Composite Beam Element for Nonlinear Seismic Analysis of Steel Frames

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a composite beam element intended to model the inelastic behavior of beams with composite slabs in steel moment frames under earthquake loading. The element can be considered as a one-component series hinge-type model. The capabilities and accuracy of the element are examined by a series of comparisons with experimental data on cyclically loaded subassemblages. The element is then used for an inelastic time-history analysis of a steel moment frame to illustrate the effects of modeling composite beam behavior on predictions of local and overall frame response.