HF2V dissipator effects on the performance of a 3 story moment frame

In this paper, the seismic performance of the as-designed SAC Los Angeles 3 story seismic frame with rigid moment connections at the beam ends is compared with that of the same frame using semirigid connections with high force-to-volume (HF2V) lead dissipators. The presence of the gravity frames in the model is also considered. It was found that the placement of dissipators, ignoring the effect of the gravity frames, caused a 12% increase in period of the frame due to the decreased stiffness of the connections. During design level ground shaking the semi-rigid connections with HF2V dissipators have slightly lower accelerations, up to an 80% increase in peak drift, and a 200% increase in the permanent displacement compared to the as-designed case, but no structural damage is expected. When the gravity frames are considered, the floor accelerations decrease further, the peak displacements do not significantly change, but the residual story dirft ratios reduce to approximately 0.17%. This result is less than one half that of the as-designed frame, where typically gravity frame effects are not considered. The realistic analyses combining HF2V lead dissipators with gravity frames and well-designed non-structural elements creates a system with almost no structural damage and low residual displacements.