• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.339-353
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• 2023

The primary objective of the current study is to optimize and evaluate the seismic performance of steel momentresisting frame (MRF) structures considering soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects. The structural optimization is implemented in the context of performance-based design in accordance with FEMA-350 at different confidence levels from 50% to 90% by taking into account fixed- and flexible-base conditions using an efficient metaheuristic algorithm. Nonlinear response-history analysis (NRHA) is conducted to evaluate the seismic response of structures, and the beam-on-nonlinear Winkler foundation (BNWF) model is used to simulate the soil-foundation interaction under the MRFs. The seismic performance of optimally designed fixed- and flexible-base steel MRFs are compared in terms of overall damage index, seismic collapse safety, and interstory drift ratios at different performance levels. Two illustrative examples of 6- and 12-story steel MRFs are presented. The results show that the consideration of SSI in the optimization process of 6- and 12-story steel MRFs results in an increase of 1.0 to 9.0 % and 0.5 to 5.0 % in structural weight and a slight decrease in structural seismic safety at different confidence levels.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

Shake table tests performed on five 1:3 reduced scale two story RC moment resisting frames having construction defects, have shown severe joint damageability in deficient RC frames, resulting in joint panels' cover spalling and core concrete crushing. Haunch retrofitting technique was adopted herein to upgrade the seismic resistance of the deficient RC frames. Additional four deficient RC frames were built and retrofitted with steel haunch; both axially stiffer and deformable with energy dissipation, fixed to the beam-column connections to reduce shear demand on joint panels. The as-built and retrofitted frames' seismic response parameters are calculated and compared to evaluate the viability of haunch retrofitting technique. The haunch retrofitting technique increased the lateral stiffness and strength of the structure, resulting in the increase of structure's overstrength. The retrofitting increased response modification factor R by 60% to 100%. Further, the input excitation PGA was correlated with the lateral roof displacement to derive structure response curve that have shown significant resistance of retrofitted models against input excitations. The technique can significantly enhance the seismic performance of deficient RC frames, particularly against the frequent and rare earthquake events, hence, promising for seismic risk mitigation.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.233-241
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• 2020

This paper is to investigate the retrofitting effect for a non-seismic reinforced concrete frame strengthened by perimeter steel moment frames with indirect integrity, which ameliorates the problems of the direct integrity method. To achieve this, first, full-scale tests were conducted to address the structural behavior of a two-story non-seismic reinforced concrete frame and a strengthened frame. The non-seismic frame showed a maximum strength of 185 kN because the flexural-shear failure at the bottom end of columns on the first floor was governed, and shear cracks were concentrated at the beam-column joints on the second floor. The strengthened frame possessed a maximum strength of 338 kN, which is more than 1.8 times that of the non-seismic specimen. A considerable decrease in the quantity of cracks for the strengthened frame was observed compared with the non-seismic frame, while there was the obvious appearance of the failure pattern due to the shear crack. The lateral-resisting capacity for the non-seismic bare frame and the strengthened frame may be determined per the specified shear strength of the reinforced columns in accordance with the distance to a critical section. The effective depth of the column may be referred to as the longitudinal length from the border between the column and the foundation. The lateral-resisting capacity for the non-seismic bare frame and the strengthened frame may be reasonably determined per the specified shear strength of the reinforced columns in accordance with the distance to a critical section. The effective depth of the column may be referred to as the longitudinal length from the border between the column and the foundation. The proposed method had an error of about 2.2% for the non-seismic details and about 4.4% for the strengthened frame based on the closed results versus the experimental results.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.231-241
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• 2014

Ductile fracture is one of the most common failure modes of steel beam-to-column connections in moment resisting frames. Most proposed evaluation methods of the plastic deformation capacity of a beam until ductile fracture are based on steel beam tests, where the material's yield strength/ratio, the beam's moment gradient, and loading history are the most important parameters. It is impossible and unpractical to cover all these parameters in real tests. Therefore, a new attempt to evaluate a beam's plastic deformation capacity through analysis is introduced in this paper. Another important issue is about the loading histories. Recent years, the effect on the structural component under long-duration ground motion has drawn great attentions. Steel beams tends to experience a large number of loading cycles with small amplitudes during long-duration earthquakes. However, current research often focuses on the beam's behavior under standard incremental loading protocols recommended by respective countries. In this paper, the plastic deformation capacity of steel beams subjected to long duration ground motions was evaluated through analytical methodology.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.293-318
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• 2023

This study aims to examine the elastic stiffness properties of Elliptic-Braced Moment Resisting Frame (EBMRF) subjected to lateral loads. Installing the elliptic brace in the middle span of the frames in the facade of a building, as a new lateral bracing system not only it can improve the structural behavior, but it provides sufficient space to consider opening it needed. In this regard, for the first time, an accurate theoretical formulation has been developed in order that the elastic stiffness is investigated in a two-dimensional single-story single-span EBMRF. The concept of strain energy and Castigliano's theorem were employed to perform the analysis. All influential factors were considered, including axial and shearing loads in addition to the bending moment in the elliptic brace. At the end of the analysis, the elastic lateral stiffness could be calculated using an improved relation through strain energy method based on geometric properties of the employed sections as well as specifications of the utilized materials. For the ease of finite element (FE) modeling and its use in linear design, an equivalent element was developed for the elliptic brace. The proposed relation was verified by different examples using OpenSees software. It was found that there is a negligible difference between elastic stiffness values derived by the developed equations and those of numerical analysis using FE method.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.37-57
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• 2019

