Structural engineers for the Rose Avenue Elementary School project in Oxnard, California, a high seismic zone, chose to switch from special moment frames requiring welded connections to the Simpson Strong-Tie Yield-Link moment connection, which features bolted connections instead of onsite welding. This case study shares the experiences of structural engineers, fabricators and other project partners utilizing this innovative solution for structural steel construction.  

This elementary school project in Southern California was designed and built using Simpson’s Yield-Link® special moment frame connection. Originally designed for special moment frames that required welded connections, the team soon changed their minds after listening in to a Simpson Strong-Tie webinar about our Yield-Link moment connection.

During the project’s value-engineering phase, they calculated that the Yield-Link could be used for the project and would help save on project costs. Also, the team was excited to collaborate with Simpson Strong-Tie, who offered support when the project pivoted from welded –connection moment frames to moment frames using Yield-Link bolted connections. 

The Yield-Link brings two core benefits to seismic-prone structural steel buildings: resilience and recovery. Because the connections are bolted, not welded — essentially behaving as a bolted structural fuse in the steel moment frame — if a high-seismic event were to occur, the Yield-Link connections offer greater resilience for the steel structure overall, plus the ability for the structure to be repaired in less time and with less effort and expense than would be the case with other types of steel moment frame connections.  

Learn more about this project by watching the full case study below.