Research on the seismic performance of an innovative rocking steel frame structure

To alleviate the destructive damage caused by strong earthquakes in conventional steel frame structures, this study proposes a novel rocking steel frame structure with spring-supported connections. Utilizing the finite element software SAP2000, an elastoplastic analysis model was established to evaluate the structure’s performance through pushover analysis and dynamic time-history analysis. Additionally, the effects of support constraints, height-to-width ratio, and rigid-body displacement ratio on the seismic behavior of the rocking steel frame structure were investigated. The results demonstrate that, compared to the conventional steel frames, the proposed system exhibits enhanced ductility, along with significantly reduced harmful and residual inter-story drift angles, highlighting its low-damage and self-centering capabilities. Furthermore, within a specific range, increasing the rigid-body displacement ratio improves the structures’s overall seismic resistance.