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Low cycle fatigue behavior of constraint connections

Part I: influence of constraint severity

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Abstract

The general influence of constraint effects on reversed low-cycle fatigue performance was investigated. Constraint effects are being considered to have contributed to the failure of welded Steel Moment Resisting Frames (SMRFs), were cracks initiated in constraint regions during recent earthquakes. However, this study revealed that high constraint enhanced the resistance to crack initiation during cyclic loading by reducing the local strains at the notch tip. Furthermore, changes in toughness due to various constraint severities had almost no influence on the low cyclic performance of steel under constraint. This applies to low and high stress levels as well as low and high constraint, covering the whole range of possible scenarios of low-cycle and even towards high-cycle fatigue. While high toughness is still important for enhancing the fracture strength to accommodate the maximum imposed stresses/strains in earthquake loading, it most likely does not play a key role in cyclic performance.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation Grant Nr. CMS-9821043. The authors would like to thank Professor R. O. Ritchie in the Materials Science Department at the University of California, Berkeley and Dr. J. M. Barsom for many fruitful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    F. J. Rosien & C. P. Ostertag

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  1. F. J. Rosien
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  2. C. P. Ostertag
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Correspondence to C. P. Ostertag.

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Rosien, F.J., Ostertag, C.P. Low cycle fatigue behavior of constraint connections. Mater Struct 42, 161–170 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-008-9375-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-008-9375-9

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