Seismic Performance of Semi-Rigid Connected Prefabricated Structures

Prefabricated structures are constructed by bolted connections of separated members. The design and analysis of these structures are generally performed by defining fully hinges for the connection of separated members at the joint of junction. In practice, these connections are not fully hinged. Therefore, the usage of assumption of semi-rigid connections (restrained or partially fixity) instead of fully hinge connection in the design and analysis of these structures is a more realistic approach for bolted connections used in the combination of prefabricated elements. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of semi-rigid connections on seismic performance of prefabricated structures. To this aim, nonlinear static 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. The target values of roof displacements obtained from the analyses according to ATC-40, FEMA-356, FEMA-440 and TEC-2007 codes are compared each other. The numerical results are given in tables and figures comparatively and discussed.