Seismic design of steel buildings: relating component- and system-level ductility

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Over the last few years, the calamitous potential of earthquakes on urban areas has been demonstrated in several countries, including Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan. To avoid catastrophic building collapse, all modern buildings must be designed to resist earthquakes, with the magnitude of earthquake loads varying according to the seismicity of the building location. Even in regions of Canada that are not often thought of as seismically active, earthquake loads typically dominate the design of lateral load resisting systems. Arup helps their clients prepare for earthquakes by conducting seismic design and assessment of structures. Modern seismic design and assessment is based on ensuring that there is enough system-level ductility that a structure can withstand the earthquake-imposed deformations without collapse. The assumption is typically that this system-level ductility can be assured only by designing all components of the lateral load resisting system for the same level of ductility. However, it is expected that safety could be maintained or enhanced, while simultaneously maintaining or reducing construction costs, by tailoring the requirements for component-level ductility to the varying demands in different regions of a structure. This Engage project will help Arup to understand what component-level ductility is required to maintain or enhance system-level ductility.