When a structural element is acted upon by axial compressive force simultaneously with bending, the design must consider the effect of combined bending and compression. Hence, the structure should be designed with the consideration of bending moment in order to provide the enough design strength to the member. The main objective of this thesis is to compare the effect of interaction of flexural moment and axial compressive force on the regular column of the steel moment frame with the same column when cantilever section is introduced into the frame as the loading is kept constant in all three cases. In this work, STAAD is used to determine the required variables such as axial forces, bending moments and deformations in all the cases, and those values are used in approximate second order analysis for the further analysis of special steel moment frame. The calculated values are then plugged into the design interaction equation for combined flexure and compression as given by AISC Steel Construction Manual (2011) to check the criticality of the moment frame. The result of the analysis indicates that the regular frame model has higher demand of capacity ratio in design of columns than the one with cantilever projection.

Inelastic design methods have been used in seismic design for several years and are well accepted in engineering practice. In contrast, an inelastic wind design method is yet to be developed, in part due to the inherent differences between seismic forces and wind forces. Current wind design practice follows a linear method to find a design windspeed for the location where the structure will be built. Once the design windspeed has been determined, the lateral force resisting system is designed such that it will behave elastically. This study was conducted with the hypothesis that by providing ductility at the material level, member level, and system level it may be possible to use a reduced design force for wind (i.e., a design force reduction that is proportional to a wind response modification factor). A three-story office building that uses steel moment frames as the primary lateral force resisting system was examined to test the hypothesis. Various levels of ductility were included based on ductility requirements for material strength, section stability and system stability originally developed for seismic design. Moment frames were designed for a range of design windspeeds and for three levels of ductility. For each design windspeed, a non-ductile (representing the moment frame as it would be designed by current standards), moderately-ductile and highly-ductile moment frame were developed. A finite element model of the building was made to capture inelastic material behavior and large displacements. The finite element model was subjected to wind loads based on wind tunnel tests data, and the static pushover, vibration, and dynamic responses of the building were evaluated. The performance of each moderately-ductile and highly-ductile moment frame was compared to the performance of each non-ductile frame of a higher design windspeed. The results show that for moderately-ductile moment frames, a wind response modification factor equal to 2 provided a collapse capacity that met or exceeded the collapse capacity of the comparative nonductile moment frame. For highly-ductile moment frames, a wind response modification factor equal to 3 met or exceeded the collapse capacity of the comparative non-ductile moment frame. In many instances, the collapse capacity of the moderately-ductile moment frame was similar to the collapse capacity of the highly-ductile moment frame. Thus, the results indicate that the use of a response modification factor for wind may be viable.

Master of Science / Architectural Engineering and Construction Science / Donald J. Phillippi / Special steel moment frames are one of the most common systems used to resist high seismic forces. Well-proportioned moment resisting connections are essential. Special steel moment frame connections must be capable of transferring moment and shear forces that are developed in the beams to the column. These connections must be designed as a highly ductile element in order to dissipate extensive energy thus undergo inelastic deformations. Doubler plates and continuity plates have been recommended by several design codes and standards in order to strengthen the column web and prevent the inelastic deformation of the panel zone due to high shear stress concentrations. However, doubler plates and continuity plates are very expensive due to the large amount of detailing and welding requirements. Furthermore, the extensive welding may affect the properties of the steel in which it may cause shrinkage, lower potential notch toughness and cracking. In any of these cases, there is high potential of losing the desirable inelastic performance required for these SMF. This report investigates the design of the special steel moment frame connections thus eliminating the use of doubler and continuity plates in these connections. Tables are provided that show all steel W-Shape beam sizes with all the adequate steel W-Shape column sizes used in special steel moment frames without the use of doubler and continuity plates in frame connections.

