Strengthening of moment‐resisting frame structures against near‐fault ground motion effects

Near‐fault ground motions with forward directivity are characterized by a large pulse. This pulse‐like motion may cause a highly non‐uniform distribution of story ductility demands for code‐compliant frame structures, with maximum demands that may considerably exceed the level of code expectations. Strengthening techniques for multi‐story frame structures are explored with the objective of reducing maximum drift demands. One option is to modify the code‐based SRSS distribution of story shear strength over the height by strengthening of the lower stories of the frame. The modified distribution reduces the maximum story ductility demand, particularly for weak and flexible structures. However, this strengthening technique is less effective for stiff structures, and is almost ineffective in cases in which the maximum demand occurs in the upper stories, i.e. strong and flexible structures. As an alternative, the benefits of strengthening frames with elastic and inelastic walls are evaluated. The effects of adding walls that are either fixed or hinged at the base are investigated. It is demonstrated that strengthening with hinged walls is very effective in reducing drift demands for structures with a wide range of periods and at various performance levels. Wall inelastic behavior only slightly reduces the benefits of strengthening with hinged walls.Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Behavior of moment‐resisting frame structures subjected to near‐fault ground motions

Near‐fault ground motions impose large demands on structures compared to ‘ordinary’ ground motions. Recordings suggest that near‐fault ground motions with ‘forward’ directivity are characterized by a large pulse, which is mostly orientated perpendicular to the fault. This study is intended to provide quantitative knowledge on important response characteristics of elastic and inelastic frame structures subjected to near‐fault ground motions. Generic frame models are used to represent MDOF structures. Near‐fault ground motions are represented by equivalent pulses, which have a comparable effect on structural response, but whose characteristics are defined by a small number of parameters. The results demonstrate that structures with a period longer than the pulse period respond very differently from structures with a shorter period. For the former, early yielding occurs in higher stories but the high ductility demands migrate to the bottom stories as the ground motion becomes more severe. For the latter, the maximum demand always occurs in the bottom stories. Preliminary regression equations are proposed that relate the parameters of the equivalent pulse to magnitude and distance. The equivalent pulse concept is used to estimate the base shear strength required to limit story ductility demands to specific target values. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural performance assessment under near‐source pulse‐like ground motions using advanced ground motion intensity measures

This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of utilizing advanced ground motion intensity measures (IMs) to evaluate the seismic performance of a structure subject to near‐source ground motions. Ordinary records are, in addition, utilized to demonstrate the robustness of the advanced IM with respect to record selection and scaling. To perform nonlinear dynamic analyses (NDAs), ground motions need to be selected; as a result, choosing records that are not representative of the site hazard can alter the seismic performance of structures. The median collapse capacity (in terms of IM), for example, can be systematically dictated by including a few aggressive or benign pulse‐like records into the record set used for analyses. In this paper, the elastic‐based IM such as the pseudo‐spectral acceleration (S_a) or a vector of S_a and epsilon has been demonstrated to be deficient to assess the structural responses subject to pulse‐like motions. Using advanced IMs can be, however, more accurate in terms of probabilistic response prediction. Scaling earthquake records using advanced IMs (e.g. inelastic spectral displacement, S_di, and IM _1I&2E; the latter is for the significant higher‐mode contribution structures) subject to ordinary and/or pulse‐like records is efficient, sufficient, and robust relative to record selection and scaling. As a result, detailed record selection is not necessary, and records with virtually any magnitude, distance, epsilon and pulse period can be selected for NDAs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic drift demands in multi‐storey cross‐laminated timber buildings

This paper investigates the seismic response of multi‐storey cross‐laminated timber (CLT) buildings and its relationship with salient ground‐motion and building characteristics. Attention is given to the effects of earthquake frequency content on the inelastic deformation demands of platform CLT walled structures. The response of a set of 60 CLT buildings of varying number of storeys and panel fragmentation levels representative of a wide range of structural configurations subjected to 1656 real earthquake records is examined. It is shown that, besides salient structural parameters like panel aspect ratio, design behaviour factor, and density of joints, the frequency content of the earthquake action as characterized by its mean period has a paramount importance on the level of nonlinear deformations attained by CLT structures. Moreover, the evolution of drifts as a function of building to ground‐motion periods ratio is different for low‐ and high‐rise buildings. Accordingly, nonlinear regression models are developed for estimating the global and interstorey drifts demands on multi‐storey CLT buildings. Finally, the significance of the results is highlighted with reference to European seismic design procedures and recent assessment proposals.     

