Optimum seismic design of concentrically braced steel frames: concepts and design procedures

A methodology is presented for optimization of the dynamic response of concentrically braced steel frames subjected to seismic excitation, based on the concept of uniform distribution of deformation. In order to obtain the optimum distribution of structural properties, an iterative optimization procedure has been adopted. In this approach, the structural properties are modified so that inefficient material is gradually shifted from strong to weak areas of a structure. This process is continued until a state of uniform deformation is achieved. It is shown that the seismic performance of such a structure is optimal, and behaves generally better than those designed by conventional methods. In order to avoid onerous analysis of the frame models, an equivalent procedure is introduced for performing the optimization procedure on the modified reduced shear-building model of the frames, which is shown to be accurate enough for design purposes

Minimum cost performance-based seismic design of reinforced concrete frames with pushover and nonlinear response-history analysis

Previous studies compare results of pushover and nonlinear response-history analysis of predesigned reinforced concrete frames. The present study employs nonlinear response-history analysis and pushover analysis with the N2 method in a computational framework for the optimum performancebased seismic design of reinforced concrete frames according to the fib Model Code 2010 methodology and compares their obtained design solutions in terms of cost and structural performance. It is found that the minimum costs of pushover-based designs are similar to the costs from response-history analysis for regular frames but the pushover-based designs can be more expensive for irregular frames. Furthermore, the pushover-based designs are not guaranteed to satisfy performance objectives when subjected to response-history analysis even when more than one lateral load distributions are applied

Pushover analysis for the seismic response prediction of cable-stayed bridges under multi-directional excitation

Cable-stayed bridges represent nowadays key points in transport networks and their seismic behavior needs to be fully understood, even beyond the elastic range of materials. Both nonlinear dynamic (NL-RHA) and static (pushover) procedures are currently available to face this challenge, each with intrinsic advantages and disadvantages, and their applicability in the study of the nonlinear seismic behavior of cable-stayed bridges is discussed here. The seismic response of a large number of finite element models with different span lengths, tower shapes and class of foundation soil is obtained with different procedures and compared. Several features of the original Modal Pushover Analysis (MPA) are modified in light of cable-stayed bridge characteristics, furthermore, an extension of MPA and a new coupled pushover analysis (CNSP) are suggested to estimate the complex inelastic response of such outstanding structures subjected to multi-axial strong ground motions

Inelastic Displacement Ratios of Degrading Systems

Seismic code provisions in several countries have recently adopted the new concept of performance-based design. New analysis procedures have been developed to estimate seismic demands for performance evaluation. Most of these procedures are based on simple material models though, and do not take into account degradation effects, a major factor influencing structural behavior under earthquake excitations. More importantly, most of these models cannot predict collapse of structures under seismic loads. This study presents a newly developed model that incorporates degradation effects into seismic analysis of structures. A new energy-based approach is used to define several types of degradation effects. The model also permits collapse prediction of structures under seismic excitations. The model was used to conduct extensive statistical dynamic analysis of different structural systems subjected to a large ensemble of recent earthquake records. The results were used to propose approximate methods for estimating maximum inelastic displacements of degrading systems for use in performance-based seismic code provisions. The findings provide necessary information for the design evaluation phase of a performance-based earthquake design process, and could be used for evaluation and modification of existing seismic codes of practice

A fatigue damage model for seismic response of RC structures

Numerous damage models have been developed in order to analyze seismic behavior. Among the different possibilities existing in the literature, it is very clear that models developed along the lines of continuum damage mechanics are more consistent with the definition of damage as a phenomenon with mechanical consequences because they include explicitly the coupling between damage and mechanical behavior. On the other hand, for seismic processes, phenomena such as low cycle fatigue may have a pronounced effect on the overall behavior of the frames and, therefore, its consideration turns out to be very important. However, most of existing models evaluate the damage only as a function of the maximum amplitude of cyclic deformation without considering the number of cycles. In this paper, a generalization of the simplified model proposed by Cipollina et al. [Cipollina A, López-Hinojosa A, Flórez-López J. Comput Struct 1995;54:1113–26] is made in order to include the low cycle fatigue. Such a model employs in its formulation irreversible thermodynamics and internal state variable theory

Displacement-based seismic design of symmetric single-storey wood-frame buildings with the aid of N2 method

This paper presents a new methodology for the displacement-based seismic design of symmetric single-storey wood-frame buildings. Previous displacement-based design efforts were based on the direct displacement-based design approach, which uses a substitute linear system with an appropriate stiffness and viscous damping combination. Despite the fact that this method has shown to produce promising results for wood structures, it does not fit into the framework of the Eurocode 8 (EC8) provisions. The methodology presented herein is based on the N2 method, which is incorporated in EC8 and combines the non-linear pushover analysis with the response spectrum method. The N2 method has been mostly applied to reinforced concrete and steel structures. In order to properly implement the N2 method for the case of wood-frame buildings, new behavior factor–displacement ductility relationships are proposed. These relationships were derived from inelastic time history analyses of 35 SDOF systems subjected to 80 different ground motion records. Furthermore, the validity of the N2 method is examined for the case of a timber shear wall tested on a shake table and satisfactory predictions are obtained. Last, the proposed design methodology is applied to the displacement-based seismic design of a realistic symmetric single-storey wood-frame building in order to meet the performance objectives of EC8. It is concluded that the simplicity and computational efficiency of the adopted methodology make it a valuable tool for the seismic design of this category of wood-frame buildings, while the need for extending the method to more complex wood-frame buildings is also highlighted

Probabilistic economic seismic loss estimation in steel buildings using post-tensioned moment-resisting frames and viscous dampers

The potential of post-tensioned self-centering moment-resisting frames (SC-MRFs) and viscous dampers to reduce the economic seismic losses in steel buildings is evaluated. The evaluation is based on a prototype steel building designed using four different seismicresistant frames: (a) conventional moment resisting frames (MRFs); (b) MRFs with viscous dampers; (c) SC-MRFs; or (d) SC-MRFs with viscous dampers. All frames are designed according to Eurocode 8, and have the same column/beam cross-sections and similar periods of vibration. Viscous dampers are designed to reduce the peak story drift under the design basis earthquake (DBE) from 1.8% to 1.2%. Losses are estimated by developing vulnerability functions according to the FEMA P-58 methodology, which considers uncertainties in earthquake ground motion, structural response, and repair costs. Both the probability of collapse and the probability of demolition due to excessive residual story drifts are taken into account. Incremental dynamic analyses are conducted using models capable to simulate all limit states up to collapse. A parametric study on the effect of the residual story drift threshold beyond which is less expensive to rebuild a structure than to repair is also conducted. It is shown that viscous dampers are more effective than post-tensioning for seismic intensities equal or lower than the maximum considered earthquake (MCE). Posttensioning is effective in reducing repair costs only for seismic intensities higher than the DBE. The paper also highlights the effectiveness of combining post-tensioning and supplemental viscous damping by showing that the SC-MRF with viscous dampers achieves significant repair cost reductions compared to the conventional MRF