-rigid connections by stiffness analysis according to Eurocode3. The suggested type can be classified
as a partially restrained connection overall under cyclic loading because it reached more than 0.03 rad of
an inelastic rotation angle 80% capacity of the maximum moment capacity. This type was evaluated to
exhibit equal or more ductility than the existing type. As a result, it is concluded that the welded bottom
beam flange connection type can be used in practice for the CFT column–beam connection instead of the
existing bolt connection using a seat-angle.
© 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Today, because high-rise buildings are becoming taller and
larger, structural and economic aspects should be taken into con-
sideration in their design. Structural aspects such as developing
high-strength materials and selecting an appropriate structural
system are particularly important. As structural members with ex-
cellent strength and stiffness, CFT columns have been increasingly
used in the construction of high-rise buildings. The purpose of this
study is to develop connection details for concrete filled square
steel tube column-to-beam partially restrained composite connec-
tions. High-rise buildings with an inner core structural system to
reduce horizontal strain do not need a full restraint composite con-
nection. Therefore, many studies have been carried out recently on
partially restrained composite connections consisting of reinforc-
ing steel at slabs and steel beams. Fig. 1 shows a column-to-beam
partially strained composite connection suggested by Leon et al.
[1–3]. In this connection, upper slab reinforcing bars are located
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 2 2210 2396; fax: +82 2 2248 0382.
E-mail address: smc@uos.ac.kr (S.-M. Choi).
0143-974X/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jcsr.2010.01.006
around the column and the beam is bolted to the column using a
web-angle and a seat-angle. The reinforcing bars deliver most of
the moment and secure a certain degree of stiffness and ductility.
As shown in the figure, because the column is fabricated of wide
flange structural steel, it can be bolted easily. However, through-
type bolts were used in this study because CFT columns were used
instead of W-shaped columns. Through-type bolts create a com-
plication when installing diaphragms and casting concrete in the
columns. Consequently, this study suggests a partially restrained
composite connection in order to improve workability. This new
type of connection detail was designed to resist the moment load
at beam ends by means of slab reinforcing bars and lower beam
flange welding. In the design of this new connection consideration
is made of the excellent welding skills available in Korea and con-
sequently the wide use of field welding.
The basic concept of a partial strength partially restrained
composite connection was first introduced by Narnard [4] &
Johnson, and Hope-Gill [5]. Since 1987, studies on the partially
restrained composite connection have been conducted systemati-
cally by Zandonini [6], Leon & Zandonini [1], Leon [2] and Plumier
& Doneaux [7]. A series of studies have proved that the partially
restrained composite connection provides excellent seismic per-
formance and is appropriate to a system resisting lateral force.
944 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953