Residual drift demands in moment‐resisting steel frames subjected to narrow‐band earthquake ground motions

This paper presents the main results of the evaluation of residual inter‐story drift demands in typical moment‐resisting steel buildings designed accordingly to the Mexican design practice when subjected to narrow‐band earthquake ground motions. Analytical 2D‐framed models representative of the study‐case buildings were subjected to a set of 30 narrow‐band earthquake ground motions recorded on stations placed in soft‐soil sites of Mexico City, where most significant structural damage was found in buildings as a consequence of the 1985 Michoacan earthquake, and scaled to reach several levels of intensity to perform incremental dynamic analyses. Thus, results were statistically processed to obtain hazard curves of peak (maximum) and residual drift demands for each frame model. It is shown that the study‐case frames might exhibit maximum residual inter‐story drift demands in excess of 0.5%, which is perceptible for building's occupants and could cause human discomfort, for a mean annual rate of exceedance associated to peak inter‐story drift demands of about 3%, which is the limiting drift to avoid collapse prescribed in the 2004 Mexico City Seismic Design Provisions. The influence of a member's post‐yield stiffness ratio and material overstrength in the evaluation of maximum residual inter‐story drift demands is also discussed. Finally, this study introduces response transformation factors, T_p, that allow establishing residual drift limits compatible with the same mean annual rate of exceedance of peak inter‐story drift limits for future seismic design/evaluation criteria that take into account both drift demands for assessing a building's seismic performance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of earthquake direction on the seismic response of irregular plan RC frame buildings

The nonlinear response of structures is usually evaluated by considering two accelerograms acting simultaneously along the orthogonal directions. In this study, the infl uence of the earthquake direction on the seismic response of building structures is examined. Three multi-story RC buildings, representing a very common structural typology in Italy, are used as case studies for the evaluation. They are, respectively, a rectangular plan shape, an L plan shape and a rectangular plan shape with courtyard buildings. Nonlinear static and dynamic analyses are performed by considering different seismic levels, characterized by peak ground acceleration on stiff soil equal to 0.35 g, 0.25 g and 0.15 g. Nonlinear dynamic analyses are carried out by considering twelve different earthquake directions, and rotating the direction of both the orthogonal components by 30° for each analysis(from 0° to 330°). The survey is carried out on the L plan shape structure. The results show that the angle of the seismic input motion signifi cantly infl uences the response of RC structures; the critical seismic angle, i.e., the incidence angle that produces the maximum demand, provides an increase of up to 37% in terms of both roof displacements and plastic hinge rotations.     

Seismic response of three‐dimensional r/c multi‐storey frame building under uni‐ and bi‐directional input ground motion

This paper deals with seismic analysis of plan‐asymmetric r/c frame multi‐storey buildings. Non‐linear numerical analyses are carried out by using a lumped plasticity model for beams and a multi‐spring model for columns, the latter one introduced to account for axial force–biaxial bending moment interaction. A comparison between numerical analyses and experimental test results is reported in order to calibrate the numerical model, showing that the adopted model is very suitable. In order to study the effects of the earthquake orthogonal component, the seismic response of the modelled structure under uni‐directional excitation is compared to the one under bi‐directional excitation. Such comparison shows that the maximum base shear and the top displacement are not very sensitive to the presence of the orthogonal component, which, conversely, leads to large increase in the column plastic excursions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic response of 20‐story base‐isolated and fixed‐base reinforced concrete structural wall buildings at a near‐fault site

This paper investigates numerically the seismic response of six seismically base‐isolated (BI) 20‐story reinforced concrete buildings and compares their response to that of a fixed‐base (FB) building with a similar structural system above ground. Located in Berkeley, California, 2 km from the Hayward fault, the buildings are designed with a core wall that provides most of the lateral force resistance above ground. For the BI buildings, the following are investigated: two isolation systems (both implemented below a three‐story basement), isolation periods equal to 4, 5, and 6 s, and two levels of flexural strength of the wall. The first isolation system combines tension‐resistant friction pendulum bearings and nonlinear fluid viscous dampers (NFVDs); the second combines low‐friction tension‐resistant crosslinear bearings, lead‐rubber bearings, and NFVDs. The designs of all buildings satisfy ASCE 7‐10 requirements, except that one component of horizontal excitation, is used in the 2D nonlinear response history analysis. Analysis is performed for a set of ground motions scaled to the design earthquake and to the maximum considered earthquake (MCE). At both the design earthquake and the MCE, the FB building develops large inelastic deformations and shear forces in the wall and large floor accelerations. At the MCE, four of the BI buildings experience nominally elastic response of the wall, with floor accelerations and shear forces being 0.25 to 0.55 times those experienced by the FB building. The response of the FB and four of the BI buildings to four unscaled historical pulse‐like near‐fault ground motions is also studied. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three‐dimensional modal pushover analysis of buildings subjected to two components of ground motion,including its evaluation for tall buildings

