Vibration and deflection characteristics of semi-rigid jointed frames

Peter Pui Tak Chui, Siu Lai Chan

Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Received November 1994; revised version accepted July 1996

ABSTRACT:

In the practical design of steel frames, the serviceability vibration and deflection checks are required to ensure a structure fits its uses. Previous studies on flexibly jointed steel frames are mostly concentrated on their ultimate capacities and static behaviour, whilst the influence of joint flexibility on the serviceability behaviour of the structure has not yet been investigated in detail. This paper addresses the study of the vibration and deflection characteristics of flexibly jointed steel frames using the stiffness of two connections measured in the laboratory. The frequency of the structure is useful in studying its resonance response against disturbing loads. It is further demonstrated in this paper that the stiffness of a particular joint type can be easily measured in the laboratory and input into a computer program for structural analysis and design of the frame

Keywords:

steel frames; semi-rigid joints; vibrations; natural frequency; bolted and welded connections