Develop Design Requirements for Ordinary and Intermediate (Low Ductility) Moment Frames 

Principle Investigator: Douglas Foutch 
University of Illinois and Urbana-Champaign 

    The study will focus on 2 three-story buildings and 1 nine-story building that have been designed for Seattle and Boston. One three-story building designed for a Los Angeles site will also be investigated. These frame designs will be modified to make them Ordinary. 

The following questions will be considered: 

Do the R values in NEHRP 1997 appropriate for design of Intermediate and Ordinary Steel Moment Frames properly account for the seismic demands within the reliability framework established for this project? 

Do weak panel zones and/or weak columns seriously compromise the functionality of these frames during earthquakes? 

How should demands on column splices and base plate connections be evaluated? 

What limitations should be placed on local flange buckling, panel zone strength and weak-column strong-beam systems? 

Which partially or fully bolted connections provide adequate strength and stiffness for seismic loads? 

What requirements in terms of strength and stiffness of bolted connections should be included in the code for each performance level? 

The detailed breakdown of the technical activities in this task are provided in the workstatement available here.