Abstract
The effect of the semi-rigid connection between beams and columns on the global behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) structures was investigated. The relative rotations in the nodes of the spatial frames were determined using the analytical approach proposed by Alva and El Debs. The rotational restraint factor () was defined and applied in each node of the spatial frames. RC spatial frames with total heights of 21, 42, and 63 m were considered. It was found that the semi-rigid connection increases the lateral displacements, the 2nd order effects, and the values. The lower the stiffness of the nodes, the lower the influence of on the global results. The total fixed beam-column connections can lead to an unrealistic behavior of the spatial frame and thus to global results.
Keywords:
reinforced concrete structures; beam; column; connections