Drift Control for Multistory Moment Frames under Lateral Loading

The paper reports results of recent studies on the effects of column support conditions on the lateral displacements of moment frames at incipient collapse. The article presents a number of exercises in the plastic theory of structures that lead to useful design formulae. It has been shown that Drift Shifting (DS) is caused due to differences in the stiffnesses of adjoining columns, and that changes in drift ratios are more pronounced at first level column joints in both fixed as well as pinned base frames. In well proportioned moment frames, DS in the upper levels could be minimized, even reduced to zero. It has been demonstrated that DS can be eliminated in properly designed fixed and grade beam supported (GBS) moment frames. Several examples, including symbolic P-delta effects, have been provided to demonstrate the validity and the applications of the proposed ideas to the design and drift control of moment frames. The proposed methodology is exact within the bounds of the theoretical assumptions and is well suited for preliminary design and teaching purposes.