Ductile Seismic Design of Steel Frame Structures

From the perspective of structural engineering, seismic design methods can generally be divided into two categories: the performance-based approach and the capacity-based approach. Most countries’ seismic codes are based on the performance-based approach. The paper focused on steel frame structures and systematically discussed the key techniques of ductile seismic design methods for such structures. It first introduced the core concepts of the performance-based approach and the essence of ductility development in steel components. Then, it discussed the similarities and differences in ductile design concepts for steel frames in various major seismic codes. Special emphasis was placed on the evolution of the ductile seismic design concepts throughout the historical versions of the Code for Seismic Design of Buildings(GB 50011). On the other hand, by comparing the differences in seismic coefficients between Chinese and major international codes, the paper identified the shortcomings of the current Chinese code regarding performance coefficients, applicable heights, width-to-thickness ratios of steel components, and damping ratios for steel frame structures. It also provided suggestions for revisions.