Computational Benchmarks in Simulation of Cyclic Performance of Steel Connections using Three Dimensional Nonlinear Finite Element Method

The presented manuscript is intended to introduce accurate computational benchmarks to predict the hysteresis behavior of beam-column steel connections by means of a 3D non-linear finite element analysis. In this study, element type, inelastic material behavior, bolts pre-tensioning, and contact properties between different components of connections are discussed. Incremental nonlinear analysis takes into account all three types of nonlinearities including material, geometry, and contact properties in predicting moment-rotation hysteresis loops. A series of full-scale structural tests are performed to validate the results obtained from the finite element analyses. This study shows that cost efficient numerical analysis simulation is capable of replacing full-scale tests for steel connections.