However, rupture finally occurred at the connection due to the
large asymmetrical tensile force at the lower part of the partially
restrained composite connection caused by the composite effect of
the concrete slab and steel beam upon positive moment. In other
words, it was inferred that the ultimate behavior of a partially re-
strained composite connection and CFT connection upon positive
moment would be determined by the details of the upper part and
diaphragm, respectively. The authors of this study have developed
a new type of diaphragm and connection details inside steel tube
columns. A study has also been conducted on the CFT column-to-
beam connection using the new connection type in order to pro-
mote the employment of the CFT structure in the field [8–12]. The
purpose of this study is to develop new details for the partially re-
strained composite connection to be employed in CFT structures
while considering workability. In this study, three full-sized par-
tially restrained composite connection specimens were fabricated
and tests were conducted with the variables of lower connection
details in accordance with the ANSI/AISC SSPEC-2002 cyclic load-
ing program [13] in order to evaluate the stiffness, load capacity,
ductility and hysteresis behavior of the suggested connection de-
tails.
2. Research background and test plan
2.1. Research background
The case study for this research is a high-rise building with 37
stories and 5 underground stories, constructed by the S company
in Korea. The typical plan of the building is shown in Fig. 2. The
building has 9 bays of 8.4 m span in the long direction and 2
bays of 14.5 m span and a RC core in the short direction. The RC
core and exterior CFT frame were used as the lateral load resisting
system. Most of the lateral load is resisted by the RC core and only
about 10% of the total lateral load is resisted by the exterior CFT
SHEAR COLUMN REINFORCING BARS
STUDS (#4 OR #5 BARS)
METAL
DECKING
SEAT –ANGLE SEAT –ANGLE
(BOLTED AND WELDED) (BOLTED)
Fig. 1. Existing PR-CC detail.
frame. The CFT frame connection must resist more than 60% of the
beam moment according to the frame analysis of the lateral load.
Therefore, a practical PR-CC connection detail must be developed.
According to research carried out by Leon [1–3], the rotational
stiffness and moment capacity of a PR-CC can be obtained
sufficiently by the reinforcing bars of the slab and the seat-angle,
and the behavior of the PR-CC under the cyclic loading is governed
by the performance of the seat-angle. Therefore, the concept of the
PR-CC can be used in the exterior CFT frame and the detail of the
PR-CC must be modified to apply the CFT column instead of the
W-shape column. In other words, a new bottom detail for the PR-
CC was developed as an alternative to the existing PR-CC, which
carries the possibility of fracture due to the large tension caused by
the composite effect of the slab and beam under positive moment.
2.2. Specimen design
Three specimens were designed according to the AISC-LRFD PR-
CC’s Design Guide 8 [14]. The sections of members in the speci-
mens were determined with the condition that the beam spacing

Partially restrained (PR)

37@4.05m = 149.8m
9@8.4m = 75.6m

5@4.6m = 23m

Partially Restrained
(PR)

14.5m + 13m + 14.5m = 42m

14.5m + 13m + 14.5m = 42m
(a) Plan. (b) Elevation.

Fig. 2. Typical plan of 37 story building.

 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953 945

19mm dia. Bolt –A325

L–200X230X200X10 PL – 600 X 125 X 20
(SS400) (SM 490, Fy=330, 3MPa)

H–500X200X10X16 H–500 X 200 X 10 X 16

400 X 400 X 12 (SS400)
(SS400)
(SM490) 400 X 400 X 12
(SM490)
400
400
8 400 X 400 X 12
8 (SM490) 400 X 400 X 12
45 ° (SM490)
55 10

19mm
dia. L–200X230X200X10
Bolt – 50 50 50 (SS400) 200
A325 40 40 H–500 X 200 X 10 X 16
(SS400)
A A'

A A'
230

(a) S-1 specimen (existing type). (b) S-2 specimen (suggested type I).

8 – D 16 Length 60mm (Fy=330

PL – 600 X 125 X 20 MPa)
(SM 490, Fy=330.3MPa)
150 375

50

400 X 400 X 12
(SM490)
400

– 400 X 400 X 12
(SM490)
50 100 50
200 H–500X200X10X16
(SS400)
A A'

(c) S-3 specimen (suggested type II).

Fig. 3. Bottom connection details of specimens.

D13@100 D6@100
Reinforcing
ranged around the column at intervals of 100 mm in each of the
Bars Wire Mesh vertical and horizontal directions as shown in Fig. 4. The steel beam
and concrete slab were designed as a fully composite T-beam and
(Fy=330MPa) stud bolts of 19 mm in diameter were placed at 200 mm spacings
in two rows (2-D19@200). The bottom connection was designed
D19@200 considering the possibility of brittle failure due to the imbalance
Shear stud of stress resulting from the composite effect of the slab and beam
2,000

under cyclic loading.

