• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.295-315
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• 2014

This paper presents the results of an analytical study on seismic reliability of viscoelastically damped frame systems in comparison with that of conventional moment resisting frame systems. In order to exhibit the reliability of the frame systems with viscoelastic dampers, seismic reliability analyses were carried out for steel framed buildings, 5 and 12 storeys in height, designed as: (a) Case 1: Conventional moment resisting frame, (b) Case 2: Frame with viscoelastic dampers providing supplemental effective damping ratio of 10%, and (c) Case 3: Frame with viscoelastic dampers providing supplemental effective damping ratio of 20%. Nonlinear time history analyses were utilized to develop seismic fragility curves whilst monitoring various performance objectives. To obtain robust estimators of the seismic reliability, a database including 15 natural earthquake ground motion records with markedly different characteristics was employed in the fragility analysis. The results indicate that depending upon the supplemental effective damping ratio, frames designed with viscoelastic dampers have considerably lower annual probability of exceedance of performance limit states for structural components, showing up to a five-fold reduction in comparison to conventionally designed moment resisting frame system.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.339-347
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• 2022

Retrofitting in reinforced concrete structures has been one of the most important research topics in recent years. There are several methods for retrofitting RC moment-resisting frames. the most important of which is the use of steel bracing systems with yielding dampers. With a proper design of yielding dampers, the stiffness of RC frame systems can be increased to the required extent so that the ductility of the structure is not significantly reduced. In the present study, two experimental samples of a one-third scale RC moment-resisting frame were loaded in the laboratory. In these experiments, the retrofitting effect of RC frames was investigated using Non-uniform Slit Dampers (NSDs). Based on the experimental results of the samples, seismic parameters, i.e., stiffness, ductility, ultimate strength, strength reduction coefficient, and energy dissipation capacity, were compared. The results demonstrated that the retrofitted frame had very significant growth in terms of stiffness, ultimate strength, and energy dissipation capacity. Although the strength reduction factor and ductility decreased in the retrofitted sample. In general, the behavior of the frame with NSDs was evaluated better than the bare frame.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.357-371
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• 2016

Column base connections are critical components in steel structures because they transfer axial forces, shear forces and moments to the foundation. Exposed column bases are quite commonly used in low- to medium-rise buildings. To investigate shear transfer in exposed column base plates, four large scale specimens were subjected to a combination of axial load (compression or tension) and lateral shear deformations. The main parameters examined experimentally include the number of anchor rod, arrangement of anchor rod, type of lateral loading, and axial force ratio. It is observed that the shear resisting mechanism of exposed column base changed as the axial force changed. When the axial force is in compression, the resisting mechanism is rotation type, and the shear force will be resisted by friction force between base plate and mortar layer. The specimens could sustain inelastic deformation with minimal strength deterioration up to column rotation angle of 3%. The moment resistance and energy dissipation will be increased as the number of anchor rods increased. Moreover, moment resistance could be further increased if the anchor rods were arranged in details. When the axial force is in tension, the resisting mechanism is slip type, and the shear force will be resisted by the anchor rods. And the shear resistance was reduced significantly when the axial force was changed from compression to tension. The test results indicated that the current design approach could estimate the moment resistance within reasonable acceptance, but overestimate the shear resistance of exposed column base.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.31-46
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• 1993

The motivations of the application of shakedown analysis to the earthquake-resistant design of ductile moment-resisting steel structures are presented. The problems which must be solved with this application are also addressed. The illustrative results from a series of static and time history nonlinear analyses of one-bay three-story steel frame and the related discussions have shown that the incremental collapse may be the critical design criterion in case of earthquake loading. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the inelastic excursion mechanism for alternation load pattern, such as in earthquake, should be the sidesway mechanism of the whole structure for the efficient mobilization of the structural energy dissipating capacity and that the shakedown analysis technique can be used as a tool to ensure this mechanism.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.211-232
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• 2013

In this study a multi-objective optimization problem is solved. The objectives used here include simultaneous minimum construction cost in term of sections weight, minimum structural damage using a damage index, and minimum non-structural damage in term of inter-story drift under the applied ground motions. A high-speed and low-error neural network is trained and employed in the process of optimization to estimate the results of non-linear time history analysis. This approach can be utilized for all steel or concrete frame structures. In this study, the optimal design of a planar eccentric braced steel frame is performed with great detail, using the presented multi-objective algorithm with a discrete population and then a moment resisting frame is solved as a supplementary example.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.217-229
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• 2017

