Stiffener Design for

Beam-to-Column Connections

Michelle L. Holland

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science
in
Civil Engineering

Dr. Thomas M. Murray, chair

Dr. W. Samuel Easterling
Dr. Siegfried M. Holzer

September 1999
Blacksburg, Virginia

Keywords: Moment Connections, Stiffener Design, Column Stiffeners

Copyright 1999, Michelle L. Holland

 Stiffener Design for
Beam-to-Column Connections

Michelle L. Holland

(ABSTRACT)

Stiffeners are used as a means of providing additional support to columns at beam

connection locations. They are added when the strength of the column is exceeded but
full moment strength of the beam section is desired. In determining the design of column
stiffeners, there are no specifications for determining the distribution of load between the
column web and stiffeners. The AISC Load and Resistance Factor Design Specifications
provides guidelines for determining the stiffener area but no specifications are given.
The actual loads taken by the stiffener and web are therefore not truly known.

In this study, experiments were done to determine the load supported by the stiffeners
and web when tensile forces are applied to the specimen. The initial stiffener design for
the test specimens was based on LRFD guidelines. The actual load distribution between
the column web and stiffeners is determined from strain data obtained during testing.
This distribution is compared with the assumed loads obtained from the initial LRFD
calculations. Finite element analysis is also utilized to confirm the consistency of the
results obtained from the experiments. Using this information, a new method is
developed which better predicts the distribution of load between the column web and the
stiffener.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I owe a great deal of thanks to my family and friends who have always offered
their support and belief in me. I could not have made all the accomplishments throughout
my life without them. Dr. Thomas M. Murray has also provided guidance and has
challenged me during my graduate studies. For this, and for his patience, I extend my
greatest thanks. I also extend my thanks to Dr. W. Samuel Easterling and Dr. Siegfried
M. Holzer for their help, knowledge, and participation as members of my committee. To
Dennis Huffman and Brett Farmer, I also offer my appreciation for their help the
Structures Laboratory and for the hours of enjoyment.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
LIST OF FIGURES vi
LIST OF TABLES viii
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Overview of Design Problem 1
1.1.1 Background 1
1.1.2 Current Design Model 1
1.1.3 Objective of Study 4
1.2 AISC Column Side Limit State Design Strength 4
1.3 Force Distribution Prediction 10
1.4 Scope of Research 11
CHAPTER II. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION 12
2.1 Scope of Test 12
2.2 Test Details 12
2.2.1 Test 1 Geometry and Design 12
2.2.2 Test 2 Geometry and Design 14
2.3 Instrumentation 14
2.4 Test Procedure 17
2.5 Test Results 17
2.5.1 General 17
2.5.2 Test 1 17
2.5.3 Test 2 21
2.6 Summary of Experimental Results 26
CHAPTER III. DEVELOPMENT OF FINITE ELEMENT MODEL
AND COMPARISON WITH TEST RESULTS 28
3.1 Development of Finite Element Model 28

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 3.1.1 Description of Finite Element Analysis 28
3.1.2 Shell Elements 28
3.2 Finite Element Results 29
3.2.1 Test 1 29
3.2.2 Test 2 29
3.2.3 Additional Finite Element Models 32
3.2.4 Parametric Study of Stiffener Sizes 34
3.3 Comparison of Experimental and Analytical Data 36
CHAPTER IV. DEVELOPMENT OF A DESIGN MODEL 38
4.1 Development of Effective Length 38
4.2 Load Distribution Between Column and Stiffener 42
CHAPTER V. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 45
5.1 Summary 45
5.2 Area Method Design Recommendations 46
5.3 Example Calculations 47
5.4 Recommendations for Further Research 49
REFERENCES 50
APPENDIX A. NOMENCLATURE 51
APPENDIX B. TEST 1 Results 54
B.1 Experimental Data 55
B.2 ABAQUS Input Data File 61
APPENDIX C. TEST 2 Results 66
C.1 Experimental Data 67
C.2 ABAQUS Input Data File 71
VITA 76

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 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page

1.1 Moment Transfer Couple 2

1.2 Stiffener Force Based on AISC Manual Procedure 3
1.3 Local Flange Bending Stiffener Requirements 6
1.4 Local Web Yielding Stiffener Requirements 7
1.5 Effective Column Length and Load Distribution 11
2.1 Test 1 Specimen Geometry 13
2.2 Test 2 Specimen Geometry 15
2.3 Strain Gage Locations, Tests 1 and 2 16
2.4 Test 1 (W16x45) - Load vs. Micro-strain
Results for Stiffeners R and L 18
2.5 Test 1 (W16x45) - Strain vs. Distance
Results for Stiffener R 20
2.6 Test 1 (W16x45) - Strain vs. Distance
Results for Stiffener L 20
2.7 Test 2 (W8x48) - Load vs. Micro-strain
Results for Stiffeners R and L 22
2.8 Test 2 (W8x48) - Load vs. Micro-strain
Results for Web R and L 23
2.9 Test 2 (W8x48) - Strain vs. Distance
Results for Stiffener R 24
2.10 Test 2 (W8x48) - Strain vs. Distance
Results for Stiffener L 24
2.11 Test 2 (W8x48) - Strain vs. Distance
Results for Web R and L 25
2.12 Comparison of Stiffener Force Ratios 27
3.1 FE Model for Test Specimens 30
3.2 Finite Element Results for Stiffeners
Stress vs. Distance - Test 1 and 2 31
3.3 Finite Element Results for Web - Test 2 32
3.4 W14x311 Finite Element Results 33

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3.5 W12x120 and W14x500 Finite Element Results 35
3.6 Comparison of Stiffener Force 37
4.1 Equivalent Load Distribution 39
4.2 Plot of Element Stresses
W14x311 Specimen 40
4.3 Equivalent Column Web Load Distribution 41

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 LIST OF TABLES
Table Page

2.1 Force Distribution - Test 1 (W16x45) 19

2.2 Force Distribution - Test 2 (W8x48) 26
3.1 Stiffener Force from FE Models 32
3.2 FEA Results for Additional Column Sections 34
3.3 FEA Results for W14x90 Stiffeners 36
3.4 Predicted versus Test Results 37
4.1 Effective Lengths 42
4.2 Effective Area Values 43
4.3 Comparison of Results 43

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