D13@100
Reinforcing
Bars
(Fy=420MPa)
3,500
Fig. 4. Top connection details of specimens: placement of reinforcing bars in slab.
was 14 m and the vertical load for the common office building was
applied. Because only about 10% of the total lateral load was re-
sisted by the exterior CFT frame, the connection of the CFT frame
must resist more than 60% of the beam moment according to the
frame analysis on the lateral load. In this study, the reinforcing bars
and bottom seat-angle in the specimens were designed for the con-
nection to have about 75% beam moment. For all specimens, the 8
reinforcing bars of 13 mm in nominal diameter (8-D13) were ar-
The S-1 specimen detail was the same as that of the existing PR-
CC and the bottom flange of the beam was bolted to the column
through the seat-angle, as shown in Fig. 3(a). In Fig. 3(a), the seat-
angle and the column were connected by through-type bolts and
the seat-angle and beam were connected by fillet welding adopted
to safely transfer a large amount of stress. The S-2 specimen
connection detail was the suggested detail as shown in Fig. 3(b)
and the bottom flange of the beam was welded rather than bolted
to the column because in construction bolting using a seat-angle is
more difficult than welding. In Fig. 3(b), vertical flat bars and stud
bolts inside the column were used to transfer the large tension of
the bottom beam flange to the filled concrete inside the column
which was caused by the composite effect beam and slab under
cyclic loading. In other words, the tension in the bottom beam
flange was resisted by the filled concrete confining the stud bolts
which were welded to the vertical flat bars. As shown in Fig. 3(c),
the S-3 specimen detail is the same as the S-2 specimen, except
946 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953

8-D 13 Reinforcing
Bars

PL–480X125X20
(SM490)
14
14

80

40
F10T M20
8 45°

60
20 nm Plate 8

12

16
(SM490)

65
40
60 F10T
M20 25
50

PL – 384X85X20
120
(SM490) Detail A
L–200X230X200X10
25 100
PL – 600X125X20 S–1 specimen
(SM490) S–2, S–3 specimen
(a) Column-to-beam connection details (S-2, S-3). (b) Detail A.

Fig. 5. Connection details of specimens.

1.300

400 x 400 x 12
1.700

H–500X200X10X16

3.500 500
2.575
1.300
350

(a) Test set-up. (b) Photograph of loading system.

Fig. 6. Loading system.

that the Reduced Beam Section (RBS, hereafter) is adopted in the 3. Test results
bottom beam flange to examine the effect of RBS in the PR-CC. The
RBS was designed according to FEMA 350 [15]. 3.1. Material test

2.3. Specimen fabrication
Three CFT column-to-beam specimens with the PR-CC were
fabricated based on the details mentioned in Section 2.2, as shown
in Fig. 5. The primary characteristics and expected failure of each
specimen are given in Table 1. In the specimens, the columns and
beams were of −400 × 400 × 12 square tubular section (SM490)
and H-200 × 200 × 6 × 6 wide flange section (SS400), respectively.
The height of the specimen and the distance between the center of
the column and the loading point were 4425 mm and 3500 mm,
respectively. The compressive strengths of concrete in the column
and in the slab were 49 MPa (high-flexible concrete) and 24 MPa
(normal concrete), respectively. According to the estimating rules
of the effective flange width of a T-beam [5], the width of the slab
was 2000 mm.
2.4. Testing set-up
The testing set-up is shown in Fig. 6 and the load is applied to
the specimen as shown in Fig. 7 according to the ANSI/AISC SSPEC-
2002 cyclic loading program [13]. To determine the stress transfer
under the cyclic loading, the strain gauges were attached to the
column and beam at the points where high stress concentrations
were predicted as shown in Fig. 8.
To confirm the mechanical properties of the steel and concrete
used in the specimens, a tensile test of steel and a compressive test
of concrete were performed and are summarized as average values
in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. Three tensile tests for each column,
beam flange and seat-angle were carried out according to KS B
0802 (ASTM 370), the Method of Tensile Test for Metallic Material
in the Korean Standard. Three compressive tests for the concrete
in each slab and column were carried out. The results of material
tests satisfied the design strengths.
3.2. Cyclic loading test of PR-CC specimen
The tests of the three PR-CC specimens under cyclic loading
were carried out and the relationship between the moment and
rotational angle of each specimen are presented in Table 4. In
Table 4, the yield moment (My ) and the yield rotational angle
(θy ) of each specimen are determined by the General Yield Point
method as shown in Fig. 9. In Fig. 9, the yield point was the
intersection point of the two lines of which the slopes were the
initial stiffness (K ) of the specimen and one third of the specimen
(K /3). The expected and test results about the failure mode of
each specimen are tabulated in Table 5 and the Moment–Rotation
(M–θ ), curve and the failure photographs of each specimen are
 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953 947

