Seismic behaviour of gravity load designed flush end-plate joints

Flush end-plate (FEP) beam-to-column joints are commonly used for gravity load resisting parts in steel multi-storey buildings. However, in seismic resisting structures FEP joints should also provide rotation capacity consistent with the global structural displacements. The current version of EN1993-1-8 recommends a criterion aiming at controlling the thickness of the end-plate in order to avoid brittle failure of the connection, which has been developed for monotonic loading conditions assuming elastic-perfectly plastic behaviour of the connection's components in line with the theory of the component method. Hence, contrary to the design philosophy of the hierarchy of resistances implemented in EN1998-1, the over strength and the hardening of the plastic components are not directly accounted for. In light of these considerations, this paper describes and discusses the results obtained from parametric finite element simulations aiming at investigating the moment-rotation response of FEP joints under cyclic actions. The influence of bolt diameter, thickness of end-plate, number of bolt rows and shape of beam profile on the joint response is discussed and design requirements are proposed to enhance the ductility of the joints