Semi-rigid beam-to-column connection

Either a hinge or a link may be used to model a semi-rigid beam-to-column connection, procedures for which are described as follows:

• Hinge properties may be defined through Define > Section Properties > Hinge Properties, then they may be assigned to a selected frame object through Assign > Frame > Hinges. Additional details on frame hinges are available in the CSI Analysis Reference Manual (Chapter VIII Frame Hinge Properties).

• A link may be assigned to a joint panel zone by first selecting the common joint at a beam-column connection, then by assigning the joint panel zone through Assign > Joint > Panel Zone. Any link property may be specified when modeling the panel zone.

• A link may also be created manually by drawing the beam and column objects such that their ends are slightly offset, not sharing a common joint. A link property should then be defined to represent the connection stiffness, and the offset joints should be connected using Draw > Draw 2 Joint Link.