Analytical Study of Moment-Resisting Frames Retrofitted with Shear Slotted Bolted Connection

Abstract

Slotted bolted connection (SBC) and rotational slotted bolted connection (RSBC) are two types of friction dampers that have been developed and studied over the years. However, the applications of SBC and RSBC are limited mainly to members with axial- or flexural-dominated behavior. In this paper, a new type of friction damper, namely, shear slotted bolted connection (SSBC), is proposed to extend the application of SBC in members with shear-dominated behavior. First, the details and applications of SSBC in various lateral load resisting systems are described. Finite-element models are then developed to investigate the behavior of SSBC in moment-resisting frames (MRFs). A nine-story prototype MRF is retrofitted by SSBC based on two proposed design philosophies and the performance of the structures is assessed using nonlinear static procedure (NSP). A practical optimization method is then utilized to improve the behavior of the frames. Finally, the effectiveness of SSBC in improving the performance of the optimized structures is verified through nonlinear dynamic procedure (NDP).