Bull Earthquake Eng

DOI 10.1007/s10518-014-9640-y

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

Analytical investigation of the cyclic behavior and plastic

hinge formation in deep wide-flange steel beam-columns

Ahmed Elkady · Dimitrios G. Lignos

Received: 27 February 2014 / Accepted: 31 May 2014

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Abstract This paper investigates the cyclic behavior of deep wide-flange sections, used as
columns in steel Special Moment Frames (SMFs), through detailed finite element (FE) analy-
sis. A wide range of wide-flange sections is subjected to symmetric cyclic lateral loading
combined with different levels of constant compressive axial load ratios representing the
loading conditions of interior steel columns in SMFs. The FE simulations demonstrate that
wide-flange beam-columns, with web and flange slenderness ratios near the current compact-
ness limits of seismic design provisions (AISC 341-10), experience rapid cyclic deterioration
in flexural strength under high axial load ratios. It is also found that deep wide-flange slender
sections shorten axially to about 10 % of their length due to severe flange and web local
buckling. Based on the FE simulations, for bottom story columns, where axial load ratios
are in the range of 20–35 %, a reduction to about two thirds of the current compactness limit
for highly ductile members would achieve a 4 % chord rotation while maintaining a flexural
strength larger than 80 % of the expected plastic flexural strength of a steel column. The FE
simulation results also suggest that the pre-capping rotation predicted by current modeling
recommendations for steel components (PEER/ATC 72-1) is overestimated for sections with
high web and flange slenderness ratios undergoing monotonic and/or cyclic lateral loading
combined with high axial load levels.

Keywords Wide-flange sections · Steel beam-columns · Finite element analysis · Axial

shortening · Strength deterioration · Pre-capping plastic rotation

1 Introduction

Steel frame buildings with perimeter special moment resisting frames (SMFs) designed in
highly seismic urban regions in North America, should comply with regional seismic design-
code requirements (ASCE 2010; NBCC 2010). Normally, deep beams are used in SMFs in

A. Elkady · D. G. Lignos (B)

Deparment of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0C3, Canada
e-mail: dimitrios.lignos@mcgill.ca

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 Bull Earthquake Eng

order to control the lateral drift demands. Therefore, designers tend to use deep wide-flange
steel sections as columns to satisfy the strong-column-weak-beam criterion. These sections
are able to respect economy due to their low weight-to-inertia ratio. The term “deep” refers to
wide-flange sections with depth larger than 400 mm (i.e., 16 inches). The web and flange local
slenderness ratios of deep wide-flange steel columns comply with the seismic compactness
limits applied to highly ductile members as discussed in AISC (2010a). However, deep
wide-flange sections with high web and flange slenderness ratios (i.e., close to the compact
limit for highly ductile members, λhd ) are susceptible to local and lateral torsional buckling
instabilities. As part of a first-story SMF, steel columns typically experience large lateral
drifts combined with high compressive axial load levels during a severe seismic event. As a
result, it is expected that once plastification occurs at the base of these columns, they could
rapidly deteriorate in flexural stiffness and strength and possibly trigger dynamic collapse
of a steel SMF. Typically, the first few stories of a SMF form a global collapse mechanism
due to P-Delta effects (Gupta and Krawinkler 1999; Zareian et al. 2010; Elkady and Lignos
2014).
The current seismic provisions in the US (AISC 2010a,b) for steel wide-flange beam-
columns are based on experimental studies that were conducted on either small-scale (i.e.,
depth less than 400 mm) or full-scale but stocky wide-flange sections (i.e., h/tw < 30
and b f /2t f < 8). In particular, Popov et al. (1975) tested W8 sections under cyclic lateral
displacement and constant axial load ranging from 30 to 80 % Py , where Py is the axial yield
strength of the corresponding cross section (i.e., Py = A gr oss Fy ). MacRae et al. (1990)
tested 250UC73 sections (i.e., W10×49) under cyclic lateral displacement combined with
constant and varying axial load reaching up to 80 % Py . More recently, Newell and Uang
(2006) tested a set of W14 sections (6.9 < h/tw < 17.7 and 3.1 < b f /2t f < 7.14) under
cyclic lateral displacement and cyclic axial load levels reaching 35–75 % Py in compression.
These beam-columns were able to sustain story drifts of 7–9 % radians prior to 10 % reduction
in flexural strength due to cyclic deterioration. Interestingly, these tests showed that stocky
sections experience minor strength deterioration and twisting even at larger drifts and high
axial load levels. On the other hand, summaries from past experimental studies of deep
slender wide-flange steel beams (FEMA 2000; Lignos and Krawinkler 2011, 2013) showed
that deep slender beams (i.e., no axial load) deteriorate rapidly due to local and out-of-plane
instabilities. Zhang and Ricles (2006) demonstrated experimentally that once plastic hinging
occurs in reduced beam section (RBS) moment connections to a deep-wide-flange column,
such columns are more susceptible to twisting, i.e., global instabilities may occur to the
columns. Detailed finite element (FE) studies on deep wide-flange beam-columns (Newell
and Uang 2006; Elkady and Lignos 2012) confirm that the cyclic deterioration in strength and
stiffness of such members is severe compared to that of stocky beam-columns. Interestingly,
NIST (2011) established a research plan that highlighted the need for further research related
to the behavior of deep wide-flange beam-columns as part of steel SMFs. At high constant
axial load ratios (e.g., 50 % Py ), Elkady and Lignos (2012) showed that deep wide-flange
beam-columns with web and flange slenderness ratios close to the seismic compactness
requirements for highly ductile members can lose their flexural strength capacity before
reaching chord rotations in the order of 3 % radians.
This paper investigates the cyclic behavior of wide-flange steel beam-columns through
detailed FE analysis. A finite element modelling approach is first proposed to model steel
beam-columns. The FE approach is then validated with past experimental studies. The cyclic
behavior of a comprehensive set of wide-flange steel sections typically used as steel columns
in steel construction practice of steel SMFs is investigated analytically. Emphasis is placed on
the cyclic behavior of interior steel columns in which the axial load is almost constant during

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an earthquake (i.e., negligible effects due to dynamic overturning moments). Thus, each steel
column is subjected to a symmetric cyclic lateral loading protocol combined with different
levels of constant compressive axial load ratios. In particular, the effect of cyclic deterioration
on the beam-column flexural strength is assessed. The expected pre-capping plastic rotation
and the corresponding plastic hinge length of a steel beam-column are quantified depending
on the level of the applied axial load ratio. The pre-capping plastic rotation predicted by
the FE model is used to assess the current analytical modelling recommendations for steel
columns as per PEER/ATC (2010). Finally, the level of axial shortening that the wide-flange
steel beam-columns experience under different axial load levels is quantified.

