Probabilistic Seismic Assessment of a Regular Steel MRF Designed to Eurocode 8 Provisions

Abstract eng:
The studies undertaken following the Northridge and Kobe earthquakes in 1994 and 1995, during which many steel buildings were hampered by unsatisfactory connection behaviour, also exposed limitations of the deterministic approaches in assessing the performance of new and existing buildings, thus leading to a renewed interest in probabilistic methods for earthquake engineering applications. The majority of the research has so far aimed at combining experimental and analytical efforts into seismic reliability methodologies for steel buildings typical of US practice. Corresponding studies on European steel Moment Resisting Frames (MRFs) are still to be developed and validated. Thus, the current study presents a probabilistic assessment carried out on a Eurocode 8-designed steel MRF, exploring explicitly the effect of joint ductility on its seismic reliability. Fragility curves are generated at different performance levels using the Monte Carlo simulation technique and performing time history analyses on the sample buildings subjected to a suite of ground motion records. Fragilities are presented for building realisations both with and without considering a limit in the total plastic rotational capacity of the beam-to-column joints. The rotational capacities are estimated using an empirical equation, derived from cyclic loading tests on European steel joints. A hazard study on a European site is combined with the structural fragility, thus evaluating the annual seismic risk. The results are used to quantify the notional reliability levels of a Eurocode 8-designed steel MRF.

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