The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

A preliminary study on energy dissipating cladding-to-frame connections

Cohen, Julie Mark; Powell, Graham H.

UCB/EERC-91/09, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1991-09-01, 80 pages (520/C63/1991)

This preliminary study was conducted for application to seismic-resistant design. The study identifies several issues involved in the modeling and analysis of frames with energy-dissipating cladding-to-frame connections, establishes concepts for design, and provides a preliminary assessment of the force and deformation demands that are likely to be placed on panels and connections. Four hypothetical steel frames are considered: an unclad reference frame designed for 100 percent of the strength and stiffness requirements of the 1991 Uniform Building Code (UBC), without any contribution from the cladding, and three frames designed according to varying percentages under those requirements, with cladding-to-frame connections. Nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed to explore the effects of employing energy-dissipating devices as cladding-to-frame connections. The results are discussed.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-91-09.pdf (4 MB)