The modal pushover analysis (MPA) procedure, presently restricted to one horizontal component of ground motion, is extended to three‐dimensional analysis of buildings—symmetric or unsymmetric in plan—subjected to two horizontal components of ground motion, simultaneously. Also presented is a variant of this method, called the practical modal pushover analysis (PMPA) procedure, which estimates seismic demands directly from the earthquake response (or design) spectrum. Its accuracy in estimating seismic demands for very tall buildings is evaluated, demonstrating that for nonlinear systems this procedure is almost as accurate as the response spectrum analysis procedure is for linear systems. Thus, for practical applications, the PMPA procedure offers an attractive alternative whereby seismic demands can be estimated directly from the (elastic) design spectrum, thus avoiding the complications of selecting and scaling ground motions for nonlinear response history analysis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Torsional response of symmetric buildings to incoherent and phase‐delayed earthquake ground motion

This paper studies the effect of coherency loss and wave passage on the seismic torsional response of three‐dimensional, multi‐storey, multi‐span, symmetric, linear elastic buildings. A model calibrated against statistical analyses of ground motion records in Mexico City is used for the coherency function. The structural response is assessed in terms of shear forces in structural elements. Incoherence and wave passage effects are found to be significant only for columns in the ground level of stiff systems. The increase of column shears in the ground level is much higher for soft than for firm soil conditions. For the torsionally stiff systems considered, it is found that incoherent and phase‐delayed ground motions do not induce a significant rotational response of the structure. The use of a code eccentricity to account for torsion due to ground motion spatial variation is assessed. On firm soil, the use of a base shear along with an accidental eccentricity results in highly overestimated shear forces; however, for soft soil conditions, code formulations may result in underestimated shear forces. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of earthquake ground‐motion duration on damage estimation: application to steel moment resisting frames

This paper presents an analytical study evaluating the influence of ground motion duration on structural damage of 3‐story, 9‐story, and 20‐story SAC steel moment resisting frame buildings designed for downtown Seattle, WA, USA, using pre‐Northridge codes. Two‐dimensional nonlinear finite element models of the buildings are used to estimate the damage induced by the ground motions. A set of 44 ground motions is used to study the combined effect of spectral acceleration and ground motion significant duration on drift and damage measures. In addition, 10 spectrally equivalent short‐duration shallow crustal ground motions and long‐duration subduction zone records are selected to isolate duration effect and assess its effect on the response. For each ground motion pair, incremental dynamic analyses are performed at at least 20 intensity levels and response measures such as peak interstory drift ratio and energy dissipated are tracked. These response measures are combined into two damage metrics that account for the ductility and energy dissipation. Results indicate that the duration of the ground motion influences, above all, the combined damage measures, although some effect on drift‐based response measures is also observed for larger levels of drift. These results indicate that because the current assessment methodologies do not capture the effects of ground motion duration, both performance‐based and code‐based assessment methodologies should be revised to consider damage measures that are sensitive to duration. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd     

Response of tall cantilever wall buildings to strong pulse type seismic excitation

This paper investigates the seismic response of tall cantilever wall buildings subjected to pulse type ground motion, with special focus on the relation between the characteristics of ground motion and the higher‐modes of response. Buildings 10, 20, and 40 stories high were designed such that inelastic deformation was concentrated at a single flexural plastic hinge at their base. Using nonlinear response history analysis, the buildings were subjected to near‐fault seismic ground motions and simple closed‐form pulses, which represented distinct pulses within the ground motions. Euler–Bernoulli beam models with lumped mass and lumped plasticity were used to model the buildings. The response of the buildings to the closed‐form pulses fairly matched that of the near‐fault records. Subsequently, a parametric study was conducted for the buildings subjected to three types of closed‐form pulses with a broad range of periods and amplitudes. The results of the parametric study demonstrate the importance of the ratio of the fundamental period of the structure to the period of the pulse to the excitation of higher modes. The study shows that if the modal response spectrum analysis approach is used — considering the first four modes with a uniform yield reduction factor for all modes, and with the square root of sum of squares modal combination rule — it significantly underestimates bending moment and shear force responses. A response spectrum analysis method that uses different yield reduction factors for the first and the higher modes is presented. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accidental eccentricity in symmetric buildings due to wave passage effects arising from near‐fault pulse‐like ground motions