The effect of column loss location on the structural response of steel moment resisting frames (MRF) is investigated in this study. A series of nonlinear static and dynamic analyses were performed to determine the resistance of a generic frame to an arbitrary column loss and detect the structural members that are susceptible to failure progression beyond that point. Both force-controlled and deformation-controlled actions based on UFC 4-023-03 and ASCE/SEI 41-06 were implemented to define the acceptance criteria for nine APM cases defined in this study. Results revealed that the structural resistance against an arbitrary column loss in the top story is at least 80% smaller than that of the bottom story. In addition, it was found that the dynamic increase factor (DIF) at the failure point is at most 1.13.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.4
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• pp.421-429
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• 2019

This paper presents an analytical model for the estimation of initial lateral stiffness of steel moment resisting frames with masonry infills. However, rather than focusing on the single bay-single storey substructure, the developed model attempts to estimate the global stiffness of multi-storey and multi-bay frames, using an assembly of equivalent springs and taking into account the shape of the lateral loading pattern. The contribution from each infilled frame panel is included as an individual spring, whose properties are determined on the basis of established diagonal strut macro-modeling approaches from the literature. The proposed model is evaluated parametrically against numerical results from frame analyses, with varying number of frame stories, infill openings, masonry thickness and modulus of elasticity. The performance of the model is evaluated and found quite satisfactory.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.125-141
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• 1998

Recent test results of steel moment connections repaired with a haunch on the bottom side of the beam have been shown to be a very promising solution to enhancing the seismic performance of steel moment-resisting frames. Yet, little is known about the effects of using such a repair scheme on the global seismic response of structures. When haunches are incorporated in a steel moment frame, the response prediction is complicated by the presence of "dual" panel zones. To investigate the effects of a repair on seismic performance, a case study was conducted for a 13-story steel frame damaged during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. It was assumed that only those locations with reported damage would be repaired with haunches. A new analytical modeling technique for the dual panel zone developed by the author was incorporated in the analysis. Modeling the dual panel zone was among the most significant consideration in the analyses. Both the inelastic static and dynamic analyses did not indicate detrimental side effects resulting from the repair. As a result of the increased strength in dual panel zones, yielding in these locations were eliminated and larger plastic rotation demand occurred in the beams next to the shallow end of the haunches. Nevertheless, the beam plastic rotation demand produced by the Sylmar record of 1994 Northridge earthquake was still limited to 0.017 radians. The repair resulted in a minor increase in earthquake energy input. In the original structure, the panel zones should dissipate about 80% (for the Oxnard record) and 70% (for the Sylmar record) of the absorbed energy, assuming no brittle failure of moment connections. After repair, the energy dissipated in the panel zones and beams were about equal.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.507-518
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• 2013

The seismic performance of six types of weak-axis steel moment connections was investigated through cyclic testing of six full-scale specimens. These weak-axis moment connections were the column-tree type, WUF-B type, FF-W type, WFP type, BFP-B type and DST type weak-axis connections. The testing results showed that each of these weak-axis connection types achieved excellent seismic performance, except the WFP and the WUF-B types. The WFP and WUF-B connections displayed poor seismic performance because a fracture appeared prematurely at the weld joint due to stress concentrations. The column-tree type connection showed the best seismic behavior such that the story drift ratio could reach 5%.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.469-485
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• 2019

A numerical investigation regarding local (${\mu}_L$) and story (${\mu}_S$) ductility demand evaluation of steel buildings with perimeter moment resisting frames (PMRF) and interior gravity frames (IGF), is conducted in this study. The interior connections are modeled, firstly as perfectly pinned (PP), and then as semi-rigid (SR). Three models used in the SAC steel project, representing steel buildings of low-, mid-, and high-rise, are considered. The story ductility reduction factor ($R_{{\mu}S}$) as well as the ratio ($Q_{GL}$) of $R_{{\mu}S}$ to ${\mu}_L$ are calculated. ${\mu}_L$ and ${\mu}_S$, and consequently structural damage, at the PMRF are significant reduced when the usually neglected effect of SR connections is considered; average reductions larger than 40% are observed implying that the behavior of the models with SR connections is superior and that the ductility detailing of the PMRF doesn't need to be so stringent when SR connections are considered. $R_{{\mu}S}$ is approximately constant through height for low-rise buildings, but for the others it tends to increase with the story number contradicting the same proportion reduction assumed in the Equivalent Static Lateral Method (ESLM). It is implicitly assumed in IBC Code that the overall ductility reduction factor for ductile moment resisting frames is about 4; the results of this study show that this value is non-conservative for low-rise buildings but conservative for mid- and high-rise buildings implying that the ESLM fails evaluating the inelastic interstory demands. If local ductility capacity is stated as the basis for design, a value of 0.4 for $Q_{GL}$ seems to be reasonable for low- and medium-rise buildings.