The principal role of any structural connection is to transfer forces safely between the various components meeting at that joint. Therefore, it is important for these connections to provide adequate structural strength to resist the loads and possess the necessary ductility to deform as the structure resists the loads. In this study, a computer program is developed for the analysis of flexibly jointed frames. The connections are represented by nonlinear spring elements at the ends of members. An incremental plane frame analysis including the effect of nonlinear connection behavior is presented to predict the strength and drift of steel frames with sufficient accuracy. The nonlinear moment-rotation behavior of the connection is represented by a four parameters Richard model. The proposed study focused on the effect of connection flexibility on the drift of multi-story frames. The result of the analysis showed that the drift in many frames can be reduced by increasing the stiffness of the connections used in the structure.

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