During seismic events, inefficient steel moment frame building systems may exhibit soft-story failures. This thesis focuses on development and validation of a seismic retrofit strategy for avoiding soft-story failures in low-rise and mid-rise steel moment frame buildings. The considered retrofit strategy consists of a sufficiently stiff Rocking Core (RC) pinned to the foundation and pin connected to the existing frame. For demonstration purposes, two representative benchmark steel moment frames, which are modified from the three- and nine-story pre-Northridge steel moment frames designed for Los Angeles in the SAC Steel Project, are considered. Finite Element (FE) models of the benchmark buildings are developed with consideration of member yielding, connection rupture, and P-Delta effect, and validated using published results. Eigenvalue analyses are conducted to investigate the effect of the RC on system modal properties. It is found that in general the added RC with practical stiffness value does not significantly change the fundamental period and therefore does not attract excessive earthquake force to the system. In addition, nonlinear static pushover analyses are performed to address the beneficial contribution of the RC to the system under the performance objectives including immediate occupancy, life safety, and collapse prevention. The Monte-Carlo simulation technique is used to generate the random lateral force distribution required in the nonlinear static pushover analysis. It is found that RC works as expected in all considered scenarios and creates more uniform inter-story distribution along the vertical direction when it is sufficiently stiff. Furthermore, nonlinear dynamic analyses are conducted using three different ground motion suites (including two suites with ground motions having probabilities of exceedance of 2% and 10% in 50 years, and one suite with near-fault ground motions). It is shown that the systems with properly selected RC can achieve the Best Safety Objective defined in FEMA 356 and exhibit collapse prevention performance under near-fault earthquakes.

Design optimization of structures has become an important method to study and develop these days. Due to the fact that the world's population is increasing, and the worlds' resources are decreasing. An optimum design algorithm is a useful tool that can help to minimize the weight of a structure. Over the last four decades, several number of algorithms have been developed to solve engineering optimization problems, for example, metaheuristic algorithms. An example of metaheuristic algorithms is the Harmony Search algorithm (HS). HS algorithms make use of the analogy between the performance process of natural music and searching for solutions to optimization problems. In this research, the HS was applied on the College of Engineering Building at Temple University Main Campus in Philadelphia, PA. The HS algorithm searches for minimum cross-sectional areas that leads to find optimal steel sizes considering design constrains such as: stress, deflection, and lateral displacement limitations. The HS algorithm obtained lighter weight of steel frames by selecting a suitable steel section from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and by following the specification of Allowable Stress Design method (ASD). The results show that HS yielded lighter steel moment frames with approximately 20% weight reduction. Keywords: Harmony Search Algorithm, Steel Moment Frame, Optimization. / Civil Engineering

Composite construction is widely used worldwide and is undergoing significant technological development. New Zealand is part of this development, with new beam options incorporating multiple unstiffened web openings and new deck profiles supported by extensive testing. However, one area where relatively little research has been undertaken is in the interaction of the composite slab with the seismic resisting system under lateral loading. In order to provide important new information in this area, a series of full scale beam-column-joint-slab subassemblies were tested at the University of Canterbury. Specimens tested had moment end plate connections and different combinations of deck tray direction, and isolation of the slab from the column. An additional test uses a sliding-hinge type connection to assess the effect of the floor slab in this type of low damage connection. In these tests the lateral capacity of the seismic resisting system was increased by up to 25% due to the presence of the slab in contact with the column. The increase in capacity is 10% greater for decking running in longitudinal direction than in the transverse direction as a result of a more substantial full depth slab bearing on the column. The floor slabs of the subassemblies with the slab cast against the column all showed a higher level of damage than for those with the isolated column and the post ultimate strength degradation of the subassemblies without special detailing was significant. The subassembly with a section of full depth slab surrounding the column also exhibited a higher capacity but with an improved post ultimate strength degradation. All moment end plate subassemblies sustained drifts of up to 5% without significant strength loss. The sliding hinge joint showed little signs of damage under testing to 5% drift. Some inelastic deformation of the connection and beams was noted above 5% drift. Results from both testing and numerical modelling have shown that the current methods used to design these systems are conservative but within 15% of the values observed. Further testing and modelling will be necessary before any meaningful changes can be made to the way in which these systems are designed. Recommendations have been made regarding the placements of shear studs in plastic hinge zones and the provision of slab isolation around beam-column connections.

