Influence of the axial force on the behavior of endplate moment connections

In this article, using finite element method of analysis (FEM), behavior of the endplate moment connection subjected to axial force and bending moment is investigated. In the FEM model, all the nonlinear characteristics such as material, geometry, as well as contact have been included. First, in order to verify the numerical model of the connection, an analysis of the endplate moment connection conducted without the application of the axial force. Results obtained from FEM indicating a close and good correlation with the experimental results. Then to investigate the influence of the axial forces, the connections subjected to axial forces as well as the bending moment are analyzed. To observe the overall effect of these actions, the moment-axial force interaction diagrams are drawn. It is observed that the presence of axial force even in a small value can change the behavior of the connection significantly. It is also shown that the axial forces can alter the failure mode of the connection; and therefore it could result in a different than the predicted moment capacity of the connection.