Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) in buildings are known to be an effective means for resisting lateral forces. By using un-stiffened walls and allowing them to buckle, their energy absorption capacity will increase significantly due to the postbuckling capacity. The post-buckling tension field action of SPSWs can provide substantial strength, stiffness and ductility. This paper presents the Fini...

The reinforcing bar deformation patterns currently used in the U.S. were established over 45 years ago. In the interim, material properties and design procedures have changed, resulting in more congested reinforcement, the use of higher strength materials, and the application of coatings to provide corrosion protection. Based on an improved understanding of the interaction between reinforcing s...

BACKGROUND The indoor built environment has the potential to influence levels of physical activity. However, the extent to which architectural design in commercial buildings can influence the percentage of people choosing to use the stairs versus elevators is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if buildings with centrally located, accessible, and aesthetically pleasing staircase...

Disproportionate collapse analysis aims to assure that frames, a common structural system of buildings, can survive unforeseen local events and a central modeling tool of such abnormal deterioration is the concept of column loss. This paper formulates an appropriate computational model on the basis of mathematical optimization, using the collapse load analysis problem of steel frames with pre-e...

latticed columns are frequently used in industrial steel structures. in some countries these built-up columns might be even used in other types of steel structures such as residential and commercial buildings. besides, latticed columns are parts of skeletons of many historic buildings all around the world. to analyze a steel structure with latticed columns a more accurate numerical model for su...

This study introduces applications of structural topology optimization to buildings and civil engineering structures. Topology optimization problems utilize the firmest mathematical basis, to account for improved weight-to-stiffness ratio and perceived aesthetic appeal of specific structural forms, enabling the solid isotropic material with penalization (SIMP) technique. Structural topology opt...

Strengthening of the existing seismically deficient reinforced concrete (RC) buildings is an important issue in earthquake prone regions. Addition of RC shear wall as infill or external walls into the structural system has been a commonly preferred strengthening technique since the Big Erzincan Earthquake occurred in Turkey, 1992. The newly added rigid infill walls act primarily as shear walls ...

The nonlinear seismic responses of 3D steel buildings with perimeter moment resisting frames (PMRF) and interior gravity frames (IGF) are studied explicitly considering the contribution of the IGF. The effect on the structural response of the stiffness of the beam-to-column connections of the IGF, which is usually neglected, is also studied. It is commonly believed that the flexibility of shear...

The paper presents the results of a feasibility study conducted in the area of learning conceptual design rules governing the selection of wind brac­ ing components in steel skeleton structures of tall buildings. The study's objectives were to compare decision rules produced by different learning systems using the same body of examples, and to formally verify these rules using the overall empir...