Effect of base‐connection design on residual drifts of seismically designed steel moment‐resisting frames

Abstract

The present paper reports the results of the preliminary study geared towards investigating the effects of base‐connection design on residual drifts and prospective repairability assessment of seismically designed steel moment‐resisting frames (MRFs). To assess these implications, a single 4‐story steel MRF with four different base strength levels is considered in this study. Firstly, linear elastic (static) simulations are performed in order to design the frame (i.e., members and connections) based on the current guidelines and building codes effective in the United States. Then, using the state‐of‐the‐art guidelines for the nonlinear numerical modeling of steel frame buildings, detailed computational model of the designed steel MRF is developed using the OpenSees platform. Finally, four simulation models (i.e., 4‐story frame with four different base strength levels) are subjected to a total of 22 site‐specific ground motions scaled to represent the maximum considered earthquake event. Finally, residual drift ratios are recovered and prospective repairability assessment is performed. The paper concludes by examining the results, discussing potential design implications, and summarizing the limitations of this work.