Hysteresis analysis of RBS with end-plate bolted connection and stiffener Abaqus

Product Overview

In this project, a Reduced Beam Section (RBS) connection with an end-plate bolted connection and stiffener is modeled in Abaqus and its hysteretic behavior under cyclic loading is investigated.

The numerical model is developed based on an experimental study reported in the reference article. The Abaqus results are compared with the experimental results to evaluate the accuracy of the numerical model and its ability to reproduce the behavior of the tested connection.

Model Description

The model represents an RBS beam-to-column connection with an end-plate bolted connection and stiffener.

The main components of the model include the RBS beam, column, end plate, bolts, continuity plate, doubler plate, and rib stiffener.

The geometry and configuration of the structural components are defined according to the experimental specimen reported in the reference study. Material properties, interactions, boundary conditions, and analysis settings are then defined in Abaqus to reproduce the behavior of the tested connection.

Connection Components

The numerical model consists of several structural components that work together to represent the tested beam-to-column connection.

• RBS Beam – the reduced beam section is used to control the location of inelastic deformation.
• Column – the main supporting member of the connection.
• End Plate – connects the beam to the column.
• Bolts – provide the bolted connection between the end plate and column.
• Continuity Plate – provides additional reinforcement around the beam-column connection.
• Doubler Plate – reinforces the column panel region.
• Rib Stiffener – increases the stiffness of the connection region.

Cyclic Loading

A cyclic loading is applied to the beam according to the loading protocol used in the experimental study.

The loading history is defined in Abaqus using the Amplitude option. The beam is subjected to repeated loading and unloading cycles to investigate the nonlinear behavior of the connection.

The resulting moment and drift response is then used to obtain the hysteresis diagram of the connection.

Deformation and Structural Response

The deformation of the connection is investigated during the cyclic analysis.

The Abaqus results provide information about the structural response of the RBS region, end plate, bolts, stiffeners, and other components of the connection during repeated loading.

Results and Hysteresis Response

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

The drift–moment hysteresis diagram obtained from the Abaqus analysis is compared with the experimental results reported in the reference article.

This comparison is used to evaluate how accurately the numerical model reproduces the experimental hysteretic behavior of the beam-to-column connection.

Experimental Validation

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

The comparison focuses on the drift–moment hysteresis response and the overall structural behavior of the RBS beam-to-column connection under cyclic loading.

The results obtained from the Abaqus model show close agreement with the experimental results, demonstrating that the numerical model can reproduce the behavior of the tested connection.

Key Features

• RBS beam-to-column connection.
• End-plate bolted connection.
• Bolts and connection components modeled in Abaqus.
• Continuity plate and doubler plate.
• Rib stiffener included in the connection.
• Nonlinear analysis under cyclic loading.
• Drift–moment hysteresis response.
• Comparison with experimental results.
• Complete Abaqus model files.
• Excel file for amplitude loading.
• Excel file containing numerical results.
• Reference research paper.
• Step-by-step video tutorial.

What You Will Learn

• How to model an RBS beam-to-column connection in Abaqus.
• How to model an end-plate bolted connection.
• How to define the RBS region in the beam.
• How to model bolts and bolt connections.
• How to define continuity and doubler plates.
• How to model rib stiffeners.
• How to define the required material properties.
• How to define interactions and contact between the components.
• How to define boundary conditions for the connection.
• How to apply cyclic loading to the beam.
• How to perform nonlinear analysis under cyclic loading.
• How to obtain a drift–moment hysteresis diagram.
• How to extract and process Abaqus results using Excel.
• How to compare numerical and experimental results.

Reference

This project is based on the experimental research study used as the reference for the numerical simulation.

The reference paper is included with the project files and can be used to review the experimental configuration, loading protocol, and reported results.