2 Selected column sections and applied loading protocols

The set of wide-flange sections, which is investigated through detailed FE analysis, comprises
of 40 sections selected from the following sizes: W16, W21, W24, W27, W30, W33, and W36.
Based on prior system level analytical studies that investigated the seismic behavior of steel
SMFs through collapse (Zareian et al. 2010; Elkady and Lignos 2014), the selected sections
reflect the typical members that are used as columns in low to high-rise steel buildings with 2
to 20 stories designed in urban California. Table 1 summarizes the selected sections together
with their web (h/tw ) and flange (b f /2t f ) local slenderness ratios, their strong-axis plastic
bending strength, M p , and the axial yield strength, Py . The same table contains the warping,
Cw , and torsional constants, J , for each cross section. Based on Table 1, 35 of the selected
sections are considered seismically compact based on the compactness criteria for highly
ductile members (AISC 2010a). In order to investigate the effect of seismic compactness
on the cyclic deterioration in flexural strength of steel beam-columns, the remaining five
sections are compact sections that meet the web and flange width-to-thickness limits given
for moderately ductile members, λmd , (AISC 2010a). These sections are used in intermediate
moment frames. The flange and web compact limits for highly ductile members are 7 and 43,
respectively, assuming a modulus of elasticity E = 207,980 MPa (i.e., 29,000 ksi), expected
yield stress Fy = 383 MPa (i.e., R y Fy = 55 ksi, in which R y = 1.1) and axial load ratio
P/Py = 0.5.
To better facilitate the interpretation of the FE results later on (see Sect. 4), the set of 40
sections summarized in Table 1 are divided into four sets based on the corresponding section
web and flange local slenderness ratios (i.e., total of eight sets). Figure 1 shows the ranges
of web and flange local slenderness ratios for the eight sets superimposed with the web and
flange compactness limits for highly ductile members (λhd ) as per AISC (2010a). Sets F1 and
W1 represent sections with the lowest flange and web slenderness ratios, respectively (i.e.,
h/tw < 22 and b f /2t f < 3.9). Sets F2 and W2 represent sections with moderate flange and
web slenderness ratios, respectively (i.e., 22 < h/tw < 32.5 and 3.9 < b f /2t f < 5.5). Sets
F3 and W3 represent sections with flange and web slenderness ratios close to the compactness
limits for highly ductile steel members (λhd ) according to AISC (2010a), respectively (i.e.,
32.5 < h/tw < 43 and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7.0). Sets F4 and W4 represent the 5 compact (λmd )
sections (i.e., 43 < h/tw and 7 < b f /2t f ) according to the AISC (2010a) compactness
requirements.
In order to investigate the cyclic behavior of the selected wide-flange steel beam-columns,
the SAC1 symmetric cyclic protocol is employed as a lateral loading protocol. This protocol
1 The SAC Joint Venture is a consortium that includes the Structural Engineers Association of California
(SEAOC), the Applied Technology Council (ATC), and Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake
Engineering (CUREE)

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Table 1 Summary of wide-flange steel sections used in the finite element simulation

Section b f /2t f h/tw r y [mm] Cw [mm6 ] J [mm4 ] M ∗∗

p [kN.m] Py∗∗ [kN]

W36 W36×650 2.48 16.0 104 3.0E+14 2.5E+08 17,934 47,156

W36×527 2.96 19.6 102 2.2E+14 1.4E+08 14,297 38,268
W36×439 3.48 23.1 100 1.7E+14 8.0E+07 11,726 31,849
W36×359 4.16 28.1 99 1.5E+14 5.9E+07 9,469 25,924
W36×280 5.29 35.6 97 9.8E+13 2.2E+07 7,337 20,342
W36×230 6.54 41.4 95 7.6E+13 1.2E+07 5,913 16,690
W36×135* 7.56 54.1 60 1.8E+13 2.9E+06 3,192 9,799
W33 W33×387 3.55 23.7 96 1.2E+14 6.2E+07 9,782 28,144
W33×318 4.23 28.7 94 9.6E+13 3.5E+07 7,964 23,109
W33×263 5.03 34.3 93 7.6E+13 2.0E+07 6,521 19,132
W33×221 6.20 38.5 91 6.0E+13 1.2E+07 5,374 16,098
W33×201 6.85 41.7 90 5.3E+13 8.7E+06 4,847 14,617
W33×118* 7.76 54.5 59 1.3E+13 2.2E+06 2,602 8,567
W30 W30×391 3.19 19.7 93 9.8E+13 7.2E+07 9,092 28,393
W30×326 3.75 23.4 91 7.7E+13 4.3E+07 7,462 23,651
W30×261 4.59 28.7 90 5.8E+13 2.3E+07 5,913 18,985
W30×211 5.74 34.5 89 4.5E+13 1.2E+07 4,709 15,355
W30×148 4.44 41.6 58 1.3E+13 6.0E+06 3,135 10,738
W30×90* 8.52 57.5 53 6.4E+12 1.2E+06 1,775 6,517
W27 W27×539 2.15 12.1 93 1.2E+14 2.1E+08 11,852 39,256
W27×336 3.19 18.9 88 6.1E+13 5.5E+07 7,086 24,416
W27×258 4.03 24.4 85 4.3E+13 2.6E+07 5,343 18,763
W27×194 5.24 31.8 84 3.0E+13 1.1E+07 3,957 14,123
W27×161 6.49 36.1 82 2.3E+13 6.3E+06 3,229 11,752
W27×84* 7.78 52.7 53 4.8E+12 1.2E+06 1,530 6,121
W24 W24×370 2.51 14.2 83 5.0E+13 8.4E+07 7,086 26,912
W24×279 3.18 18.6 81 3.4E+13 3.8E+07 5,236 20,244
W24×250 3.49 20.7 80 2.9E+13 2.8E+07 4,665 18,144
W24×192 4.43 26.6 78 2.1E+13 1.3E+07 3,505 13,901
W24×146 5.92 33.2 76 1.5E+13 5.6E+06 2,621 10,618
W24×131 6.70 35.6 75 1.3E+13 4.0E+06 2,320 9,506
W24×68* 7.66 52.0 47 2.5E+12 7.9E+05 1,110 4,964
W21 W21×201 3.86 20.6 77 1.7E+13 1.7E+07 3,323 14,617
W21×147 5.44 26.1 75 1.1E+13 6.4E+06 2,339 10,667
W21×122 6.45 31.3 74 8.8E+12 3.7E+06 1,925 8,861
W21×73 5.60 41.2 46 2.0E+12 1.2E+06 1,079 5,307
W16 W16×100 5.29 23.2 64 3.2E+12 3.4E+06 1,254 7,331
W16×77 6.77 29.9 62 2.3E+12 1.6E+06 953 5,654
W16×57 4.98 33.0 41 7.1E+11 9.2E+05 658 4,146
W16×45 6.23 41.1 40 5.3E+11 4.6E+05 516 3,283
* Compact (λmd ) section
** Strength values are based on an expected yield stress of 1.1 * 345 = 383 MPa

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70 Compact λ hd
Compact λ md F4 and W4
60
F1 F2 F3
50
h / tw 43.0 (λhd)
40
32.5 W3
30

7.0 (λhd)
22.0 W2
20
W1

3.9

5.5
10
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
bf / 2tf

Fig. 1 Section sets based on web and flange slenderness

is incorporated by AISC (2010a) for the qualification of beam-to-column moment connec-

tions in SMFs. The lateral cyclic deformation is combined with different levels of constant
compressive axial load ratios: 0, 20, 35, and 50 % of Py . The last three applied load ratios are
representative for first-story interior steel columns of steel SMFs with 2–20 stories designed in
highly seismic regions (Zareian et al. 2010; Elkady and Lignos 2014). The selected axial load
ratios have been determined by rigorous nonlinear response history analyses of archetype
steel SMFs (Zareian et al. 2010; Elkady and Lignos 2014). Unlike end columns, interior
columns experience less variation in axial load during a seismic event due to dynamic over-
turning moments. Therefore, the constant compressive axial load reflects what an interior
column actually experiences due to gravity loading only. In the subsequent sections, the var-
ious loading cases are noted as SYM-X where “SYM” refers to the symmetric lateral loading
protocol and “X” is the applied axial load ratio (e.g., SYM-35 for P/Py = 35 %). In addition
to the cyclic loading cases, a monotonic lateral loading, noted as “MON”, is incorporated.
The monotonic loading cases are used to evaluate the pre-capping plastic rotation estimated
by Lignos and Krawinkler (2011) and PEER/ATC (2010) modelling recommendations for
simplified nonlinear analysis of steel components (see Sect. 4.2).

