Seismic Assessment of the DREAMERS Building Prototype

Supplementary dissipative devices are viable solutions to enhance the seismic response of building structures. In particular, friction devices are low-cost and easy-to-maintain systems that can be easily inserted into moment-resisting beam-to-column joints of steel moment-resisting frames (MRFs). The effectiveness of dissipative friction joints has been widely demonstrated in many research projects. In Europe, the first building equipped with such devices will be fabricated in Italy within the framework of the ongoing RFCS DREAMERS project. The preliminary seismic assessment of this prototype building using the framework of performance-based earthquake engineering method at different performance levels is summarized in the present paper. To this end, nonlinear dynamic analyses are carried out on three-dimensional (3-D) models of the prototype developed in “OpenSees”. The results show that this type of structure can be free of damage under earthquakes corresponding to significant damage and near collapse limit states.