Evaluation of Unstiffened Extended End Plate Moment Connection Design Methods for I-Section Steel Beam

Extended end plate bolted moment connections are integral part of multi-storeyed steel buildings & Industrial steel buildings. Extended end plate bolted moment connections are provided at beam column joints to achieve rigidity & stiffness to the structures against lateral loads. These lateral loads are induced due to the action of wind, earthquake & vibrations (caused because of man-machine movement). Moment connections are provided for beam & column intermediate splices to achieve flexural continuity over their spans. It is therefore important to identify standard method (analysis-design) & equations for extended end plate bolted moment connections. This Paper aims to study Lever arm method, Triangular force distribution method & Actual neutral axis method for design of extended end plate bolted moment connections. The further work comprises of comparing results obtained from all three methods with results obtained from Finite Element Model prepared in STAAD Pro Software. Most appropriate method showing close resemblance with results of FEA method for design of end plate bolted moment connection is then accepted.