Table 1
Specimen list.
Bottom column-to-beam connection details Expected failure
Welded beam flange Seat-angle (L-200 × 230 × 200 × 10) RBS Column reinforcement near beam connection

S-1 ◦ Penetrated bolt Bottom seat-angle

S-2 ◦ Vertical Flat bar + Anchor Bottom anchor
S-3 ◦ ◦ Vertical Flat bar + Anchor Bottom RBS

Table 2
Tensile test results of steel (average value).
Element Type of steel THK (mm) Fy (MPa) Fu (MPa) Yield ratio Fy /Fu Elongation (%)

Column SM490 12 360.6 506.7 0.71 26

Beam flange SS400 16 263.6 392.0 0.67 32
Seat-angle SS400 10 340.1 450.8 0.75 28

Table 3
Compressive test results of concrete (MPa, average value).
Element Type of concrete Design compressive strength 7-day compressive strength 28-day compressive strength

Slab Normal 24.0 19.6 25.1

Column High-flexible 49.0 41.9 49.9

Table 4
Relationship between moment and rotational angle (test results).
Specimen My (kN m) θy (rad) Positive moment Negative moment
+
Mmax (kN m) θmax
+
(rad) K + (kN m/rad) −
Mmax (kN m) θmax
−
(rad) K − (kN m/rad)

S-1 355.1 0.0051 706.3 0.03 45,795 486.8 0.03 52,499

S-2 370.8 0.0037 757.3 0.01 62,818 428.1 0.02 56,536
S-3 391.0 0.0045 743.3 0.01 62,661 435.3 0.02 55,468

Table 5
Failure characteristics (expected and test results).
Specimen Expected failure Test results
Failure mode Cycle at failure

S-1 Ductile failure at the bottom seat-angle Failure at welding zone of the bottom seat-angle +1cycle at step 9
S-2 Failure at welding zone of the bottom flange of the beam +2cycle at step 8
S-3 Ductile failure at the bottom RBS Same as S-2 +2cycle at step 8

90 90
30

90 247.5
20 80 80 20

30

Fig. 7. ANSI/AISC SSPEC-2002 cyclic loading program.

