Hybrid Simulation of the Seismic Response of a Steel Moment Frame Building Structure through Collapse

Keywords: hybrid simulation, collapse assessment, steel moment frames, steel gravity frames, integration methods, substructuring technique

Abstract: This report presents two series of hybrid simulations examining the seismic response of a four-story steel moment frame building structure in an effort to realistically capture system-level behavior through collapse. In the first series of tests, a half-scale 1½-bay by 1½-story physical substructure of a special moment resisting frame is considered, while in the second series the physical substructure corresponds to the gravity framing system with a similar-sized specimen. An objective of this work is to demonstrate the efficacy of hybrid simulation with substructuring as a cost-effective alternative to earthquake simulators for large-scale system-level testing of structural frame subassemblies. More specifically, the performance of a newly-developed substructuring technique and integration method for hybrid simulation are evaluated since these can be greatly challenged when used with large and complex numerical substructures exhibiting large levels of nonlinear response. The test method was found to be reliable and to provide significant insight into experimental behavior of structural subassemblies under realistic seismic loading.