• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.417-431
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• 2024

The fundamental period of vibration is one of the most critical parameters in the analysis and design of structures, as it depends on the distribution of stiffness and mass within the structure. Therefore, building codes propose empirical equations based on the observed periods of actual buildings during seismic events and ambient vibration tests. However, despite the fact that infill walls increase the stiffness and mass of the structure, causing significant changes in the fundamental period, most of these equations do not account for the presence of infills walls in the structure. Typically, these equations are dependent on both the structural system type and building height. The different values between the empirical and analytical periods are due to the elimination of non-structural effects in the analytical methods. Therefore, the presence of non-structural elements, such as infill panels, should be carefully considered. Another critical factor influencing the fundamental period is the effect of Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI). Most seismic building design codes generally consider SSI to be beneficial to the structural system under seismic loading, as it increases the fundamental period and leads to higher damping of the system. Recent case studies and postseismic observations suggest that SSI can have detrimental effects, and neglecting its impact could lead to unsafe design, especially for structures located on soft soil. The current research focuses on investigating the effect of infill panels on the fundamental period of moment-resisting and eccentrically braced steel frames while considering the influence of soil-structure interaction. To achieve this, the effects of building height, infill wall stiffness, infill openings and soil structure interactions were studied using 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18-story 3-D frames. These frames were modeled and analyzed using SeismoStruct software. The calculated values of the fundamental period were then compared with those obtained from the proposed equation in the seismic code. The results indicate that changing the number of stories and the soil type significantly affects the fundamental period of structures. Moreover, as the percentage of infill openings increases, the fundamental period of the structure increases almost linearly. Additionally, soil-structure interaction strongly affects the fundamental periods of structures, especially for more flexible soils. This effect is more pronounced when the infill wall stiffness is higher. In conclusion, new equations are proposed for predicting the fundamental periods of Moment Resisting Frame (MRF) and Eccentrically Braced Frame (EBF) buildings. These equations are functions of various parameters, including building height, modulus of elasticity, infill wall thickness, infill wall percentage, and soil types.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.565-585
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• 2009

Superelastic Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are gaining acceptance for use as reinforcing bars in concrete structures. The seismic behaviour of concrete frames reinforced with SMAs is being assessed in this study. Two eight-storey concrete frames, one of which is reinforced with regular steel and the other with SMAs at the plastic hinge regions of beams and regular steel elsewhere, are designed and analyzed using 10 different ground motion records. Both frames are located in the highly seismic region of Western Canada and are designed and detailed according to current seismic design standards. The validation of a finite element (FE) program that was conducted previously at the element level is extended to the structure level in this paper using the results of a shake table test of a three-storey moment resisting steel RC frame. The ten accelerograms that are chosen for analyzing the designed RC frames are scaled based on the spectral ordinate at the fundamental periods of the frames. The behaviour of both frames under scaled seismic excitations is compared in terms of maximum inter-storey drift, top-storey drift, inter-storey residual drift, and residual top-storey drift. The results show that SMA-RC frames are able to recover most of its post-yield deformation, even after a strong earthquake.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.10 no.4 s.37
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• pp.629-639
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• 1998

This paper summarizes the results of full-scale cyclic seismic performance tests on three column-tree type steel moment connections. Each test specimen consisted of a $H-600{\times}200$ beam and a $H-400{\times}400$ column of SS41 (SS400). Key parameter included was column PZ (panel zone) strength relative to beam strength. The seismic performance of specimen with stronger PZ tended to be inferior. Total plastic rotations available in the specimens ranged from 1.8 to 3.0 (% rad). The limited test results in this study seem to support the speculation that permitting PZ yielding shall be more beneficial to enhancing total plastic rotation capacity of the moment connection. Beam flange fracture across the heat affected zone and divot-type pullout of the column flange were observed in the tests. A conceptual mechanical model consistent with observed test results was also sought.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.383-393
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• 2007

A simplified model which incorporates the moment-axial tension interaction of the double-span beams in a column-removed steel frame is presented in this paper. To this end, material and geometric nonlinear parametric finite element analyses were conducted for the double-span beams by changing the beam span to depth ratio and the beam size within some practical ranges. The beam span to depth ratio was shown to be the most influential factor governing the catenary action of the double-span beams. Based on the parametric analysis results, a simplified piece-wise linear model which can reasonably describe the vertical resisting force versus the beam chord rotation relationship was proposed. It was also shown that the proposed method can readily be used for the energy-based progressive collapse analysis of steel moment frames.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1710-1722
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• 2018

