Seismic performance assessment of concentrically braced steel frames designed to the Turkish Building Earthquake Code 2018

Abstract

The Turkish Building Earthquake Code 2018 (TBEC 2018) came into force in 2019 and superseded the previous code, the Turkish Earthquake Code 2007 (TEC 2007). Compared to TEC 2007, TBEC 2018 includes new design approaches as well as significant changes in the design of steel structures which are likely to notably affect the seismic design and performance of concentrically braced frames (CBFs). This study aims to quantify the seismic performance of CBFs designed to TBEC 2018. To this end, a set of archetypes was designed, covering a wide range of building heights, bay widths, and seismic hazard levels. Nonlinear numerical models of the archetype buildings were built to perform nonlinear static and dynamic analyses. The seismic performance assessment framework outlined in FEMA P-695 was adopted. The effects of build height, bay width, and seismic hazard levels were investigated and reported. The results of the study revealed that CBFs located in moderate-seismic regions showed acceptable performance while CBFs designed to TBEC 2018 performed poorly in high-seismic regions.