This article investigates the characteristics of the accidental eccentricity in symmetric buildings due to torsional response arising from wave passage effects in the near‐fault region. The soil–foundation–structure system is modeled as a symmetric cylinder placed on a rigid circular foundation supported on an elastic halfspace and subjected to obliquely incident plane SH waves simulating the action of near‐fault pulse‐like ground motions. The translational response is computed assuming that the superstructure behaves as a shear beam under the action of translational and rocking base excitations, whereas the torsional response is calculated using the mathematical formulation proposed in a previous study. A broad range of properties of the soil–foundation–structure system and ground motion input are considered in the analysis, thus facilitating a detailed parametric investigation of the structural response. It is demonstrated that the normalized accidental eccentricity is most sensitive to the pulse period (T_P) of the near‐fault ground motions and to the uncoupled torsional‐to‐translational fundamental frequency ratio (Ω) of the structure. Furthermore, the normalized accidental eccentricities due to simplified pulse‐like and broadband ground motions in the near‐fault region are computed and compared against each other. The results show that the normalized accidental eccentricity due to the broadband ground motion is well approximated by the simplified pulse for longer period buildings, while it is underestimated for shorter period buildings. For symmetric buildings with values of Ω commonly used in design practice, the normalized accidental eccentricity due to wave passage effects is less than the typical code‐prescribed value of 5%, except for buildings with very large foundation radius. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of orthogonal horizontal components of near‐fault ground motion for specified earthquake source and site characteristics

A procedure to generate horizontal pairs of synthetic near‐fault ground motion components for specified earthquake source and site characteristics is presented. Some near‐fault ground motions contain a forward directivity pulse; others do not, even when the conditions for such a pulse are favorable. The proposed procedure generates pulse‐like and non‐pulse‐like motions in appropriate proportions. We use our recent stochastic models of pulse‐like and non‐pulse‐like near‐fault ground motions that are formulated in terms of physically meaningful parameters. The parameters of these models are fitted to databases of recorded pulse‐like and non‐pulse‐like motions. Using these empirical “observations,” predictive relations are developed for the model parameters in terms of the earthquake source and site characteristics (type of faulting, earthquake magnitude, depth to top of rupture plane, source‐to‐site distance, site characteristics, and directivity parameters). The correlation coefficients between the model parameters are also estimated. For a given earthquake scenario, the probability of occurrence of a directivity pulse is first computed; pulse‐like and non‐pulse‐like motions are then simulated according to the predicted proportions using the empirical predictive models. The resulting time series are realistic and reproduce important features of recorded near‐fault ground motions, including the natural variability. Moreover, the statistics of their elastic response spectra agree with those of the NGA‐West2 dataset, with the additional feature of distinguishing between pulse‐like and non‐pulse‐like cases and between forward and backward directivity scenarios. The synthetic motions can be used in addition to or in place of recorded motions in performance‐based earthquake engineering, particularly when recorded motions are scarce.     

Minimal‐disturbance seismic rehabilitation of steel moment‐resisting frames using light‐weight steel elements

This paper presents a rehabilitation technique developed under a design and construction scheme, termed minimal‐disturbance seismic rehabilitation. This scheme pursues enhancing the seismic performance of buildings with the intention of improving the continuity of business while minimizing obstruction of the visual and physical space of building users and the use of heavy construction equipment and hot work (welding/cutting). The developed rehabilitation technique consists of light‐weight steel elements and aims to decrease demands to beam‐ends of steel moment‐resisting frames. The behavior of the baseline model was verified through numerical analysis and proof‐of‐concept testing. Furthermore, the effectiveness of rehabilitation is studied through retrofitting a four‐story steel moment‐resisting frame originally designed with Japanese design guidelines. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inelastic displacement ratio of near‐source pulse‐like ground motions

Near‐source pulse‐like records resulting from rupture's directivity have been found to depart from so‐called ordinary ground motions in terms of both elastic and inelastic structural seismic demands. In fact, response spectra may be strong if compared with what is expected from common ground motion prediction equations. Moreover, because not all spectral ordinates are affected uniformly, a peculiar spectral shape, with an especially amplified region depending on the pulse period, may follow. Consequently, inelastic seismic demand may show trends different to records not identified as pulse‐like (i.e., ordinary). This latter aspect is addressed in the study reported in this short communication, where a relatively large dataset of identified impulsive near‐source records is used to derive an analytical‐form relationship for the inelastic displacement ratio. It is found that, similar to what was proposed in literature for soft soil sites, a double‐opposite‐bumps form is required to match the empirical data as a function of the structural period over the pulse period ratio. The relationship builds consistently on previous studies on the topic, yet displays different shape with respect to the most common equations for static structural assessment procedures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the inelastic torsional response of single‐storey structures under bi‐axial excitation

