Why design a joint to be partially restrained?
Why design a joint to be partially restrained?
(OP)
What is the advantage of designing a joint to be fixed as opposed to being pinned?
What is the point of patially designing a joint?i.e for instance allowing a column to be free to translate in the z direction while being fixed in the x and y?
What is the point of patially designing a joint?i.e for instance allowing a column to be free to translate in the z direction while being fixed in the x and y?






RE: Why design a joint to be partially restrained?
As far as column translation, a column should almost never translate in the Z direction except for the column shortening due to axial load. One reason you might restrain translation in the Y, but not X, direction is because a column's strong axis is the X axis and, as a result, can have a greater unbraced length and achieve the same axial load capacity as the shorter unbraced length in the Y direction.
I am not sure this was asked in your post, but just FYI, there is also a great advantage to partially fixing moment connections in steel frames. You can use top and bottom angles to create a semi-rigid frame, that will yield under gravity loads (and the beams and girders can be designed as pinned-pinned), but are still capable of resisting lateral loads. The interstory drift is about 1.5 times that of a rigid moment frame, but this is a much less expensive and more easily fabricated connection detail.
RE: Why design a joint to be partially restrained?
If you do not understand the fundamentals, then you should do some reading. This forum is no place to learn structural fundamentals.