This paper presents experimental and analytical studies to evaluate the cyclic behaviour of Circular Reinforced Concrete column Steel beam (CRCS) connections. Two 3/4-scale CRCS specimens are tested under quasi-static reversed cyclic loading. Specimens were strengthened with a tube plate (TP) and a steel doubler plate (SDP). Furthermore; nine interior beam-through type RCS connections are simulated using nonlinear three-dimensional finite element method using ABAQUS software and are verified with experimental results. The results revealed that using the TP improves the performance of the panel zone by providing better confinement to the concrete. Utilizing the TP at the panel zone may absorb and distribute stress in this region. Results demonstrate that TP can be used instead of SDP. Test records indicate that specimens with TP, with and without SDP maintained their maximum strength up to 4% drift angle, satisfying the recommendation given by AISC341-2016 for composite special moment-resisting frames.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.285-297
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• 2024

Due to the imbalanced vibration of the adjacent buildings, the pounding phenomenon occurs as a result of an insufficient gap between them. Providing enough gap between adjacent structures is the most efficient approach to preventing the pounding effect. This paper calculated the required separation gaps between adjacent buildings, including two, four, eight, twelve and twenty stories steel moment-resisting frames, and investigated their related influencing parameters such as time periods, damping ratios, and the number of bays. The linear and nonlinear dynamic time-history analyses under real seismic event records were conducted to calculate the required separation gaps by obtaining relative displacement and velocity functions of two adjacent frames. The results showed that the required separation gap increased when the time periods of adjacent frames were not the same. The resulting separation gaps values of linear and nonlinear analyses were similar only for two and four stories frames. In other frames, the resulting separation gap values of linear analyses surpassed the corresponding nonlinear analyses. Although increasing the damping ratios in adjacent frames causes a decrease in the required separation gaps, the number of bays had no significant effect on them.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.241-256
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• 2000

The major sources of energy dissipation in steel frames with partially restrained (PR) connections are evaluated. Available experimental results are used to verify the mathematical model used in this study. The verified model is then used to quantify the energy dissipation in PR connections due to hysteretic behavior, due to viscous damping and at plastic hinges if they are formed. Observations are made for two load conditions: a sinusoidal load applied at the top of the frame, and a sinusoidal ground acceleration applied at the base of the frame representing a seismic loading condition. This analytical study confirms the general behavior, observed during experimental investigations, that PR connections reduce the overall stiffness of frames, but add a major source of energy dissipation. As the connections become stiffer, the contribution of PR connections in dissipating energy becomes less significant. A connection with a T ratio (representing its stiffness) of at least 0.9 should not be considered as fully restrained as is commonly assumed, since the energy dissipation characteristics are different. The flexibility of PR connections alters the fundamental frequency of the frame. Depending on the situation, it may bring the frame closer to or further from the resonance condition. If the frame approaches the resonance condition, the effect of damping is expected to be very important. However, if the frame moves away from the resonance condition, the energy dissipation at the PR connections is expected to be significant with an increase in the deformation of the frame, particularly for low damping values. For low damping values, the dissipation of energy at plastic hinges is comparable to that due to viscous damping, and increases as the frame approaches failure. For the range of parameters considered in this study, the energy dissipations at the PR connections and at the plastic hinges are of the same order of magnitude. The study quantitatively confirms the general observations made in experimental investigations for steel frames with PR connections; however, proper consideration of the stiffness of PR connections and other dynamic properties is essential in predicting the dynamic behavior.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.891-907
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• 2020

Many studies reveal that during destructive earthquakes, most of the structures enter the inelastic phase. The amount of hysteretic energy in a structure is considered as an important criterion in structure design and an important indicator for the degree of its damage or vulnerability. The hysteretic energy value wasted after the structure yields is the most important component of the energy equation that affects the structures system damage thereof. Controlling this value of energy leads to controlling the structure behavior. Here, for the first time, the hysteretic behavior and energy dissipation capacity are assessed at presence of elliptical braced resisting frames (ELBRFs), through an experimental study and numerical analysis of FEM. The ELBRFs are of lateral load systems, when located in the middle bay of the frame and connected properly to the beams and columns, in addition to improving the structural behavior, do not have the problem of architectural space in the bracing systems. The energy dissipation capacity is assessed in four frames of small single-story single-bay ELBRFs at ½ scale with different accessories, and compared with SMRF and X-bracing systems. The frames are analyzed through a nonlinear FEM and a quasi-static cyclic loading. The performance features here consist of hysteresis behavior, plasticity factor, energy dissipation, resistance and stiffness variation, shear strength and Von-Mises stress distribution. The test results indicate that the good behavior of the elliptical bracing resisting frame improves strength, stiffness, ductility and dissipated energy capacity in a significant manner.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.559-571
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• 2018

In current engineering practice, circular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns have been used as effective structural components due to their significant structural and economic benefits. To apply these structural components into steel-concrete composite moment resisting frames, increasing number of research into the column-base connections of circular CFST columns have been found. However, most of the previous research focused on the strength, rigidity and seismic resisting performance of the circular CFST column-base connections. The present paper attempts to investigate the demountability of bolted circular CFST column-base connections using the finite element method. The developed finite element models take into account the effects of material and geometric nonlinearities; the accuracy of proposed models is validated through comparison against independent experimental results. The mechanical performance of CFST column-base connections with both permanent and demountable design details are compared with the developed finite element models. Parametric studies are further carried out to examine the effects of design parameters on the behaviour of demountable circular CFST column-base connections. Moreover, the initial stiffness and moment capacity of such demountable connections are compared with the existing codes of practice. The comparison results indicate that an improved prediction method of the initial stiffness for these connections should be developed.