The purpose of this study was to develop a computer-assisted methodology for analyzing and controlling displacements in the drift serviceability state design of moment-resisting steel frames with panel zones.
A software tool was developed by integrating the proposed algorithm into commercial software to assess its impact on the design of traditional steel buildings. In addition, a critical review of the current criteria and parameters for evaluating the performance of structures subjected to serviceability limit states of horizontal displacement was performed.
The results show that the proposed design methodology positively affects the design of steel frame structures subjected to horizontal loads and allows a better assessment of the structural behavior and non-structural damage caused by drift. The proposed stiffness redistribution methodology allows the horizontal displacement limits to be reached with a minimum increase in the material. The computational tool enabled the assessment of the performance of the structure under lateral loads for multiple drift criteria.
The integrated solution allowed the definition of multiple drift constraints, leading to a comprehensive understanding of the structural response for different design scenarios. The implemented engineering allowed for a better assessment of the structural response to drift, providing a thorough depiction of the deformation sources and members’ contribution and sensitivity for the considered drift cases. The proposed methodology can be easily incorporated into the context of design offices, given that its input parameters are derived from the structural analysis results, and thus do not require additional calculations.
