Sustainable Earthquake-Resisting System

Abstract

A new design philosophy that leads to efficient earthquake-resisting systems is presented. Commercially available technologies are used to propose an archetype that is capable of damage control, elimination or reduction of residual stresses, collapse prevention (CP), and postearthquake realignment and repairs (PERR). The new approach was inspired by the current state of knowledge and the need to develop sustainable earthquake-resisting systems. As a result, design-led analysis (DLA) was synthesized to develop repairable, earthquake-resistant rocking wall-moment frames (RWMFs). DLA is a displacement-based method of approach with built-in results. Explicit conditions for structural sustainability, CP, and PERR have been developed. The proposed formulae embrace the entire spectrum of seismic response, starting from zero loading to incipient collapse and from incipient collapse to full recovery. A number of generic details have been developed to support the expected performances. The proposed solutions are exact within the bounds of the theoretical assumptions and are ideally suited for preliminary design purposes.