• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.343-358
• /
• 2023

The superelastic viscous damper (SVD) is a hybrid passive control device comprising a viscoelastic damper and shape memory alloy (SMA) cables connected in series. The SVD is an innovative damper through which a large amount of seismic energy can dissipate. The current study assessed the seismic collapse induced by steel moment-resisting frames (SMRFs) equipped with SVDs and compared them with the performance of special MRFs and buckling restrained brace frames (BRBFs). For this purpose, nonlinear dynamic and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) were conducted in OpenSees software. Both 5- and 9-story special MRFs, BRBFs, and MRFs equipped with the SVDs were examined. The results indicated that the annual exceedance rate for maximum residual drifts of 0.2% and 0.5% for the BRBFs and MRFs with SVDs, respectively, were considerably less than for SMRFs with reduced-beam section (RBS) connections and that the seismic performances of these structures were enhanced with the use of the BRB and SVD. The probability of collapse due to residual drift in the SVD, BRB, and RBS frames in the 9-story structure was 1.45, 1.75, and 1.05 times greater than for the 5-story frame.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.119-133
• /
• 2017

Several theoretical and analytical formulations for the prediction of shear strength in reinforced concrete (RC) beam-to-column joints have been recently developed. Some of these predictive models are included in the most recent seismic codes and currently used in practical design. On the other hand, the influence of the stiffness and strength degradations in RC joints on the seismic performance of RC framed buildings has been only marginally studied, and it is generally neglected in practice-oriented seismic analysis. To investigate such influence, this paper proposes a numerical description for representing the cyclic response of RC exterior joints. This is then used in nonlinear numerical simulations of RC frames subjected to earthquake loading. According to the proposed strategy, RC joints are modelled using nonlinear rotational spring elements with strength and stiffness degradations and limited ductility under cyclic loading. The proposed joint model has been firstly calibrated against the results from experimental tests on 12 RC exterior joints. Subsequently, nonlinear static and dynamic analyses have been carried out on two-, three- and four-storey RC frames, which represent realistic existing structures designed according to old standards. The numerical results confirm that the global seismic response of the analysed RC frames is strongly affected by the hysteretic damage in the beam-to-column joints, which determines the failure mode of the frames. This highlights that neglecting the effects of joints damage may potentially lead to non-conservative seismic assessment of existing RC framed structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.527-544
• /
• 2020

This research presents the design and numerical assessment of composite steel-concrete frame structures with welded dissipative fuses. The assessment has been carried out based on linear response spectrum, nonlinear static pushover and time history procedures. The analytical expressions which define the envelope of the nonlinear response of the dissipative fuses are first presented and calibrated against experimental results available in literature. The assessment is then carried out according to a design methodology proposed herein. Outcomes of the numerical assessment indicate that the use of welded dissipative fuses successfully limited damage within the replaceable parts. Furthermore, although structures with dissipative fuses present lower strength and, generally, lower displacement capacity, their displacement ductility and global dissipative performance are generally higher than conventional structures, especially when the structure with dissipative fuses presents a dissipative configuration adjusted to the bending moment distribution diagram calculated for the applied seismic action.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.271-284
• /
• 2017

This paper presents a multimodal adaptive nonlinear static method of analysis that, differently from the nonlinear static methods suggested in seismic codes, does not require the definition of the equivalent Single-Degree-Of-Freedom (SDOF) system to evaluate the seismic response of structures. First, the proposed method is formulated for the assessment of r.c. plane frames and then it is extended to 3D framed structures. Furthermore, the proposed nonlinear static approach is re-elaborated as a displacement-based design method that does not require the use of the behaviour factor and takes into account explicitly the plastic deformation capacity of the structure. Numerical applications to r.c. plane frames and to a 3D framed structure with inplan irregularity are carried out to illustrate the attractive features as well as the limitations of the proposed method. Furthermore, the numerical applications evidence the uncertainty about the suitability of the displacement demand prediction obtained by the nonlinear static methods commonly adopted.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.52 no.6
• /
• pp.1157-1176
• /
• 2014

The objective of this research is to develop a practical design and assessment approach of steel frames with steel slit walls (SSWs) that focuses on the damage-control behavior to enhance the structural resilience. The yielding sequence of SSWs and frame components is found to be a critical issue for the damage-control behavior and the design of systems. The design concept is validated by the full-scale experiments presented in this paper. Based on a modified energy-balance model, a procedure for designing and assessing the system motivated by the framework regarding the equilibrium of the energy demand and the energy capacity is proposed. The damage-control spectra constructed by strength reduction factors calculated from single-degree-of-freedom systems considering the post stiffness are addressed. A quantitative damage-control index to evaluate the system is also derived. The applicability of the proposed approach is validated by the evaluation of example structures with nonlinear dynamic analyses. The observations regarding the structural response and the prediction during selected ground motions demonstrate that the proposed approach can be applied to damage-control design and assessment of systems with satisfactory accuracy.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.60 no.1
• /
• pp.31-50
• /
• 2016