3 Finite element modeling and validation

3.1 Modelling approach

The main scope of this paper is to study the cyclic behavior of wide-flange steel sections as
part of first-story interior columns in typical SMFs designed in North America. To this end, a
FE model of a typical first-story interior column is developed in ABAQUS-FEA/CAE (2011).
The column has a length L = 4,600 mm (15 feet) as shown in Fig. 2a. This length represents
typical first story heights in steel SMFs. Fully fixed boundary conditions are applied at
the base of the column (i.e., fixed support) while partially fixed boundary conditions with
flexible rotational stiffness are applied at the top of the column (i.e., flexible support) in order
to consider the flexibility of the beam-to-column connection at the same location. These
boundary conditions reflect more realistically first-story steel columns in SMFs because they
can capture the moment gradient changes along a first story column once plastic hinging
occurs at its base. Past analytical and/or experimental studies either involved a cantilever or
fixed-fixed boundary conditions (Newell and Uang 2006; MacRae et al. 2009; Elkady and
Lignos 2012).

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For the fixed support, all six degrees of freedom are restrained. For the flexible support, the
out-of-plane rotation and displacement are restrained. The in-plane displacement (U y ) is used
to apply the lateral loading protocol. The in-plane rotation (Rx ) is controlled using a flexible
elastic beam element (see Fig. 2a). Depending on the flexural stiffness of the elastic beam
element we are able to control the partially rigid boundary conditions due to the presence of
the panel zone and beam-to-column connection that are welded at both sides of an interior
steel column as part of a steel SMF. For each column section, the flexible beam element is
assigned a pre-calculated in-plane moment of inertia in order to keep the inflection point at a
distance of 0.75 L measured from the base of the column prior to the application of the lateral
loading protocol. This is the expected location of the inflection point in typical first-story
columns when they remain elastic under lateral loading (Zareian et al. 2010; Elkady and
Lignos 2014). The flexible support boundary conditions are applied at a reference point (RP)
located at the center of the column top end (see Fig. 2a). The column edge at the top end is
tied to the reference point using a “RIGID BODY” constraint in order to avoid possible local
stress concentrations.
The analytical model of the steel beam-column is meshed using a 25 mm × 25 mm (i.e.,
1”×1”) quadratic 4-node doubly-curved “S4R” shell elements. The S4R shell elements can
capture the expected severe local buckling within the cross section. These elements also use
reduced integration and hourglass control. To this end, they are computationally efficient and
they are able to avoid non-physical response modes (Souza Neto et al. 1996). The 25 mm ×
25 mm mesh size is proposed after conducting a mesh sensitivity study not presented herein
due to brevity.
In order to trigger local and global instabilities within the column section, geometric
imperfections are introduced to the FE model. These imperfections are introduced to the FE
model by scaling and superimposing different buckling modes. Two types of imperfections
are employed: (1) local web and flange imperfections expected from the manufacturing
process as per ASTM (2003) limits (see Fig. 2b); (2) possible global out-of-straightness
imperfections equal to L/1,000 as per AISC (2010b). Residual stresses are not considered

(a) (b)
Flexible
RP
Support Flexible
Ux=Restrain Beam
Uy=Guide
Ry=Restrain
Rz=Restrain Ux=Restrain
Rx=Restrain
Ry=Restrain
Rz=Restrain

4.6 m
Fixed
Support bf
bf /150
Ux=Restrain
Uy=Restrain
Uz=Restrain d d /150
Rx=Restrain
Ry=Restrain
Rz=Restrain

Fig. 2 a Boundary conditions applied to the FE model, b typical buckling mode used for local geometric
imperfections

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in the modelling process because their effect is found to be negligible on the monotonic and
cyclic behavior of wide-flange steel columns (Newell and Uang 2006; Elkady and Lignos
2012).
The shell elements are assigned a nonlinear isotropic/kinematic hardening material model
(Dafalias and Popov 1975). This material model simulates the cyclic strain hardening. In
addition to the modulus of elasticity (E) and the yield stress (Fy ), the nonlinear kinematic
and isotropic hardening components are defined using Eqs. 1 and 2, respectively. In Eq. 1, C
is the initial kinematic hardening modulus, γ is the rate at which C decreases with cumulative
plastic deformation ε pl , α is the backstress, and σ o |0 is the equivalent yield stress at zero
plastic strain (i.e. Fy ). In Eq. 2,Q ∞ is the maximum change in the size of the yield surface
and b is the rate at which the size of the yield surface changes as plastic deformation develops.
· 1 · ·
α=C (σ − α) ε pl −γ α ε pl (1)
σ o |0
 
σ o = σ o |0 + Q ∞ 1 − e−b ε pl (2)

The parameters E, Fy , C, and γ can be acquired from the measured engineering stress-
strain curve obtained from uniaxial coupon testing of the respective steel material. The
parameters Q ∞ and b can be acquired from constant amplitude cyclic tests. In this paper, the
engineering stress-strain and constant amplitude cyclic curves conducted by Krawinkler et
al. (1983) and Kaufmann et al. (2001) are used to obtain the material model parameters: E =
207,980 MPa (30,165 ksi), Fy = 383 MPa (55.5 ksi), C = 6,895 MPa (1,000 ksi), γ =
25, Q ∞ = 172 MPa (25 ksi), and b = 2. It is important to note that these material parameters
are only based on the material type and hence they are independent of the loading history
that a steel column experiences.
In order to investigate the cyclic behavior of steel beam-columns, the end moments at
both column ends need to be obtained. As shown in Fig. 3a, the moment at the base can be
calculated using Eq. 3, where Vbase is the base shear force, P is the axial load, δ is the lateral
displacement of the column top end, and L i is the distance between the inflection point at
analysis step i and the base of the column. Note that this equation takes into account the fact
that a steel column shortens once web local buckling occurs.
i
Mbase = Vbase
i
L i + Pδ i (L i /L) (3)

Based on the boundary conditions of the proposed FE model, the location of the inflection
point changes once plastification occurs. Typically, once plastic hinging occurs at the base
of the column, the inflection point moves towards the base; hence the moment demand at
the top end of the column increases. For this reason, in order to calculate the moment at
the base, the location of the inflection point needs to be monitored throughout the nonlinear
analysis. To locate the inflection point, the normal stresses at equally spaced cross sections
along the column height are monitored as shown in Fig. 3b. For a 4,600 mm long column,
seven cross sections were found to be adequate for this purpose. The normal stresses at
each cross section are then used to compute the moment gradient along the column height.
Once the moment gradient is computed, the inflection point can be traced as illustrated in
Fig. 3b.