A three-phase numerical study was undertaken to address some design issues related with special truss moment frames (STMFs). In the first phase, the design approaches for distribution of shear strength among stories were examined. Multistory STMFs sized based on elastic and inelastic behavior were evaluated from a performance point of view. A set of time history analysis was conducted to investigate performance parameters such as the interstory drift ratio and the plastic rotation at chord member ends. The results of the analysis reveal that the maximum interstory drifts are not significantly influenced by the adopted design philosophy while considerable differences are observed for plastic rotations. In the second phase, the expected shear strength at vierendeel openings was studied through three dimensional finite element modeling. The results from finite element analysis reveal that the expected shear strength formulation presented in the AISC Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings is overly conservative. Based on the analysis results, an expected shear strength formula was developed and is presented herein. In the third phase, the effects of the load share and slenderness of X-diagonals in the special segment on the performance of the system were evaluated. Lateral drift, curvature at chord member ends, axial strain at X-diagonals and base shear were the investigated parameters obtained from a set of time history analysis. The results illustrate that as the load share of X-diagonals increases, the deformations decreases. Moreover, the slenderness of X-diagonals is not significantly effective on the system performance.

Symmetrical steel moment frames that are subjected to sidesway forces due to unsymmetrical live loads will undergo sidesway. The P-delta effects on a moment frame under the influence of sidesway forces is studied. The effective length method is used for the second-order analysis specified in the American Institute Steel Construction - Load and Resistance Factor Design (AISC-LRFD). This study investigates the P-delta effects on a multi-story, multi-bay steel moment frame subjected to sidesway forces caused by various unsymmetrical live load patterns. The study focuses on the interaction of axial and bending moment in the columns. The actual response of a moment frame is estimated by amplifying the results of a first-order elastic analysis using moment magnification factors. The moment magnification factors for each story of the steel moment frame are summarized.

It was not thought that there would be some major flaws in the design of widely used steel moment frames until the Northridge Earthquake hit the California on January 17, 1994. Until then, steel moment frames were practiced as the most ductile system and were used in buildings from few stories to skyscrapers. The heavy devastation from Northridge Earthquake was an alarm for all the people related to the design and construction of such structures and pushed everybody to act fast to find some possible solutions to such never-expected-problems. Following the earthquake, FEMA entered into a cooperative agreement with the SAC joint venture in order to get a transparent picture of the problems in the seismic performance of steel moment frames and to come up with suitable recommendations. The research was specifically done to address the following things: to inspect the earthquake-affected buildings in order to determine the damage incurred in the buildings, to find out ways to repair the damaged buildings and upgrade the performance of existing buildings, and to modify the design of new buildings in order to make them more reliable for seismic performance. Among the various new design suggestions, the Reduced Beam Section (RBS) connection has been one of the most efficient and reliable option for high ductility demands. The purpose of this research was to study the behavior of concrete slabs in the performance of steel moment frames with reduced beam sections based on ductility, strength and stiffness. The slab is an integral part of a building. It is always wiser to consider the slab in order to assess accurately the seismic behavior of a building under the earthquake loading. In this research, two sets of finite element models were analyzed. Each set had one bare steel moment frame and one concrete slab frame which acted as a composite section. The connections were designed using the AISC Seismic Design manual (AISC 2012). The finite element modeling was done using NISA DISPLAY-IV (NISA 2010). All the models, with and without the slab were analyzed under the same boundary conditions and loads. Both non-linear and linear analyses were performed. The results from non-linear analysis were used to compare the ductility and strength whereas linear analysis results were used to compare the stiffness between bare steel and composite frame models.

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