An attempt has been made to explore the general trends in the seismic response of plan‐asymmetric structures without any restrictions imposed by a particular code. Systems with structural elements in both orthogonal directions under bi‐directional excitation were studied. Idealized single‐storey models with bi‐axial eccentricity were employed. The systems were torsionally stiff and, in the majority of cases, mass‐eccentric. The main findings are: in general, inelastic torsional response is qualitatively similar to elastic torsional response. Quantitatively, the torsional effect on the flexible side, expressed as an increase of displacements due to torsion, decreases slightly with increasing plastic deformation, unless the plastic deformations are small. The response on the stiff side generally strongly depends on the effect of several modes of vibration and on the influence of the ground motion in the transverse direction. These influences depend on the structural and ground motion characteristics in both directions. Reduction of displacements due to torsion, typical for elastic torsionally stiff structures, usually decreases with increasing plastic deformations. As an additional effect of large plastic deformations, a flattening of the displacement envelopes in the horizontal plane usually occurs, indicating that torsional effects in the inelastic range are generally smaller than in the elastic range. The dispersion of the results of inelastic torsional response analysis is generally larger than that of elastic analysis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of base motion in instrumented steel buildings using output‐only system identification

A procedure to estimate the seismic motion at the base of a building from measured acceleration response at two or more floors is presented. The proposed method is comprised of two steps. In the first step, the dynamic characteristics of the building are inferred by using an output‐only system identification procedure. In the second step, the motion of the base of the building is estimated by using the transfer function of a simplified building model consisting of a shear and flexural continuous beam together with dynamic properties obtained in the first step. The proposed method is validated first with an analytical model subjected to the 1940 El Centro ground motion and then with an instrumented building in California that experienced the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and the ground motions at the base of the building are available. It is shown that the proposed method is capable of providing very good estimates of the motion at the base. The use of the proposed method is finally illustrated on an instrumented building, where the sensor at the base of the building did not function during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Near‐collapse response of existing RC building under severe pulse‐type ground motion using hybrid simulation

Column shear‐axial failure is a complex response, which lends itself to physical experimentation. Reinforced concrete structures built prior to the mid‐1970s are particularly susceptible to such failure. Shear‐axial column failure has been examined and studied at the element level, but current rehabilitation practice equates such a column failure with structural collapse, neglecting the collapse resistance of the full structural system following column failure. This system‐level response can prevent a column failure from leading to progressive collapse of the entire structure. In this study, a hybrid simulation was conducted on a representative pre‐1970s reinforced concrete frame structure under severe seismic ground motion, in which three full‐scale reinforced concrete columns were tested at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. The analytical portion of the model was represented in the computer program OpenSees. Failure occurred in multiple physical specimens as a result of the ground motion, and the hybrid nature of the test allowed for observation of the system‐level response of the tested columns and the remaining structural system. The behavior of the system accounting for multiple column shear‐axial failure is discussed and characterized. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of ground motion selection methods on seismic collapse fragility of RC frame buildings

Variation in the seismic collapse fragility of reinforced concrete frame buildings predicted using different ground motion (GM) selection methods is investigated in this paper. To simulate the structural collapse, a fiber‐element modelling approach with path‐dependent cyclic nonlinear material models that account for concrete confinement and crushing, reinforcement buckling as well as low cycle fatigue is used. The adopted fiber analysis approach has been found to reliably predict the loss in vertical load carrying capacity of structural components in addition to the sidesway mode of collapse due to destabilizing P–Δ moments at large inelastic deflections. Multiple stripe analysis is performed by conducting response history analyses at various hazard levels to generate the collapse fragility curves. To select GMs at various hazard levels, two alternatives of uniform hazard spectrum (UHS), conditional mean spectrum (CMS) and generalized conditional intensity measure (GCIM) are used. Collapse analyses are repeated based on structural periods corresponding to initial un‐cracked stiffness and cracked stiffness of the frame members. A return period‐based intensity measure is then introduced and applied in estimating collapse fragility of frame buildings. In line with the results of previous research, it is shown that the choice of structural period significantly affects the collapse fragility predictions. Among the GM selection methods used in this study, GCIM and CMS methods predict similar collapse fragilities for the case study building investigated herein, and UHS provides the most conservative prediction of the collapse capacity, with approximately 40% smaller median collapse capacity compared to the CMS method. The results confirm that collapse probability prediction of buildings using UHS offers a higher level of conservatism in comparison to the other selection methods. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.