During an earthquake, columns in a one-story building must support vertical gravity loads while undergoing large lateral drifts associated with deflections of the vertical seismic force resisting system and deflections of the flexible roof diaphragm. Analyzing the behavior of these gravity columns is complex since not only is there an interaction between compression and bending, but also the boundary conditions are not perfectly pinned or fixed. In this research, the behavior of steel columns that are square hollow structural sections (HSS) is investigated for stability using three design methods: elastic design, plastic hinge design, and pinned base design. First, for elastic design, the compression and flexural strength of the HSS columns are calculated according to the AISC specifications, and the story drift ratio that causes the interaction equation to be violated for varying axial force demands is examined. Then, a simplified design procedure is proposed; this procedure includes a modified interaction equation applicable to HSS column design based on a parameter, Pnh/Mn, and a set of design charts are provided. Second, a plastic hinge design is grounded in the concept that a stable plastic hinge makes the column continue to resist the gravity load while undergoing large drifts. Based on the available test data and the analytical results from finite element models, three limits on the width to thickness ratios are developed for steel square HSS columns. Lastly, for pinned base design, the detailing of a column base connection is schematically described. Using FE modeling, it is shown that it is possible to create rotational stiffness below a limit such that negligible moment develops at the column base. All the design methods are demonstrated with a design example / Master of Science / One-story buildings are one of the most economical types of structures built for industrial, commercial, or recreational use. During an earthquake, columns in a one-story building must support vertical gravity loads while undergoing large lateral displacements, referred to as story drift. Vertical loads cause compression forces, and lateral drifts produce bending moments. The interaction between these forces makes it more complex to analyze the behavior of these gravity columns. Moreover, since the column base is not perfectly fixed to the ground, there are many boundary conditions applicable to the column base depending on the fixity condition. For these reasons, the design for columns subjected to lateral drifts while supporting axial compressive forces has been a growing interest of researchers in the field. However, many researchers have focused more on wide-flange section (I-shape) steel columns rather than on tube section columns, known as hollow structural section (HSS) steel columns. In this research, the behavior of steel square tube section columns is investigated for stability using three design methods: elastic design, plastic hinge design, and pinned base design. First, for elastic design, the compression and flexural strength of the HSS columns are calculated according to current code equations, and the story drift that causes failure for varying axial force demands is examined. Then, a simplified design procedure is proposed including design charts. Second, a plastic hinge design is grounded in the concept that controlled yielding at the column base makes the column continue to resist the gravity load while undergoing large drifts. Based on the available test data and results from computational models, three limits on the width to thickness ratios of the tubes are developed. Lastly, for pinned base design, concepts for detailing a column base connection with negligible bending resistance is schematically described. Using a computational model, it is shown that the column base can be detailed to be sufficiently flexible to allow rotation. All the design methods are demonstrated with a design example.