shown in Figs. 10–12. The calculated full plastic moment (Mp ) of

each specimen are marked as a dashed line in Figs. 10(a) to 12(a).
(1) S-1 specimen (existing type)
The S-1 specimen was bolted and welded using the built-up
seat-angle between the bottom beam flange and the column as
shown in Fig. 3(a). The M–Θ curve of the S-1 specimen presented
all cycles at each step in Fig. 10(a) and the welding zone of the seat-
angle began to crack at step 8 (at point 4) and reached its ultimate
state with fracture at step 9 (at point N). The test was stopped at the
increase of this fracture. In the top connection, the crack on the slab
developed around the column and finally the slab came apart from
the column as shown in Fig. 10(b). In Fig. 10(c), there was spacing
Fig. 8. The locations of strain gauges.
between the bottom beam flange and the column, and the bolted
connection of the seat-angle allowed it to deform sufficiently. The
reinforcing bars of the slab as the top connection and the seat-
angle as the bottom connection reached their maximum moment
capacity after large plastic deformation.
(2) S-2 specimen (suggested type I)
The S-2 specimen was welded between the bottom beam flange
and the column as shown in Fig. 3(b). The M–Θ curve of the S-2
specimen presented all cycles at every step in Fig. 11(a) and the
948 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953
M of the S-2 specimen under positive and negative moments were
M max
My
Fig. 9. General yield point method.
S-2 specimen reached its ultimate state at step 8 (at point N) by
the fracture of the welding zone between the bottom beam flange
and the column. At step 5, the anchor inside the column began to
yield (at point 4) and the bottom connection of the column swelled
out. The moment capacity and stiffness of the S-2 specimen then
decreased due to the yielding and micro-crack found in both ends
of the beam flange at the welding zone. The concrete slab cracked
around the connection at step 5 due to the tension derived from
the bending moment and the crack developed considerably at step
8 as shown in Fig. 11(b). Although the slip occurred due to the
crack of the concrete, the S-2 specimen exhibited overall stable
hysteresis behavior and the test ended at step 9. The M–Θ curve of
the S-2 specimen in Fig. 11(a) showed different hysteresis behavior
from that of the S-1 specimen shown in Fig. 10(a) because the S-2
specimen reached its ultimate state at a smaller deformation than
that of the S-1 specimen due to the welding of the bottom beam
flange and the column.
(3) S-3 specimen (suggested type II)
The M–Θ curve of the S-3 specimen presented all cycles at each
step in Fig. 12(a) and the S-3 specimen reached its ultimate state at
step 8 (at point N) with the fracture of the welding zone between
the bottom beam flange and the column. Although the mill scales
on the RBS in the bottom beam flange fell off at step 6, the moment
capacity of the S-3 specimen exhibited almost the same behavior
as that of the S-2 specimen. The test was ended at step 9 due to the
increase of fracture similar to that of the S-2 specimen.
4. Analysis of test results
4.1. Maximum moment capacity and initial stiffness
To evaluate the moment capacity and the stiffness of each
specimen, the M–Θ hysteresis curves were converted to the
equivalent M–Θ monotonic curves. This M–Θ monotonic curve of
each specimen was compared with one from its theoretical value in
Fig. 13. The M–Θ curves of the S-1 and S-2 specimens were close to
each theoretical value in Fig. 13(a) and (b), respectively. However,
the M–Θ curve of the S-3 specimen differed from its theoretical
value in Fig. 13(c) because it failed due to fracture of the welding
zone not because of expected ductile failure of the RBS.
The maximum moment capacities of the S-1, S-2, and S-
3 specimens were 706.3 kN m, 757.3 kN m and 743.3 kN m