3.2 Validation of the FE modelling approach

The proposed modelling approach is validated with experimental data from MacRae et al.
(1990) and Newell and Uang (2006). The former study includes data from steel columns

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(a) (b)
P
MFlexible
+
MFlexible
-
M7
Inflection M6
Li - +
Point
L
Moment
+ Gradient
-
Inflection M5
L Point M4
+
- L
Li
M3 Li
+
-
+ M2
Vbase -

Mbase + M1
-
P Mbase
Fig. 3 a External forces acting on the deformed column, b monitoring of moment gradient and inflection
point location

with small scale slender cross sections, while the latter includes data from full-scale stocky
cross sections. In both experimental studies, various levels of axial load were applied to
the steel columns. In summary, MacRae et al. (1990) tested 1,100 mm long 250UC73 can-
tilever columns (equivalent to W10×49), under symmetric cyclic lateral displacements
combined with both constant and cyclic axial load. Newell and Uang (2006) tested at
full scale, 4,500 mm long W14 columns, in double curvature (i.e., fixed-fixed bound-
ary conditions), under symmetric cyclic lateral displacement combined with cyclic axial
load.
Figure 4a–c shows the comparisons between the measured cyclic response and that pre-
dicted by the FE simulation in terms of moment-rotation for the 270UC73 column (i.e.,
h/tw = 29 and b f /2t f = 8.9), which was tested by MacRae et al. (1990). Figure 4a–c
represents 270UC73 column specimens subjected to 0 % Py (specimen C0), 50 %Py (speci-
men C5), and 70 % Py (specimen C7), respectively. Figure 4d shows the same comparison in
terms of moment-rotation for the W14×176 steel column (i.e., h/tw = 13.7 and b f /2t f = 6)
tested by Newell and Uang (2006). This column was subjected to cyclic axial loading reaching
35 % Py in compression (specimen W24×176-35). From Fig. 4, the FE predicted responses
correlate well with the measured ones. This figure confirms that the proposed FE approach
is reliable for simulating the cyclic behavior in terms of moment rotation of wide-flange
steel columns regardless of the column’s cross-section, geometry, and the applied axial load
ratio.
Furthermore, the proposed FE model is able to capture the local instabilities adequately.
At a given drift level, the column flange local buckling deformation pattern is success-
fully captured as shown in Fig. 5a, b for some of the aforementioned experimental stud-
ies. In addition, the proposed FE model is able to properly simulate the local response of
steel columns. This is shown in Fig. 5c, d in which a comparison between the measured
response and the FE simulation prediction is shown for the lateral load versus the longitu-
dinal flange strain and versus column axial shortening for specimen C7 tested by MacRae
et al. (1990). In summary, Figs. 4 and 5 suggest that the proposed modeling approach can

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(a) (b)
300

End Moment [kN.m]

End Moment [kN.m]
300

0 0

-300 Experimental Experimental

FE Simulation -300 FE Simulation

-0.05 0 0.05 -0.05 0 0.05

Chord Rotation, θ [rad] Chord Rotation, θ [rad]

(c) (d) x103

200
End Moment [kN.m]

End Moment [kN.m]

2

0 0

-2
Experimental Experimental
-200 FE Simulation FE Simulation
-0.02 0 0.02 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1
Chord Rotation, θ [rad] Chord Rotation [rad]

Fig. 4 Comparison between the experimental end moment-chord rotation relation and the FE predicted
response: a specimen C0, b specimen C5, c specimen C7 [data by MacRae et al. (1990)], d specimen W14×176-
35 [data by Newell and Uang (2006)]

be used for a parametric investigation of the cyclic behavior of a range of steel wide-flange
beam-columns.

4 Parametric study: results and discussion

4.1 Cyclic deterioration in flexural strength of wide-flange beam-columns

The end moment at both column supports is calculated as discussed in Sect. 3.1. Figure 6a
shows a typical example of the end moment versus the chord rotation (θ ) for a W24×146
column when subjected to 20 % Py . The chord rotation, θ , is defined as the lateral deformation
at the top of the column, δ, divided with respect to the column length, L (see Fig. 6a). The
figure demonstrates how the FE model captures both the cyclic deterioration in strength
and stiffness of the column. The end moment-chord rotation hysteresis is used to identify
the flexural strength capacity (noted as Mmax ) and the corresponding chord rotation θmax
prior to the occurrence of local buckling. For the sample hysteresis shown in Fig. 6a, the
column reached a moment capacity =1.1 M p when subjected to 20 % Py . Figure 6a also
shows that the onset of local buckling occurs at the base of the column at a chord rotation
θmax = 1.5 % when subjected to 20 % Py . In Fig. 6a, unloading stiffness deterioration is also
evident due to lateral torsional buckling of the steel column. Figure 6b shows the movement
of the inflection point location that was monitored during the FE analysis of the W24×146
column (see Fig. 3b). Figure 6b shows that the inflection point is located at 0.75 L at the
beginning of the analysis (i.e., undamaged column). When plastification occurs at the base
of the column the inflection point moves towards the base location. Note that by the end
of the analysis, the inflection point stabilizes roughly about the column mid-height. This is
attributed to cyclic deterioration in strength at the base location that triggers the initiation of

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(a) (b)

(c) (d)
200 200
Lateral Load [kN]

Lateral Load [kN] 100

0 0

-100
Experimental Experimental
-200 FE Simulation -200 FE Simulation
-0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0
Flange Longitudinal Strain Axial Shortening [mm]
Fig. 5 Comparison between simulated and actual deformed pattern: a specimen C7 [data from MacRae et al.
(1990)], b specimen W14×176-35 [data from Newell and Uang (2006)]; comparison between the experimental
and analytical results for c longitudinal flange strain and d axial shortening histories for specimen C7 [data
by MacRae et al. (1990)]

(a) (b)
x103 x103
5 Flexible End
End Moment [kN.m]

Mmax
3 4
Mp 0.75 L
Li [mm]

3
0 0.50 L
2
Mp
-3 Cyclic data 1
Envelope curve Fixed End
0
-0.05 0 0.05 -0.05 0 0.05
Chord Rotation, θ [rad] Chord Rotation, θ [rad]
Fig. 6 a End moment versus chord rotation for the W24×146 column when subjected to SYM-20; and b
inflection point location versus chord rotation for the W24×146 column when subjected to SYM-20

plastification at the top location of the column as well. Similar findings were observed for
the other cases investigated as part of this paper.
The end moment-chord rotation hysteresis in Fig. 6a is superimposed with a cyclic enve-
lope curve that connects the peak points of the hysteretic response of the steel beam-column.
The cyclic envelope curve is used to quantify the cyclic hardening and the cyclic deteriora-
tion in flexural strength of a steel beam-column once local buckling occurs. It is generally
known that the envelope curve is loading history dependent (Lignos and Krawinkler 2011);

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Bull Earthquake Eng

(a) 2.5 (b) 2.5

Set W1 Set W1
2 Set W2 2 Set W2
Set W3 Set W3
Set W4 Set W4
1.5 1.5

p
p

M/M
M/M
1 1

0.5 0.5

0 0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0 0.02 0.04 0.06
Chord Rotation, θ [rad] Chord Rotation, θ [rad]
(c) 2.5 (d) 2.5
Set W1 Set W1
2 Set W2 2 Set W2
Set W3 Set W3
Set W4 Set W4
1.5 1.5
p

p
M/M

M/M
1 1

0.5 0.5

0 0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0 0.02 0.04 0.06
Chord Rotation, θ [rad] Chord Rotation, θ [rad]

Fig. 7 Normalized peak flexural strength response versus chord rotation for the load cases: a SYM-00, b
SYM-20, c SYM-35, d SYM-50

however, it can still be used as an indicator to evaluate the steel column performance under
cyclic loading. Figure 7a–d shows the cyclic envelope curves for each one of the 40 cross
sections that were analyzed as part of this paper (see Table 1) when subjected to various axial
load ratios. These curves are normalized with respect to the corresponding expected plastic
bending moment, M p , for each one of the cross sections. Note that the envelope curves are
only shown in Fig. 7 for the chord rotation range between 1 and 6 % radians. The effect of
increasing compressive axial load (ranging from P/Py = 0 % to P/Py = 50 %) on the cyclic
envelope curves of the 40 sections is also shown in the same figure. The main observations
are summarized as follows:

• For cross sections with local slenderness ratios much smaller than the current compactness
criteria for highly ductile members per AISC (2010a) (i.e., set W1 and similarly set F1),
cyclic hardening is about 60 % larger than that of cross sections that are near the seismic
compactness limits based on the same provisions (i.e., set W3 and similarly set F3).
This is attributed to: (1) the stocky web and flanges, of section sets W1 and F1, which
delay the onset of local buckling and hence flexural strength deterioration; (2) the large
number of small-drift inelastic cycles prior to the occurrence of local buckling based on
the symmetric lateral loading protocol.
• In all cases, cyclic hardening decreases by about 40 % when the applied compressive
axial load increases from 0 to 50 % (see Fig. 7a, d). This is due to the early occurrence
of local buckling in the presence of high axial load ratios; hence strength deterioration
initiates at smaller chord rotations when the axial load ratio is increased. Cyclic hardening
is discussed in more detail in the following paragraph.
• The higher the axial load ratio the earlier the occurrence of local buckling. At 0 %Py (see
Fig. 7a), set W1 have an average θmax o f 6.4 % radians compared to 1.3 % radians when
subjected to 50 % Py (see Fig. 7d).

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 Bull Earthquake Eng

• The smaller the local slenderness ratios of a cross section the larger the chord rotation
at which local instabilities are triggered. At P/Py = 50 % (see Fig. 7d), steel beam-
columns that are part of set W1 have an average θmax of 1.5 % radians compared to 0.4 %
radians for steel beam-columns part of set W3. Note that for P/Py = 50 %, compact
(λmd ) cross sections (i.e., set W4 and similarly set F4) deteriorate rapidly and reach zero
flexural strength prior to 1 % radians; thus their envelop curves are not shown in Fig. 7d.
• After the onset of local buckling, the more slender sections experience a more rapid loss
in flexural strength compared to the more compact sections. This can be observed from
the post-buckling slope of the envelope curves in Fig. 7a–d. The cyclic deterioration in
flexural strength is assessed at the end of this section by quantifying the chord rotation
at which the column reaches 80 % M p .
To further quantify the effect of cyclic hardening on the flexural strength of steel beam-
columns, the ratio between the maximum moment, Mmax (as computed by FE analysis),
and the corresponding plastic flexural strength (M p ) is plotted in Fig 8a–d versus the web
local slenderness ratio of the 40 sections discussed in Table 1. Figure 8a–d, refers to axial
loads equal to 0, 20, 35, and 50 % Py , respectively. Figure 8a shows that at zero axial load
(i.e., equivalent to a steel beam), highly compact sections (i.e., set W1) experience cyclic
strain hardening up to 2M p compared to 1.4M p for the least compact section sets W3 and
F3. Figure 8d shows that at 50 % Py , the highly compact section sets W1, and similarly F1,
experience cyclic strain hardening levels of about 1.2 while the moderately compact section
sets W2 and F2 barely reached their plastic strength capacity M p . The least compact section
set W3 and F3 and the compact (λmd ) W4 and F4 sets did not experience any cyclic strain
hardening as they did not reach their expected plastic flexural strength M p in the presence of
high axial load; this can also be seen in Fig. 7d. Unlike slender sections, in stocky sections
yielding occurs at the extreme fibers of the flanges and then takes several inelastic cycles to
spread through the thickness of the flanges. During these inelastic cycles and in the absence
of local buckling, the section fibers can reach the ultimate stress of the material. For the
slender sections, the early occurrence of buckling controls the behavior of the cross section.

(a) (b) 3
3 Set W1 Set W1
Set W2 Set W2
p
p

Mmax / M

2 Set W3 2 Set W3
/M

Set W4 Set W4
max

1 1
M

0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50 60
h / tw h / tw
(c) 3 (d) 3
Set W1 Set W1
Set W2 Set W2
Mmax / Mp

Mmax / Mp

2 Set W3 2 Set W3
Set W4 Set W4
1 1

0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50 60
h / tw h / tw

Fig. 8 Cyclic strain hardening versus web slenderness ratio for the load cases: a SYM-00, b SYM-20, c
SYM-35, d SYM-50

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Bull Earthquake Eng

(a) 0.16 Set W1

(b) 0.16 Set W1
Set W2 Set W2
0.12 0.12
Set W3 Set W3

80%Mp
80%Mp

Set W4 Set W4
0.08 0.08

θ
θ

0.04 0.04

0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50 60
h / tw h / tw

(c) 0.16 (d) 0.16

Set W1 Set W1
Set W2 Set W2
0.12 0.12
Set W3 Set W3

80%Mp
80%Mp

0.08 Set W4 0.08 Set W4

θ
θ

0.04 0.04

0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50 60
h / tw h / tw

Fig. 9 Chord rotation at 80 % M p versus web slenderness ratio for the load cases: a SYM-00, b SYM-20, c
SYM-35, d SYM-50

The cyclic hardening is an important contributor to member overstrength after flexural

yielding and may affect global collapse mechanisms in SMFs subjected to earthquake loading.
In particular, depending on the level of cyclic hardening, the corresponding strong-column-
weak-beam ratio (SCWB) that a designer would use to select a column at a particular interior
frame joint may have to be increased. The reason is that we tend to check the SCWB ratio
based on the expected member plastic flexural capacities (i.e., ignoring cyclic hardening);
however, in the case of beams (i.e., Fig. 8a) the corresponding beam flexural capacities could
be two times larger than M p ; in the case of columns, depending on the level of the applied
axial load ratio, the corresponding flexural capacities are not amplified by much prior to the
occurrence of local buckling. This necessitates a more careful revision of the SCWB ratio
in the future. Recent analytical studies on archetype steel buildings with perimeter SMFs
indicate that a more suitable SCWB ratio to be used for collapse mitigation of steel SMFs is
2.0 instead of 1.0 if we also consider the effect of the composite action on the cyclic behavior
of steel beams (Elkady and Lignos 2014). The previous findings have been also confirmed
by a coordinated experimental and analytical program related to the collapse behavior of
full-scale steel frame buildings tested to collapse (Lignos et al. 2013).
Current seismic provisions in the U.S. (AISC 2010a) do not specify any recommended
values regarding the allowable flexural strength loss for steel beam-columns subjected to
cyclic loading. However, the same provisions specify that the flexural resistance of fully
restrained beam-to-column connections, measured at the column face, shall not be less than
80 % M p of the connected steel beam at a chord rotation of 4 % radians. Similarly, the cyclic
deterioration in flexural strength of a steel beam-column is quantified by determining the
chord rotation at which a steel column reaches 80 % of its expected plastic flexural strength
(noted here as θ80 %M p ). Figure 9 shows θ80 %M p versus web local slenderness ratio for the 40
sections discussed in Table 1 when subjected to different axial load ratios. At P/Py = 0 %
(i.e., equivalent to a steel beam case), all 40 sections are able to sustain more than 80 %
M p at 4 % chord rotation (see Figs. 7a and 9a), regardless of their local slenderness ratios.

