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.

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.

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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When a structure undergoes seismic excitation, the intensities and spatial distributions of the reactive weights on the structure may not be the same as those assumed in original design. Such a difference is inevitable due to many facts with the random nature (e.g., redistribution of live load), resulting in accidental eccentricity and consequently torsional response in the system. The added torsion can cause excessive deformation and premature failure of the lateral force resisting system and its detrimental effect is typically accounted for in most building design codes with an arbitrarily specified accidental eccentricity value. While it tends to amplify drift response of buildings under earthquake excitations, it is unclear whether the code specified accidental eccentricity is quantitatively adequate or not in seismic fragility assessment of steel moment frames (including low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise frames) with random reactive weight distributions. This thesis applies surveyed dead and live load intensities and distributions to three representative steel moment resisting frame structures that have been widely investigated in a series of projects under the collaboration of the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC), the Applied Technology Council (ATC), and Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE), known as SAC. Based on an extensive parametric study and incremental nonlinear dynamic analyses, it is found that variable load intensity and eccentricity had negligible impacts on the inter-story drifts of the low- and high-rise steel moment frames. However, they affect to a higher degree the performance of the mid-rise steel moment frames. Moreover, it is found that under the maximum considered earthquake (MCE) event, the actual drifts in steel moment frames with random reactive weight distributions can be conservatively captured through consideration of the code specified accidental eccentricities.

Traditionally, earthquake engineering has focused on protecting the lives of building occupants by utilizing inelasticity in structural members and connections to dissipate seismic energy and provide protection against collapse. This design concept is partially based on the equal displacement concept, which states that peak drifts for an inelastic system will be approximately equal to the peak drifts of an elastic system with the same initial stiffness for a given dynamic loading. This is a concept that has been shown to work for structures with natural period greater than about 1.0 seconds, but does not hold true for shorter period structures. An additional consequence of this design methodology is that conventional seismic systems do not explicitly limit the amount of structural damage, or offer a repair method that allows continued use of a structure after an earthquake. In fact, the structural damage distributed throughout a building and permanent residual drifts can make a conventional structure difficult if not financially unreasonable to repair after a large earthquake. These are both concerns facing the seismic design community that are investigated as a part of this thesis. First, a computational study was conducted on short period structural systems to investigate the relationship between initial structural period and collapse potential. The investigation utilizes a statistically based analysis methodology to investigate a study of single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems with periods between 0.1 seconds and 1.0 seconds. The SDOF models were developed using an elastic-linear hardening model with post-yield stiffness ranging between -10% and +10% of the initial stiffness. This part of the study was done to gain a general understanding of the influence of natural period and post-yield behavior on the collapse performance of structural systems and appropriate response modification factors. Next, a study of multi-degree of freedom (MDOF) masonry structures with short periods was conducted to examine how the SDOF trends translated to realistic MDOF structures. Based on these two studies, recommendations were made for how current U.S. building codes could be modified to account for the behavior of short period structures. Next, a new self-centering system that builds on the concepts of previous self-centering systems is developed. The self-centering truss moment frame (SC-TMF) was developed with the goal of providing self-centering capability while concentrating inelastic deformation in replaceable structural fuses. These goals are accomplished while mitigating a number of issues seen in other self-centering systems, such as deformation incompatibility with gravity framing, limited deformation capacity, and unusual field construction techniques. The development of the SC-TMF includes a set of preliminary monotonic pushover analyses and nonlinear time history analyses to confirm the expected behavior of the system. Next, a mechanics investigation was undertaken where static pushover analyses (monotonic and cyclic) were used to help derive equations to predict system behavior, such as strength and stiffness. Finally, a parametric study was conducted to gain a better understanding of how various design decisions influence structural behavior. It was shown that the SC-TMF was a viable seismic system for controlling residual drifts and concentrating inelasticity in replaceable fuse elements while mitigating the issues seen in other conventional self-centering systems. / Master of Science