Accordion Web RBS (AW-RBS) connection under cyclic loading Abaqus

Product Overview

In this project, an Accordion Web RBS (AW-RBS) connection is modeled in Abaqus and its hysteretic behavior under cyclic loading is investigated.

The AW-RBS connection uses corrugated plates in the beam web at the intended plastic hinge region. The accordion behavior of the corrugated web reduces its contribution to the flexural response, allowing plastic deformation to concentrate in the reduced section away from the beam-to-column connection.

The numerical model is developed on Test Specimen 1 reported in the reference experimental study, and the Abaqus results are compared with the experimental results to evaluate the accuracy of the numerical model.

Model Description

The connection consists of an IPE 180 beam connected to a built-up box column with dimensions of 200 × 160 × 10 mm. In the intended plastic hinge region, the flat beam web is replaced by two cold-formed L-shaped corrugated plates with dimensions of 50 × 50 × 3.5 mm, forming the accordion web.

The model also includes the panel zone and continuity plates required for the beam-to-column connection. The corrugated web is intended to provide shear resistance while reducing the contribution of the beam web to flexural strength and stiffness, allowing inelastic deformation to concentrate in the reduced region.

The required material properties, interactions, boundary conditions, and analysis settings are defined in Abaqus to reproduce the behavior of the experimental connection.

Cyclic Loading

A cyclic loading is applied to the top of the column according to the loading protocol used in the experimental study.

The loading history is defined using the Amplitude option in Abaqus. The connection is then analyzed under repeated loading and unloading cycles.

Results and Hysteresis Response

The Abaqus results are extracted and processed to evaluate the structural response of the connection under cyclic loading.

The resulting response is used to obtain the Force-Displacement hysteresis diagram of the AW-RBS connection.

The hysteresis diagram (Force-Displacement) obtained from the Abaqus analysis is compared with the experimental results reported in the reference paper.

Deformation Under Cyclic Loading

The deformation behavior of the AW-RBS connection is evaluated under cyclic loading. The results show that the plastic hinge forms in the predefined reduced region, where the plastic deformation is mainly concentrated.

The concentration of plastic deformation within the corrugated region limits the development of significant plastic deformation near the column face. As a result, the plastic strain demand in the region close to the beam-to-column connection is reduced.

Localized plastic strains also develop around the corners of the corrugated plates, while the main inelastic deformation remains concentrated within the intended reduced region.

Experimental Validation

The numerical results obtained from Abaqus are compared with the experimental results reported in the reference research paper.

The comparison focuses on the hysteresis response and the overall structural behavior of the Accordion Web RBS connection under cyclic loading.

This project has been validated, which means that the results obtained from Abaqus are similar to the results reported in the reference article. In other words, the numerical model is based on the experimental study.

Key Features

• Numerical modeling of an Accordion Web RBS (AW-RBS) connection.
• Cyclic analysis of the beam-to-column connection.
• Modeling of the corrugated plate.
• Modeling of the panel zone and continuity plate.
• Nonlinear analysis under cyclic loading.
• Hysteresis analysis of the connection.
• Comparison with experimental results.
• Validated Abaqus numerical model.
• Complete Abaqus model files.
• Excel files for cyclic loading and numerical results.
• Reference research paper.
• Step-by-step video tutorial.

What You Will Learn

• How to model an Accordion Web RBS (AW-RBS) connection in Abaqus.
• How to define the geometry of the beam and column.
• How to model the panel zone plate and continuity plate.
• How to model the corrugated plate used in the AW-RBS connection.
• How to define the material properties of the structural components.
• How to define the required interactions and constraints.
• How to define the boundary conditions of the model.
• How to apply cyclic loading in Abaqus.
• How to define cyclic loading using the Amplitude option.
• How to perform nonlinear analysis under cyclic loading.
• How to obtain the hysteresis diagram of the connection.
• How to extract and process Abaqus results using Excel.
• How to compare numerical and experimental results.

Reference

This project is based on the experimental study provided in the reference research paper. The paper is included with the project files and can be used to review the experimental configuration, loading protocol, and reported results.