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 Bull Earthquake Eng

Highly compact sections (i.e., h/tw < 3.9 and b f /2t f < 22) reached 80 % M p at an average
chord rotation of about 12 % radians compared to 8 % for the least compact sections (i.e.,
32.5 < h/tw < 43 and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7). Once compressive axial loads are applied to the
steel columns, flange local buckling causes rapid flexural strength deterioration in almost all
cases. At P/Py = 50 % (see Fig. 9d), almost none of the selected cross sections achieve a
4 % chord rotation while maintaining 80 % of their expected plastic flexural strength M p . In
particular, the least compact section sets W3 and F3, reached this limit at chord rotations less
than 1 % radians. This highlights that deep slender wide-flange sections that are currently
used in bottom stories of SMFs deteriorate rapidly in flexural strength at fairly small lateral
deformations. However, columns are expected to undergo chord rotations larger than 3 %
during a maximum considered earthquake (i.e., 2 % probability of exceedance in 50 years)
or design level events as specified by AISC-341-10 (see commentary Section D1). Figure 9,
suggests that currently employed seismic compactness requirements for highly ductile wide-
flange sections per AISC-341-10 are satisfactory for upper stories in SMFs, in which the
axial load demands on the steel columns are smaller than 20 % Py . For interior columns in
bottom stories of SMFs, in which the level of axial load ratios range from 20 to 35 %, a
reduction to about two thirds of the current compactness limit for highly ductile wide-flange
sections would achieve a 4 % chord rotation with a reduction in column flexural strength of
no more than 20 % of the expected column plastic flexural strength, M p . It should be noted
that the θ80 %M p values are dependent on the lateral loading protocol (i.e., the SAC symmetric
protocol). This indicates that a more thorough evaluation should be considered in which the
effect of lateral loading protocol on the overall cyclic behavior of a steel beam-column is
taken into consideration. This investigation is under way by the authors.

4.2 Pre-capping plastic rotation

Structural engineers employ simplified numerical models in order to investigate the seismic
performance of new and existing steel frame buildings. These component models need to
be defined carefully in order to capture the nonlinear behavior of various structural com-
ponents as part of a steel building. Phenomenological modelling options such as those dis-
cussed in ASCE (2013) and PEER/ATC (2010) are traditionally used in order to simulate
the monotonic and/or cyclic behavior of structural components. These modelling options
typically construct a multi-linear “backbone” curve that bounds the force-deformation rela-
tion of a structural component. As discussed earlier, experimental data is not available for
deep slender wide-flange columns undergoing combined lateral cyclic drift and axial load.
PEER/ATC (2010) modeling recommendations provide engineers with a monotonic back-
bone curve that describes the deduced moment-rotation behavior of a steel column. The
backbone curve is also used to bound the cyclic behavior of a component model assigned
to a steel column as shown in Fig. 10a. The pre-capping plastic rotation (θ p ) is one of the
main parameters used to define the monotonic backbone curve along with other strength and
deformation parameters. The definition of the pre-capping rotation is shown in Fig. 10a. In
PEER/ATC (2010) recommendations, “modeling option 1” uses the multivariate regression
equations developed by Lignos and Krawinkler (2011) to calculate the predicted value of θ p
for steel components. These equations were obtained from extensive calibrations in which
the parameters of the backbone curve were matched to experimental data from steel beams
with 20 < h/tw < 55 and 4 < b f /2t f < 8 (data available from: http://dimitrios-lignos.
research.mcgill.ca/databases/).
One of the main objectives of the FE study discussed in this paper is to evaluate the analyt-
ical modelling options currently used by engineers to “realistically” model steel columns. To

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Bull Earthquake Eng

(a) (b)
θp
Mmax
Mpe

End Moment
End Moment M
p
0 θp
θy θmax
Cyclic data
Mono. Backbone 0
θy θmax
0
Chord Rotation, θ [rad] Chord Rotation, θ [rad]

Fig. 10 Definition of the pre-capping plastic rotation: a PEER/ATC, option 1, b FEA monotonic loading case

(a) (b) (c)

0.2 0.1 0.1
θ ATC-Option1 [rad]

Set F1 Set F1 Set F1

Set F2 Set F2 Set F2
Set F3 Set F3 Set F3
Set F4 Set F4 Set F4
0.1 0.05 0.05
p

0 0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0 0.05 0.1 0 0.05 0.1
θp MON-00 [rad] θp MON-20 [rad] θp SYM-00 [rad]

Fig. 11 Pre-capping plastic rotation calculated per PEER/ATC (2010), modeling option 1, versus the pre-
capping plastic rotation predicted by the FE analysis for the load cases: a MON-00, b MON-20,c SYM-00

this end, the pre-capping plastic rotation predicted by PEER/ATC (2010) modelling option 1
(noted here as “θ p , ATC-Option1”) is compared to the pre-capping plastic rotation predicted
by the FE analysis results. The latter is based on the monotonic lateral loading case when
combined with different axial load ratios (noted here as “θ p , MON-X”). The definition of
the pre-capping plastic rotation obtained from the FE monotonic curve is shown in Fig. 10b.
Note that in some cases, especially at high axial load ratios, the monotonic curve caps before
reaching the expected plastic flexural strength of the column (i.e., Mmax < M p ). In such
cases the pre-capping plastic rotation is considered to be equal to zero.
Figure 11a, b shows the θ p , ATC-Option1 values versus θ p , MON-00 and θ p , MON-20
values, respectively, for the 40 sections. Figure 11a shows that θ p , ATC-Option1 values
agree with θ p , MON-00 values for the sets F3 and W3 (i.e., 32.5 < h/tw < 43 and 5.5 <
b f /2t f < 7). However, for moderately and highly compact sections (i.e., h/tw < 32.5
and b f /2t f < 5.5), the θ p , ATC-Option1 values seem to underestimate the pre-capping
plastic rotation capacity compared to the FE predictions. There are two main reasons for
such observations: (a) the ATC-Option1 θ p values are based on experimental data from steel
beams with 20 < h/tw < 55 and 4 < b f /2t f < 8 (i.e., similar to sets F3 and W3); (b)
the majority of the employed experimental data are based on steel beams subjected to cyclic
loading (i.e., not monotonic). Under cyclic loading, the capping rotation is reached earlier
than the equivalent monotonic case (PEER/ATC 2010; Lignos and Krawinkler 2011). This
can be confirmed from Fig. 11c, which shows the θ p , ATC-Option1 values versus θ p , SYM-00
values. Figure 11c shows that θ p , ATC-Option1 values more or less agree with θ p , SYM-00
values for the entire set of wide-flange sections examined as part of the parametric study.
Figure 11b shows the θ p , ATC-Option1 values versus θ p , MON-20 values. Based on this
figure, the ATC-Option1 adequately predicts the pre-capping rotation of moderate and highly

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 Bull Earthquake Eng

compact sections (i.e., h/tw < 32.5 and b f /2t f < 5.5) undergoing monotonic loading com-
bined with 20 % Py . However, ATC-Option1 overestimates the pre-capping plastic rotation
of beam-column sections close to the seismic compactness criteria for highly ductile mem-
bers per AISC-341-10 (i.e., 32.5 < h/tw < 43 and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7), in the presence of
compressive axial load.