respectively under positive moment (tension in bottom) and
486.8 kN m, 428.1 kN m and 435.3 kN m under negative moment
(tension in top), respectively. The maximum moment capacities
about 7% larger and 12% smaller, respectively, than that of the S-1
specimen shown in Fig. 13(d). The difference between positive and
negative maximum moment capacities was caused by the change
in the location of the neutral axis.
The initial stiffnesses of the S-1, S-2 and S-3 specimens
were 45,795 kN m/rad, 62,818 kN m/rad and 62,661 kN m/rad,
respectively, under the positive moment and 52,499 kN m/rad,
56,536 kN m/rad and 55,468 kN m/rad under the negative moment,
respectively. The initial stiffness of the S-2 specimen under positive
and negative moments was 28% larger and 6% larger, respectively,
than that of the S-1 specimen. The S-2 specimen had relatively
smaller rotational ability than the S-1 specimen because the S-
2 specimen behaved similarly to a rigid connection at the initial
stage while the S-1 specimen had sufficient deformation ability
due to the bolted connection. The S-3 specimen had similar initial
stiffness to that of the S-2 specimen because the RBS in the bottom
beam flange had little effect on the capacity of the connection.
4.2. Failure of specimen
In the S-1 specimen, the ductile failure of the bottom seat-
angle was expected. As expected, the seat-angle underwent large
deformation through the tensile resultant force resisted by the
bolts and was also subjected to prying action. Finally, the S-1
specimen fractured at the welding zone of the horizontal and
vertical plates in the built-up seat-angle. In the S-2 specimen, the
fracture failure at the welding zone between the bottom beam
flange and the steel tube column occurred as expected. In the S-3
specimen, although the ductile failure at the RBS in the beam was
expected, the same failure as that of the S-2 specimen occurred.
This implied that adopting the RBS in the beam would not improve
the performance of the connection suggested in this study. In the S-
2 and S-3 specimens, the anchors inside the column yielded in turn
while the fracture developed at the bottom of the connection, and
this gave sufficient deformation ability to the connection. Failure
of the S-2 specimen at the welding zone occurred without any
significant drop in capacity. The S-2 specimen exhibited stable
hysteresis behavior even while the load continued to be applied
after failure. On the other hand, the S-1 specimen fractured
abruptly at the welding zone of the seat-angle with an abrupt
decrease in capacity.
4.3. Performance evaluation of PR-CC
The performance of each specimen was assessed based on
the performance evaluation specification of the connection in Eu-
rocode3 [16] in order to verify whether the suggested connection
belonged to the partially restrained connection. Eurocode3 clas-
sifies each connection according to the capacity and stiffness of
the connection, as illustrated in Fig. 14. The requirements of the
performance of the connection depend on whether it is supported
laterally or not by braced and unbraced frames. In Fig. 14, the X -
axis represents the non-dimensional rotational angle of the con-
nection and the Y -axis represents the non-dimensional moment of
the connection. To convert the dimensionless moment–rotational
curve, the rotational angle and the moment were divided by the
plastic rotational angle and the plastic bending moment of the
beam, respectively. The connection is classified as Pin, Semi-rigid
and Rigid according to its stiffness and is classified as Partial
strength and Full strength according to its capacity.
(1) Evaluation of stiffness
To apply the exterior CFT frame of the building constructed by
the S company in Korea, the connection developed in this study
was required to have a stiffness of more than 60% of the beam
 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953
(a) M–Θ curve.
