PERFORMANCE DETERIORATION OF SLOTTED-BOLTED CONNECTION DUE TO BOLT IMPACT AND REMEDY BY RESTRAINERS
The behaviour of slotted-bolted connections when the maximum slip travel exceed the available slot length is presented. The drastic degradation behaviour of slotted-bolted connections under bolt impact is demonstrated. Remedy by means of the concept of restrainers is proposed, which is also advantageous in suppressing the build-up of resonance motion by virtue of the change in system stiffness at different stages. Nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed on a prototype 6-storey steel building equipped with friction dampers with and without restrainers. Three historical earthquake records from California, i.e. the 1989 Loma Prieta, the 1966 Parkfield, and the 1940 El Centro records, were considered in the analyses. In the worst loading case, dampers with restrainers are superior to that without restrainers, resulting in reduction of the peak inter-storey drift by 16% and the peak slip travel by 15%. The shorter slip travel obviously provides extra safety to the system. Increasing the maximum restraining force is generally beneficial in reducing the peak inter-storey drift. However for steel bracings, the restraining force limit should be kept sufficiently below the buckling capacity to avoid buckling of the bracings. Furthermore, a higher restraining force would induce higher storey base shear. Hence, the adequacy of the foundation has to be properly addressed as well in retrofitting of buildings.
Performance Evaluation of Passive Damping Systems for the Seismic Retrofit of Steel Moment-Resisting Frames Subjected to Near-Field Ground Motions
Passive friction and viscous damping systems for retrofitting steel moment-resisting frames located along the west coast of the United States are considered. First, preliminary design procedures are presented for friction as well as linear and nonlinear viscous damping systems. Thereafter, nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed on a six-story moment-resisting frame designed according to seismic provisions for California prior to the 1994 Northridge earthquake. A flexural strength degradation model is considered to account for the brittle behavior of pre-Northridge welded beam-to-column connections. The structure was subjected to three different earthquake ensembles including near-field records developed for major crustal earthquakes in California. The results of a parametric study indicate that, although both friction and viscous damping systems reduce significantly the response of the structure, they are unable by themselves to prevent fracture of welded beam-to-column joints. Connection retrofit measures of the types elaborated after the Northridge earthquake would still be required.
Safety of structural systems with reserve elements for earthquake protection
Some results of approximate analyses of the safety of earthquake protection systems with reserve elements are presented. Systems with one and several reserve elements are considered. The overshoot random vibration approximation is used for analysis. A numerical example is given. It is shown that the failure probability of structures with reserve elements is considerably lower and the safety is much higher when compared with similar characteristics of structures without reserve elements.