Seismic analyses of dual concentrically braced frames accounting for the presence of haunched connections

The aim of this work is presenting the results of the design of Dual-Concentrically Braced Frames (D-CBFs) equipped with haunched connections. These connections have been studied in the framework of the EqualJoints RFCS Project aimed at providing prequalification criteria of steel joints for the next version of UNI EN 1998-1. To investigate the influence of the haunched connections on the seismic response of D-CBFs a medium rise building of 6-storey has been designed according to both the Theory of Plastic Mechanism Control (TPMC) and the design requirements of Eurocode 8. The case study is preliminarily dimensioned disregarding the presence of the joints and after that, it is redesigned accounting for it. The total number of resulting structures is equal to 6 because two prequalified “haunched” connections were considered in this study. The seismic performances of the structures are investigated by both pushover and non-linear dynamic analysis.