(b) Photograph of slab failure.
Fig. 10. Test results of S-1 specimen.
connected to the column. Therefore, the connections of specimens
were designed to have 75% of the beam under negative moment
and this was examined through testing. The moment–rotation
curves of each specimen under negative and positive moments
were converted to non-dimensional curves in Fig. 15 and applied
to the performance evaluation of the connection in the Eurocode3
specification. The stiffnesses of the S-1, S-2 and S-3 specimens were
82%, 85% and 80% respectively of the beam under negative moment
and 76%, 86% and 81% respectively of the beam under positive
moment. According to Eurocode3, the connections of all specimens
under negative and positive moments were classified as Semi-rigid
according to the stiffness, as shown in Fig. 15(a) and (b).
In Fig. 15(a), the S-1 and S-2 specimens had similar stiffnesses
under negative moment due to the use of the same reinforcing bars
in the slab. This indicates that this connection can obtain sufficient
stiffness from the reinforcing bars in the slab only, without the
connection between the top flange of the beam and the column.
In Fig. 15(b), the S-2 specimen under positive moment showed
about 10% higher stiffness than the S-1 specimen, because the
deformation of the S-2 specimen was restrained more by the
welding between the bottom flange of the beam and the column.
(2) Evaluation of moment capacity
To be classified as a partially restrained connection according
to Eurocode3, the moment capacities of connections must lie
between 25% and 100% of MFp , where MFp is the full plastic moment
capacity of the beam. The maximum moment capacities of the S-
1, S-2 and S-3 specimens under the negative moment were about
80%, 80% and 85% of MFp , respectively. Therefore, all specimens
could be classified as Partial strength connections according to
the capacity under the negative moment. On the other hand, the
maximum moment capacities of the S-1, S-2 and S-3 specimens
949
(c) Photograph of connection failure: welding
zone of the seat-angle.
under positive moment were about 90%, 150% and 150% of MFp ,
respectively. Therefore, the S-1 specimen could be classified as
Partial strength but the S-2 and S-3 specimens were classified as
Full strength connections under positive moment. This is because
the S-2 and S-3 specimens were reinforced with vertical flat bar
and anchors at the bottom of the connection.
The classification results of the specimens through the stiffness
and the moment capacity according to Eurocode3 are as follows.
The S-1 specimen was classified as Semi-rigid Partial strength
under both negative and positive moments. The S-2 specimen
was classified as Semi-rigid Partial strength under negative
moment and as Semi-rigid Full strength under positive moment.
Considering its overall behavior, the S-2 specimen can be classified
as a partially restrained connection.
4.4. Strain distribution according to the variation of neutral axis
The failure of all specimens under cyclic loading occurred at
the bottom of the connection as shown in Table 5. This resulted
from the composite effect of the concrete slab and steel beam, as
mentioned above. The concrete slab served as the top flange of
the beam under positive moment when the slab was subjected to
compression. Therefore, the neutral axis of the composite beam in
the PR-CC moved upward due to the large compression of the slab.
Also, a very large stress at the bottom flange of the beam occurred
and finally resulted in failure at the bottom of the connection.
Based on the strain in the concrete slab and the bottom flange of
the beam, the variation in the location of the neutral axis under
the positive moment for the S-2 and S-3 specimens is presented
in Fig. 16(a). In Fig. 16(a), the location of the neutral axis for
950 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953