During the recent years, resistance mechanisms of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings against progressive collapse are investigated extensively. Although a general agreement is observed about their qualitative behavior in technical literature, there is not such a comprehensive point of view regarding the quantitative methods for predicting collapse resistance of RC members. Therefore, in the present study a simplified theoretical method is developed in order to predict general behavior of RC frames under the column removal scenario. In the introduced method, the robustness of the frame is extracted based on the capacity of the beams. The proposed method expresses ultimate arching and catenary capacities of the beams and also obtains the corresponding vertical displacements. Based on the calculated capacities, the introduced method also provides a quantitative assessment of structural robustness and determines whether or not the collapse occurs. The capability of the method is evaluated using experimental results in the literature. The evaluation study indicates that the proposed theoretical procedure can establish a reliable foundation for progressive collapse assessment of RC frame structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.199-213
• /
• 2020

This paper proposes a Global-Local Analysis Method (GLAM) to assess the progressive collapse of steel framed structures under fire-induced column failure. GLAM obtains the overall structural response by combining dynamic analysis of the heated column (local) with static analysis of the overall structure (global). Test results of two steel frames which explicitly consider the dynamic effect during fire-induced column failure were employed to validate the proposed GLAM. Results show that GLAM gives reasonable predictions to the test frames in terms of both whether to collapse and the displacement verse temperature curves. Besides, several case studies of a two-dimensional (2D) steel frame and a three-dimensional (3D) steel frame with concrete slabs were conducted by using GLAM. Results show that GLAM gives the same collapse predictions to the studied cases with nonlinear dynamic analysis of the whole structure model. Compared with nonlinear dynamic analysis of the whole structure model, GLAM saves approximately 70% and 99% CPU time for the cases of 2D and 3D steel frame, respectively. Results also show that the load level of a structure has notable effects on the restraint condition of a heated column in the structure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.78 no.4
• /
• pp.485-496
• /
• 2021

So far analytical methods on collapse assessment of three-dimensional (3-D) steel frames have mainly focused on a single-column-removal scenario. However, the collapse of the Federal Building in the US due to car bomb explosion indicated that the loss of multiple columns may occur in the real structures, wherein the structures are more vulnerable to collapse. Meanwhile, the General Services Administration (GSA) in the US suggested that the removal of side columns of the structure has a great possibility to cause collapse. Therefore, this paper analytically deals with the robustness of 3-D steel frames in a two-side-column-removal (TSCR) scenario. Analytical method is first proposed to determine the collapse resistance of the frame during this column-removal procedure. The reliability of the analytical method is verified by the finite element results. Moreover, a design-based methodology is proposed to quickly assess the robustness of the frame due to a TSCR scenario. It is found the analytical method can reasonably predict the resistance-displacement relationship of the frame in the TSCR scenario, with an error generally less than 10%. The parametric numerical analyses suggest that the slab thickness mainly affects the plastic bearing capacity of the frame. The rebar diameter mainly affects the capacity of the frame at large displacement. However, the steel beam section height affects both the plastic and ultimate bearing capacity of the frame. A case study on a six-storey steel frame shows that the design-based methodology provides a conservative prediction on the robustness of the frame.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.383-398
• /
• 2009

Applying nonlinear statistical analysis methods in estimating the performance of structures in earthquakes is strongly considered these days. This is due to the methods' simplicity, timely lower cost and reliable estimation in seismic responses in comparison with time-history nonlinear dynamic analysis. Among nonlinear methods, simplified to be incorporated in the future guidelines, Modal Pushover Analysis, known by the abbreviated name of MPA, simply models nonlinear behavior of structures; and presents a very proper estimation of nonlinear dynamic analysis using lateral load pattern appropriate to the mass. Mostly, two kinds of connecting joints, 'hinge' and 'rigid', are carried out in different type of steel structures. However, it should be highly considered that nominal hinge joints usually experience some percentages of fixity and nominal rigid connections do not employ totally rigid. Therefore, concerning the importance of these structures and the significant flexibility effect of connections on force distribution and elements deformation, these connections can be considered as semi-rigid with various percentages of fixity. Since it seems, the application and implementation of MPA method has not been studied on moment-resistant steel frames with semi rigid connections, this research focuses on this topic and issue. In this regard several rigid and semi-rigid steel bending frames with different percentages of fixity are selected. The structural design is performed based on weak beam and strong column. Followed by that, the MPA method is used as an approximated method and Nonlinear Response History Analysis (NL-RHA) as the exact one. Studying the performance of semi-rigid frames in height shows that MPA technique offers reasonably reliable results in these frames. The methods accuracy seems to decrease, when the number of stories increases and does decrease in correlation with the semi-rigidity percentages. This generally implies that the method can be used as a proper device in seismic estimation of different types of low and mid-rise buildings with semi-rigid connections.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.181-190
• /
• 2005

In the conventional outrigger system, the outriggers are located in the planes of the core walls and this system has disadvantage of obstructing flexibility in the interior layout. But thc facade riggers in the structure uc located In the exterior frames in the direction of the lateral loading. The interaction between the traced frames and facade riggers is through the floor diaphragms adjacent to the chords of the riggers. This paper presents an approximate analysis technique lot preliminary analysis of multiple facade rigger stiffened braced frames in tall buildings subjected to uniformly and triangularly distributed loads as well as a lateral point load at the top of the structure. Comparisons with the results by the program MIDAS for the structural models have shown that this analysis can give reasonably accurate results for highrise braced frames with multiple facade riggers. The method allows a simple procedure for obtaining the optimum level of the facade riggers in addition to a rapid assessment of the influence of the facade riggers on the performance of the highrise structure such as the reduction in lateral deflection at the top and the overturning moment at the base of the braced frame.