Investigating remained damages from terrible earthquakes, it could be concluded that some events including explosion because of defect and failure in the building mechanical facilities or caused by gas leak, firing, aftershocks, etc., which are occurred during or a few time after the earthquake, will increase the effects of damages. In this paper, by introducing a complete risk analysis which included direct and indirect risks for earthquake (the main shock) and aftershock, the corresponding robustness index was created that called as "robustness index sequential critical events risk-based". One of the main properties of the intended robustness index is using progressive collapse percentage in its evaluation. Then, in a numerical example for a 4-storey moment resisting steel frame structure, a method is presented for obtaining all effective parameters in robustness index evaluation based on the intended risk and at last its results were reported.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.143-152
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• 2017

This paper focuses on the seismic performance of pallet-type steel storage rack structures in their down aisle direction. As evidenced by experimental research, the seismic response of storage racks in the down-aisle direction is strongly affected by the nonlinear moment-rotation response of the beam-to-column connections. In their down-aisle direction, rack structures are designed to resist lateral seismic loads with typical moment frames utilizing proprietary beam-to-column moment-resisting connections. These connections are mostly boltless hooked type connections and they exhibit significantly large rotations resulting in large lateral frame displacements when subjected to strong ground motions. In this paper, typical hooked boltless beam-to-column connections are studied experimentally to obtain their non-linear reversed cyclic moment-rotation response. Additionally, a compound type connection involving the standard hooks and additional bolts were also tested under similar conditions. The simple introduction of the additional bolts within the hooked connection is considered to be a practical way of structural upgrade in the connection. The experimentally evaluated characteristics of the connections are compared in terms of some important performance indicators such as maximum moment and rotation capacity, change in stiffness and accumulated energy levels within the cyclic loading protocol. Finally, the obtained characteristics were used to carry out seismic performance assessment of rack frames incorporating the tested beam-to-column connections. The assessment involves a displacement based approach that utilizes a simple analytical model that captures the seismic behavior of racks in their down-aisle direction. The results of the study indicate that the proposed method of upgrading appears to be a very practical and effective way of increasing the seismic performance of hooked connections and hence the rack frames in their down-aisle direction.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 2012

In this study the progressive collapse behavior of a moment frame with infill steel panels is evaluated using nonlinear static pushdown analysis. The analysis model is a two story two span structure designed only for gravity load, and the load-displacement relationship is obtained with the center column removed. To obtain local stress and strain as well as the global structural behavior, finite element analysis is conducted using ABACUS. Through the analysis the effect of the span length and the thickness of the steel plate on the progressive collapse behavior of the structure is investigated, and the effect of the dividing the infill panel using stud columns is also studied. According to the analysis results, the thickness of the panels required to prevent progressive collapse increases as the span length increases, and as the number of panel division increases the progressive collapse resisting capacity increases slightly but the effect is not significant. It is also observed that when the infill panel is installed in only a part of the span the progressive collapse resisting capacity is somewhat increased.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.2
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• pp.151-164
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• 2023

The latest earthquake's costly repairs and economic disruption were brought on by excessive residual drift. Self-centering systems are one of the most efficient ways in the current generation of seismic resistance system to get rid of and reduce residual drift. The mechanics and behavior of the self-centering system in response to seismic forces were impacted by a number of important factors. The amount of post-tensioning (PT) force, which is often employed for the standing posture after an earthquake, is the first important component. The energy dissipater element is another one that has a significant impact on how the self-centering system behaves. Using the damper as a replaceable and affordable tool and fuse in self-centering frames has been recommended to boost energy absorption and dampening of structural systems during earthquakes. In this research, the self-centering steel moment frame connections are equipped with cushion flexural dampers (CFDs) as an energy dissipator system to increase energy absorption, post-yielding stiffness, and ease replacement after an earthquake. Also, it has been carefully considered how to reduce permanent deformations in the self-centering steel moment frames exposed to seismic loads while maintaining adequate stiffness, strength, and ductility. After confirming the FE model's findings with an earlier experimental PT connection, the behavior of the self-centering connection using CFD has been surveyed in this study. The FE modeling takes into account strands preloading as well as geometric and material nonlinearities. In addition to contact and sliding phenomena, gap opening and closing actions are included in the models. According to the findings, self-centering moment-resisting frames (SF-MRF) combined with CFD enhance post-yielding stiffness and energy absorption with the least amount of permeant deformation in a certain CFD thickness. The obtained findings demonstrate that the effective energy dissipation ratio (β), is increased to 0.25% while also lowering the residual drift to less than 0.5%. Also, this enhancement in the self-centering connection with CFD's seismic performance was attained with a respectable moment capacity to beam plastic moment capacity ratio.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.305-323
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• 2024

Previous experimental studies have effectively demonstrated the remarkable efficiency of the stiffened channel link in connecting circular columns and I-shaped beams. This research aims to present design criteria and assess the seismic properties of this specific connection type through numerical modeling. Various parameters, including stiffener type and geometric properties of the stiffened channel element, were duly taken into account. The findings from over 136 nonlinear finite element analyses (FEAs) reveal that the recommended detailing scheme reliably satisfies all the regulations specified for rigid beam-to-column connections in special moment frames.