4.3 Column plastic hinge length

The length of the “plastic hinge” formed at the base of a steel column during cyclic loading
is investigated in this section. The plastic hinge length is defined as the distance from the
base of the column to the cross sectional level with zero plastic strain. The equivalent plastic
strain (PEEQ) profile is monitored in 12 longitudinal sections along the web and flanges of
the set of 40 steel columns under investigation as shown in Fig. 12a. This figure shows a
comparison between the envelopes of the PEEQ strain profile as distributed from the fixed
end (i.e., location at 0 cm) till about 140 cm from the base location for a W30×391 and a
W30×148 steel column before reaching zero flexural strength, when subjected to the load
case SYM-20 (i.e., P/Py = 20 %). Figure 12a shows that the least compact W30×148
section (h/tw = 41.6 and b f /2t f = 4.44) develops a shorter plastic hinge length compared
to the W30×391 section (h/tw = 19.7 and b f /2t f = 3.19). The reason is that due to early
local buckling in the W30×148 section, plastic strains localize at a shorter length and at
smaller lateral drifts compared to the case of the W30×391 section.
The plastic hinge length of a stocky section spreads over a larger length after undergoing
a larger number of inelastic cycles compared to a more slender section. This is shown in
Fig. 12b in which a comparison between the progression of the plastic hinge length of the
W30×391 and W30×148 columns, is plotted against the cumulative inelastic drift ( θ H )
for the load case SYM-20 (i.e., P/Py = 20 %). The plastic hinge length of each cross
sectionis normalized with respect to the corresponding section depth. Note that at a given
drift, θ H is calculated as the sum of absolute peak drift values of the inelastic cycles
following the yield drift rotation (θ y ) of the respective column, where θ y = M p /K e , in
which K e is the initial elastic flexural stiffness of a column. By definition, the cumulative
inelastic drift is independent from the applied lateral loading protocol. Figure 12b shows that
the 
normalized plastic hinge length for the least compact section W30×148 stabilizes faster
(at θ H = 0.35 radians)  than the corresponding plastic hinge length of the more compact
W30×391 section (at θ H = 0.86 radians). Note that the effect of the compressive axial
load ratio is insignificant on the final stabilized plastic hinge length, given that that the column

(a) 4 (b) 2
W30x391
3 W30x148
LPH= 120cm
/d
PEEQ

1
PH

2 LPH= 75cm
L

W30x391
1
W30x148
0 0
140 70 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Distance from Fixed End [cm] Σ θH [rad]

Fig. 12 Comparison between W30×148 and W30×148 beam-columns when subjected to the load case
SYM-20: a maximum PEEQ strain profile at the base of the column measured at zero flexural strength, b
normalized plastic hinge length versus cumulative inelastic drift

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Bull Earthquake Eng

(a) (b)
3 Set W1 3 Set W1
Set W2 Set W2

LPH @Mzero / d
/d

2 Set W3 2 Set W3
PH @Mmax

Set W4 Set W4

1 1
L

0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50 60
h / tw h / tw

Fig. 13 Normalized plastic hinge length versus web slenderness ratio for the load case SYM-20: a measured
at capping point Mmax , b measured at zero flexural strength

underwent the sufficient number of inelastic cycles to reach the stabilized plastic hinge length
without losing its flexural strength.
Figure 13a, b shows the plastic hinge length of all 40 sections shown in Table 1, normalized
by the corresponding column depth (d), versus the web local slenderness ratio for the load
case SYM-20 measured at Mmax (noted as L P H @Mmax ) and at zero flexural strength (noted as
L P H @M zer o ), respectively. The L P H @Mmax values represent the plastic hinge length before
the onset of local buckling while L P H @M zer o values represent the plastic hinge length after
the localization and stabilization of local buckling. Figure 13a confirms that highly compact
sections develop a larger plastic hinge length compared to slender sections. At 20 % Py ,
highly compact sections (i.e., h/tw < 22 and b f /2t f < 3.9) develop an average plastic
hinge length of about 2.0d compared to 1.3d for slender sections (i.e., 32.5 < h/tw < 43
and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7). The plastic hinge length is directly related to the assumption of
“point plastic hinge” models that have been widely used to assess the cyclic behavior of steel
columns as part of steel frame buildings. Based on the findings, for highly compact members
a distributed plasticity approach is more rational compared to concentrated plasticity models.

4.4 Column axial shortening

The plastification of the column cross-section is coupled with the axial shortening of the col-
umn member. The level of axial shortening becomes significant when severe local buckling
occurs, typically at high compressive axial loads. Consequently, axial shortening could poten-
tially be an important deterioration mechanism in SMF steel columns subjected to extreme
seismic events. The issue with axial shortening was countered by MacRae et al. (1990) fol-
lowing the experimental tests discussed in Sect. 1. These tests showed that columns could
experience axial shortening more than 7 % of their initial length. FE studies (MacRae et al.
2006; Elkady and Lignos 2012) also revealed that axial shortening becomes severe at high
axial load ratios.
Figure 14a shows a comparison between the history of axial shortening versus the chord
rotation for the most and least compact W30 sections of Table 1, i.e., W30×391 (h/tw =
19.7 and b f /2t f = 3.19) and W30×148 (h/tw = 41.6 and b f /2t f = 4.44), respectively,
when subjected to the SYM-20 load case. Axial shortening ( axial ) is defined as the axial
displacement of the column top end, measured at the reference point RP (see Fig. 2a). Note
that in Fig. 14a the W30×148 column reached zero flexural strength at 5 % radians compared
to 8 % radians for the W30×391. Figure 14a shows that at the second cycle of 4 % radians,
the W30×391 column experiences axial shortening equal to 73 mm (1.6 % L) compared to
166 mm (3.6 % L) for the W30×148 section. Axial shortening increases substantially when
the column is undergoing more inelastic cycles after the occurrence of flange and web local

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 Bull Earthquake Eng

(a) 0
(b)
W30x391 W30x148

[cm]
-50
axial
Δ

W30x391
W30x148
-100
-0.1 0 0.1
Chord Rotation, θ [rad]
Fig. 14 a Comparison of axial shortening versus chord rotation for W30×391 and W30×148 columns when
subjected to SYM-20: b local buckling at the base of the W30×391 and W30×148 columns at 4 % drift when
subjected to SYM-20

(a) 25 (b) 25
2nd Cycle 4% rad

2nd Cycle 4% rad

Set W1 Set W1
20 Set W2 20 Set W2
/ L [%]
/ L [%]

Set W3 Set W3
15 15
Set W4 Set W4
axial
axial

10 10
Δ

5 5

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Σ θH [rad] Σθ [rad]
H

(c) 25 (d) 25
Cycle 4% rad

2nd Cycle 4% rad

Set W1 Set W1
20 Set W2 20 Set W2
Δaxial / L [%]
/ L [%]

Set W3 Set W3
15 15
Set W4 Set W4
10 10
nd
axial

2
Δ

5 5

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Σθ [rad] Σθ [rad]
H H

Fig. 15 Normalized axial shortening versus cumulative inelastic drift for the load cases: a SYM-00, b SYM-
20, c SYM-35, d SYM-50

buckling. This explains the larger amount of axial shortening of W30×148 column where
local buckling occurred at 1.4 % radians compared to 3.0 % for the W30×391 column, for the
SYM-20 load case. The severe local buckling occurring in the slender W30×148 column is
shown in Figure 14b in comparison with that of the W30×391 column at the end of the second
4 % drift cycle. It is also worth mentioning that for the SYM-20 load case, the most compact
section W27×539 (h/tw = 12.1 and b f /2t f = 2.15) experiences an axial shortening equal
to 1 % L compared to 6.5 % L for the least compact section W36×230 (h/tw = 41.4 and
b f /2t f = 6.54).
 the normalized axial shortening ratio ( axial /L), versus the cumulative
Figure 15 shows
inelastic drift ( θ H ) for the applied load cases (i.e., P/Py = 0, 0.20, 0.35 and 0.50). A
vertical line at θ H = 0.7 is also superimposed in Fig. 15. This represents the average

