Product Overview:
In this tutorial, we explore the simulation of a steel beam-column connection with bolts in Abaqus under vertical load, specifically focusing on beam failure investigation. The beam, which includes an endplate, is modeled as a three-dimensional solid part, while the column and ten bolts are also modeled as three-dimensional solid parts.

The steel material for the bolts is characterized by an elastic-plastic behavior that depends on the strain rate, incorporating both ductile damage evolution and shear damage evolution to predict damage and failure effectively. The steel materials for both the column and beam are modeled as elastic-plastic, using a ductile damage criterion.

To accurately simulate large deformations and failure analysis, a dynamic explicit procedure is employed. All interactions, such as between the bolts and the beam and between the bolts and the column, are treated as surface-to-surface contact, with appropriate contact properties, including friction coefficients and normal contact behaviors.

Fixed boundary conditions are assigned to the column surfaces, while a vertical displacement with a smooth amplitude is applied to the beam. It is essential to ensure that the mesh is sufficiently refined, particularly in the contact zones, to achieve accurate results.

After completing the simulation, comprehensive results including stress, strain, damage, and failure data are available. The analysis shows that maximum failure and damage occur at the endplate of the steel beam.