Investigating seismic performance of the semi-rigid connected prefabricated structures

Prefabricated structures are constituted by connecting separated members. Analyses of these structures are usually performed defining hinges for the connection of separated members at the nodal points. However, the assumption of semi–rigid connection instead of hinge connection is a more realistic approach for bolted connection used in the combination of prefabricated elements. Therefore, the effects of semi-rigid connection at nodal points should be considered in design and analyses of prefabricated structures. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of semi-rigid connections on seismic performance of prefabricated structures. To this aim, incremental equivalent seismic load analysis (pushover analysis) of a selected RC prefabricated structure is performed with SAP2000 structural analysis program by considering various partially fixity percentages for bolted connections. In performance evaluation of the structure, TEC 2007, ATC 40, FEMA 356, FEMA 440, and ASCE 41–06 are used. Thus, effects of semi-rigid connection on different standards are investigated. For better understanding of the pushover analysis, calculation stages which are obtained analytically and analysis steps that are performed with SAP2000 are given in detailed for performance evaluation of two-story reinforced concrete plane frame structure.