(a) M–Θ curve.

(b) Photograph of slab failure. (c) Photograph of connection failure: welding zone of the
bottom beam flange.

Fig. 11. Test results of S-2 specimen.

(a) M–Θ curve.

(b) Photograph of slab failure. (c) Photograph of connection failure: welding zone of the
bottom beam flange.

Fig. 12. Test results of S-3 specimen.

 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953 951

(a) S-1 specimen. (b) S-2 specimen.

(c) S-3 specimen. (d) S-1 vs. S-2.

Fig. 13. Monotonic curve of M–Θ .

Fig. 14. Performance evaluation of connection in Eurocode3 specification.

(a) Under negative moment. (b) Under positive moment.

Fig. 15. Evaluation of stiffness.

both specimens is inside the concrete slab. To confirm this effect
experimentally, the strain distribution according to the variation in
the neutral axis under cyclic loading was verified and is presented
in Fig. 16(b). In Fig. 16(b), the strain on the top and bottom of the
connection distributed unequally and the strain on the bottom was
larger than the strain on the top.
4.5. Plastic deformation ability
To absorb large energy under an earthquake, plastic deforma-
tion ability is essential to the column-to-beam connection of the
structure and the ductility of the connection is a very important
factor. Generally, the connection is classified as either ductile or
952 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953
(a) Variation of neutral axis.
Fig. 16. Strain distribution according to the variation of neutral axis.
(a) S-1 specimen.
(c) S-3 specimen.
Fig. 17. M–Θ curve after step 7 (δ = 105 mm).
brittle based on its ductility at 80% maximum moment capac-
ity. The rotational angle of the ductile connection is more than
0.03 rad, and the rotational angle of the brittle connection is less
than 0.03 rad.
To evaluate the deformation ability of the specimens, the M–Θ
curves after step 7 (δ = 105 mm) were compared as shown
in Fig. 17. In Fig. 17, M ∗ is 80% of Mmax , where Mmax is the
maximum moment capacity of the connection in each specimen.
Under negative moment (tension on top), the plastic rotational
angles were 0.033 rad at 0.73Mmax (≈ M ∗ ) in the S-2 specimen and
0.034 rad at M ∗ in the S-1 and S-3 specimens. Also, all specimens
exerted a close capacity to M ∗ and showed stable hysteresis curves
without dropping off in capacity even at 0.04 rad. Under positive
moment (tension on bottom), the S-1 specimen began to crack
at the connection of the bottom seat-angle at about 0.04 rad and
then fractured with an increase of the crack. The S-1 specimen
reached the plastic rotation angle of 0.037 rad at M ∗ and its
capacity decreased abruptly after 0.04 rad. On the other hand, the
S-2 and S-3 specimens failed at the welding zone and no abrupt
(b) Strain distribution.
(b) S-2 specimen.
(d) Comparison between S-1 and S-2 specimen.
decrease in capacity appeared until the end of the test. S-2 and S-3
reached plastic rotational angles of 0.046 rad and 0.047 rad at M ∗ ,
respectively.
Only the S-2 specimen under negative moment had 73% of
Mmax at over 0.03 rad, while the other specimens satisfied 0.03 rad
at M ∗ as the required plastic rotational capacity for the ductile
connection. However, failures of all specimens occurred at the
bottom of the connection under positive moment and plastic
rotational angles of all specimens at M ∗ under positive moment
had over 0.03 rad. Therefore, all specimens can be classified as
having a ductile connection.
5. Conclusion
In this study, a welded bottom beam flange connection in
the CFT column-H steel beam connection was suggested as a
new bottom detail of a partially restrained composite connection
which has sufficient capacity and ductility. This connection was
designed to improve the existing seat-angle connection because
using through-type bolts between the CFT column and the seat-
 S.-H. Park et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 66 (2010) 943–953
angle is more difficult than welding in construction. Therefore,
full scale existing and suggested specimens were tested under
cycle loading to compare mode of failure, stiffness and moment
capacity of connections. The composite effect of the concrete slab
was considered in the design of the connection and the suggested
type was designed to have 75% stiffness of the steel beam. The test
results are summarized below.
(1) The failure mode of specimens was fracture. The suggested
type fractured at the welding zone without a drop in capacity due
to the anchors inside the steel tube, and reached over 0.04 rad
of the plastic rotational angle. The anchors were very effective in
reinforcing the bottom of the connection to carry the large tension
caused by the composite effect of the beam and slab. The suggested
type obtained more than 0.03 rad of the plastic rotational angle
at 80% of the maximum moment capacity and exhibited a stable
hysteresis curve until the end of the test. On the other hand, the
existing type fractured abruptly at the seat-angle with a drop-
off in capacity after the plastic rotational angle reached 0.04 rad.
Therefore, the suggested type showed equal or better deformation
ability than the existing type.
(2) Under the negative moment, the stiffness of the suggested
and the existing types were 85% and 82% of the beam, respectively.
This indicates that stiffness of the connection can be obtained
sufficiently from only the reinforcing bars in the slab. Under the
positive moment, the stiffness of the suggested and the existing
types were 86% and 76% of the beam, respectively. The stiffness
of the suggested type was about 10% greater than the existing type
because the bolted connection allowed more deformation than the
welded connection. Both connections were classified as Semi-rigid
connections by stiffness analysis according to Eurocode3.
(3) Under the negative moment, the moment capacity of the
suggested type was 80% plastic moment of the steel beam (MFp )
to be classified as a Partial strength connection. However, the
moment capacity of the connection under the positive moment
was 1.5 times MFp to be classified as a Full strength connection.
Therefore, the suggested type behaved as a partially restrained
connection (PR) overall under cyclic loading and can be classified
as PR.
As a result, it is concluded that the welded bottom beam flange
connection type can be used at the CFT column–beam connection
in practice to replace the existing bolt connection using a seat-
angle.
953
Acknowledgements
This study was conducted with the support of the National
Research Laboratory Project (R0A-2007-000-10047-0) funded by
the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) and Brain
Korea 21 Stage II project (C6A2204) of the Korea Research
Foundation.
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