Energy dissipation capacity of an unstiffened extended end-plate connection with a SMA plate

The unstiffened extended end-plate connection exhibits different behavioral characteristics and energy dissipation capacities depending on the thickness of the end-plate and the change in the gauge distance of the high-strength bolts. In particular, the energy dissipation capacity of the unstiffened extended end-plate connection is affected by the failure modes of the connection: the beam failure mode and the connection failure mode. That is, the energy dissipation capacity varies depending on the case, where the failure is caused by the occurrence of plastic hinges acting like fuses in the beam ends, and the failure results from the plastic deformation after the flexural yielding of the end-plate. This study was conducted to design and construct the connection in such a way that it could provide sufficient strength, stiffness, and energy dissipation capacity in response to the fracture of the connection that may occur in case of an emergency, by inducing a position where the plastic hinge fuse occurs in the end-plate of the connection. For the evaluation of the energy dissipation capacity of the connection, a three-dimensional nonlinear finite-element analysis of the unstiffened extended end-plate connection was performed by changing the thickness of the end-plates. The finite-element analysis results showed that the energy dissipation capacity increased when the thickness of each end-plate decreased, and that the residual deformation did not occur when an SMA end-plate was installed instead of the end-plate with the conventional SN steel applied.