Seismic response of unbraced steel frames

Abstract In the analysis and design of unbraced steel frames various models are employed to represent the behaviour of beam‐to‐column connections. In one such model, termed here as ‘Simple Construction’, pinned connections are assumed when resisting gravity loads, whereas the same connections are assumed to be moment‐resistant rigid connections when resisting lateral loads due to an earthquake or wind. Such connections are designed for moments due to lateral loads only; thus, they are not only flexible but may yield when the gravity and lateral loads act concurrently. This paper establishes the seismic performance of two (one 5‐storey and the other 10‐storey) unbraced steel building frames designed based on the ‘Simple Construction’ technique and on limit state principles. The first part of the paper describes briefly the design of such frames and compares their static responses with the corresponding responses of frames designed based on the ‘Continuous Construction’ assumption. Using realistic moment‐rotation behaviour for flexible beam‐to‐column connections and realistic member behaviour, the non‐linear dynamic responses of such frames for the 1940 El Centro record and 2 times the 1952 Taft record have been established using step‐by‐step time‐history analyses. Floor lateral displacement envelopes, storey shear envelopes and cumulative inelastic rotations of beams, columns and connections are presented. The results indicate that the ‘Simple Construction’ frames experience larger lateral deflections while attracting lesser storey shears. During a major earthquake, the columns and connections of the ‘Simple Construction’ frames experience yielding, whereas in ‘Continuous Construction’ frames the beams and columns experience yielding. The cyclic plastic rotations in the connections and in the columns associated with ‘Simple Construction’ frames are found to be considerably higher.