Thesis (MScEng (Civil Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Reinforced concrete structures, designed according to proper capacity design guidelines, can deform inelastically without loss of strength. Therefore, such structures need not be designed for full elastic seismic demand, but could be designed for a reduced demand. In codified design procedures this reduced demand is obtained by dividing the full elastic seismic demand by a code-defined behaviour factor. There is however not any consensus in the international community regarding the appropriate value to be assigned to the behaviour factor. This is evident in the wide range of behaviour factor values specified by international design codes. The purpose of this study is to assess the seismic drift of reinforced concrete structural walls in order to evaluate the current value of the behaviour factor prescribed by SANS 10160-4 (2009). This is done by comparing displacement demand to displacement capacity for a series of structural walls. Displacement demand is calculated according to equivalency principles (equal displacement principle and equal energy principle) and verified by means of a series of inelastic time history analyses (ITHA). In the application of the equivalency rules the fundamental periods of the structural walls were based on cracked sectional stiffness from moment-curvature analyses. Displacement capacity is defined by seismic design codes in terms of inter storey drift limits, with the purpose of preventing non-structural damage in building structures. In this study both the displacement demand and displacement capacity were converted to ductility to enable comparison. The first step in seismic force-based design is the estimation of the fundamental period of the structure. The influence of this first crucial step is investigated in this study by considering two period estimation methods. Firstly, the fundamental period may be calculated from an equation provided by the design code which depends on the height of the building. This equation is known to overestimate acceleration demand, and underestimate displacement demand. The second period estimation method involves an iterative procedure where the stiffness of the structure is based on the cracked sectional stiffness obtained from moment-curvature analysis. This method provides a more realistic estimate of the fundamental period of structures, but due to its iterative nature it is not often applied in design practice. It was found that, regardless of the design method, the current behaviour factor value prescribed in SANS 10160-4 (2010) is adequate to ensure that inter storey drift of structural walls would not exceed code-defined drift limits. Negligible difference between the equivalency principles and ITHA was observed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gewapende beton strukture wat ontwerp is volgens goeie kapasiteitsontwerp-riglyne kan plasties vervorm sonder verlies aan sterkte. Gevolglik hoef hierdie strukture nie vir die volle elastiese seismiese aanvraag ontwerp te word nie, maar kan vir 'n verminderde aanvraag ontwerp word. In gekodifiseerde ontwerpriglyne word so 'n verminderde aanvraag verkry deur die volle elastiese aanvraag te deel deur 'n kode-gedefinieerde gedragsfaktor. Wat egter duidelik blyk uit die wye reeks van gedragsfaktor waardes in internasionale ontwerp kodes, is dat daar geen konsensus bestaan in die internasionale gemeenskap met betrekking tot die geskikte waarde van die gedragsfaktor nie. Die doel van hierdie studie is om seismiese verplasing van gewapende beton skuifmure te evalueer ten einde die waarde van die gedragsfaktor wat tans deur SANS 10160-4 (2009) voorgeskryf word te assesseer. Dit word gedoen deur verplasingsaanvraag te vergelyk met verplasingskapasiteit. In hierdie studie word verplasingsaanvraag bereken deur middel van gelykheidsbeginsels (gelyke verplasingsbeginsel en gelyke energiebeginsel) en bevestig deur middel van nie-elastiese tydsgeskiedenis analises (NTGA). Die effek van versagting as gevolg van nie-elastiese gedrag word in aanmerking geneem in die toepassing van die gelykheidsbeginsels. Verplasingskapasiteit word deur seismiese ontwerpkodes gedefinieer deur perke te stel op die relatiewe laterale beweging tussen verdiepings, met die doel om nie-strukturele skade te verhoed. Om verplasingsaanvraag en -kapasiteit te vergelyk in hierdie studie, word beide omgeskakel na verplasingsduktiliteit. Die eerste stap in kraggebaseerde seismiese ontwerp is om die fundamentele periode te beraam. Die invloed van hierdie eerste kritiese stap word in hierdie studie aangespreek deur twee periodeberamingsmetodes te ondersoek. Eerstens kan die fundamentele periode bereken word deur 'n vergelyking wat 'n funksie is van die hoogte van die gebou. Dit is egter algemeen bekend dat hierdie vergelyking versnellingsaanvraag oorskat en verplasingsaanvraag onderskat. Die tweede metode behels 'n iteratiewe prosedure waar die styfheid van die struktuur gebaseer word op die gekraakte snit eienskappe, verkry vanaf 'n moment-krommingsanalise. 'n Beter beraming van die fundamentele periode word verkry deur hierdie metode, maar as gevolg van die iteratiewe aard van die metode word dit selde toegepas in ontwerppraktyk. Die resultate van hierdie studie toon dat die huidige waarde van die gedragfaktor soos voorgeskryf in SANS 10160-4 (2010) geskik is om te verseker dat die relatiewe laterale beweging tussen verdiepings binne kode-gedefinieerde perke sal bly. Onbeduidende verskil is waargeneem tussen die resultate van gelykheidsbeginsels en NTGA.