Enhancing Seismic Response in Hard Wall Metal Buildings With Energy Dissipating Connections

Abstract eng:
Metal Buildings with precast concrete or masonry walls (hard walls) have been identified by analytical modeling, shake table tests, and earthquake reconnaissance as being susceptible to collapse. While the steel frames have been shown to be resilient, the potential for wall failure and possible collapse is present. There exists a large stiffness differential between the walls and steel frames, which in turn generates high demands on brittle connections. Also, there is very little coordination between the metal building systems (MBS) engineer and the engineer-of-record who is responsible for the connections, which can result in improper connection design. When these connections fail in a non-ductile manner, the continuous load path is lost and the wall can fall away from the structure. The primary purpose of this research is to develop a new lateral force resisting system that relies on simple energy dissipating connections between the hard wall and the steel frame in order to enhance the global seismic performance and improve life safety. The energy dissipation will be geared in the longitudinal direction (parallel to the ridge) without losing out-of-plane strength in the transverse direction. This research included the development of 3-D models for nonlinear response history analyses. Various connection figurations for friction-slip devices were considered and optimized based on performance, efficiency, and practicality. A case study of one of the 3-D models was performed to assess the appropriateness of the modeling procedure. The 3-D models developed in this research will be used in an ongoing parametric study on the connections to quantify the energy dissipation capacities needed to improve the seismic performance of these structures.

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