Seismic Performance of a Resilient Controlled Multiple-Rocking-Column Steel Frame System

Inspired by the rocking and energy dissipation mechanisms of ancient timber structures, a controlled multiple-rocking-column steel frame (MRCSF) system was proposed. It mainly consists of continuous beams, segmented columns and self-centering rocking friction connections. Asymmetric friction connections (AFCs) are employed at the beam-column and column base joints to dissipate energy. Self-centering forces are mainly provided by the gravity load of the column and the compression force of springs at the joints. A 1/3 scaled three-story MRCSF model was designed, fabricated and tested on a shaking table. Test results indicated that the MRCSF system presents excellent seismic resilience with negligible residual displacement and structural damage. To further investigate the feasibility of MRCSF in practical engineering, a full-scale three-story MRCSF is conducted as a part of the RObust BUilding SysTem (ROBUST) collaborative China-New Zealand project. A short overview of the test setup was provided in this paper.