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Bull Earthquake Eng

cumulative inelastic drift value,

 for all sections, that corresponds to the second cycle of
magnitude 4 % radians. The θ H = 0.7 is used as a reference to quantify the level  of axial
shortening expected in first-story columns at 4 % chord rotations. At 0 % Py and θ H = 0.7
(see Fig. 15a), low levels of axial shortening ratios (less than 1 %) are observed in all compact
sections. This is attributed to the fact that the majority of compact sections reached their cyclic
maximum flexural strength at chord-rotations larger than 4 % (see Fig. 7a). Once the axial
load is applied to the columns, the corresponding cross section plastifies at fairly low plastic
rotations compared to the case with P/Py = 0.0. The occurrence of local buckling leads
to significant amplification of column axial shortening. At 20 % Py , sets W1 and F1, (i.e.,
h/tw < 22 and b f /2t f < 3.9) experience an average axial shortening ratio equal to 2.5 %
compared to 6 % for section set W3 and F3 (i.e., 32.5 < h/tw < 43 and 5.0 < b f /2t f < 7.0).
The compact (λmd ) sections (i.e., set W4 and set F4) failed before reaching the second 4 %
cycle (see Fig. 15b). It should be noted that the variation in axial shortening ratio becomes
considerable at higher drifts and higher axial loads even between sections within the same set.
This is attributed to the exponential increase in axial shortening, once local buckling occurs,
with cumulative inelastic drift. This is shown in Fig. 15b–d. Note that set W1 undergoes
larger number of inelastic cycles and hence experiences higher level of axial shortening
before reaching zero flexural strength, compared to W3 (see Fig. 15b–d).
Figure 15b–d shows that the level of axial shortening keeps increasing with higher axial
loads. However, it is observed that the increase in axial shortening becomes minimal after 35 %
Py . This agrees with the findings by MacRae et al. (2006). Based on this study axial shortening
was insignificantly affected by axial load increases after a critical level. Assuming an elastic-
perfectly plastic material, this critical level of axial load is given as P/Py > Aw /A gr oss ,
where Aw is the web area. MacRae et al. (2006) and MacRae et al. (2009) showed that as
long as the neutral axis is within the web (i.e., P/Py < Aw /A gr oss ), the change in axial
load significantly affects the neutral axis location and hence affecting the net strain (axial
strain due to the axial load only) at the center of the section (i.e., at the center of the web).
At P/Py > Aw /A gr oss , the neutral axis is in the flange and the axial load level effect on
the neutral axis location and net axial strain at the section center becomes minimal.

5 Conclusions

This paper investigates the cyclic behavior of wide-flange first-story interior steel columns
as part of steel special moment frames (SMFs) designed in highly seismic regions. First, a
detailed finite element (FE) modelling approach is proposed in order to model steel beam-
columns. The modelling approach is validated with past experimental cyclic test data. The
FE model was able to successfully reproduce the experimental cyclic moment-rotation, axial
shortening and longitudinal flange strain for all the specimens from two different experimental
programs. The same FE modelling approach is used to model a typical first-story interior
steel column, in which the flexibility of the column top-joint is taken into account. The
column FE model is used to investigate a set of 40 wide-flange sections covering a wide
spectrum of web and flange slenderness ratios. The columns are subjected to symmetric
cyclic lateral loading combined with compressive axial load levels ranging from 0 to 50 %
Py . Deterioration mechanisms that are directly related to dynamic collapse of steel SMFs are
investigated, such as cyclic deterioration in flexural strength and column axial shortening.
The plastic hinge length developed at the column base is also quantified. In addition, the
pre-capping plastic rotation capacity is quantified and then used to assess that predicted by

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PEER/ATC (2010) modelling recommendations for steel columns. The major findings are
summarized as follows:

• In the absence of axial load, compact wide-flange sections achieve significant levels of
cyclic strain hardening. For highly compact sections (i.e., h/tw < 22 and b f /2t f < 3.9),
the maximum moment Mmax can reach up to two times the expected plastic flexural
strength, M p , of a steel cross section compared to 1.3M p for sections with large local
slenderness ratios (i.e., 32.5 < h/tw < 43 and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7).
• In the presence of axial load, the level of cyclic stain hardening decreases with the increase
of compressive axial load ratios. At an axial load level of 50 % Py , highly compact
sections reach an average cyclic strain hardening of 1.2M p while low or moderately
compact sections (i.e., 22 < h/tw < 43 and 3.9 < b f /2t f < 7) were not able to reach
their expected plastic flexural strength (i.e., Mmax < M p ). These findings have direct
implications on the strong-column-weak-beam (SCWB) ratio used in the seismic design
of steel SMFs; normally, we tend to ignore cyclic hardening of the corresponding steel
members in the SCWB check.
• Currently employed seismic compactness requirements for highly ductile wide-flange
sections per AISC 341-10 are satisfactory for interior columns in upper stories of SMFs,
in which the axial load demands on the columns are smaller than 20 % Py . For interior
steel columns in bottom stories of SMFs, in which the level of axial load ratios are in the
range of 20–35 % Py , a reduction to about two thirds of the current compactness limit for
highly ductile wide-flange sections would achieve a 4 % chord rotation with a reduction
in column flexural strength of no more than 20 % M p .
• In the absence of axial load, the pre-capping plastic rotation predicted by PEER/ATC
(2010), modelling option1, seems to be a reasonable estimate for cross sections with
32.5 < h/tw < 43 and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7 undergoing monotonic loading and underesti-
mated for moderate and highly compact sections (i.e., h/tw < 32.5 and b f /2t f < 5.5).
• PEER/ATC (2010), modelling option1, reasonably estimates the pre-capping plastic rota-
tion for all compact cross sections with h/tw < 43 and b f /2t f < 7 undergoing cyclic
loading and axial load levels up to 35 % Py . The same recommendations seem to overes-
timate the pre-capping plastic rotation of steel components with local slenderness ratios
ranging from 32.5 < h/tw < 43 and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7 subjected to either monotonic
or cyclic lateral loading combined compressive axial load ratios in the range of 35–50 %
Py .
• Highly compact steel columns (i.e., h/tw < 22 and b f /2t f < 3.9) develop an average
plastic hinge length of 2.0d compared to 1.3d for slender sections (i.e., 32.5 < h/tw < 43
and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7) regardless of the applied axial load ratio. The buckling length of
the same columns is in average equal to the depth, d, of the corresponding cross section.
• At 20 % Py , columns with highly compact cross sections (i.e., h/tw < 22 and b f /2t f <
3.9) experience an average axial shortening ratio equal to 2.5 % of their length compared
to about 6 to 8 % of highly ductile wide-flange sections per AISC-341-10 (i.e., 32.5 <
h/tw < 43 and 5.5 < b f /2t f < 7).

It should be noted that the results presented here are dependent on the applied loading
protocols and the selected beam-column boundary conditions. The authors currently evaluate
the behavior of the same set of beam-columns for other lateral and axial loading protocols. The
findings from the extensive analytical study summarized herein will also be complemented
by a series of full-scale experiments on deep wide-flange beam-columns.

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Acknowledgments This study is based on work supported by the National Science and Engineering Research
Council of Canada (NSERC) under the Discovery Grant Program. Partial funding is also provided by the Steel
Structures Education Foundation (SSEF). This financial support is gratefully acknowledged. Any opinions,
findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the views of sponsors.

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