Development of self-centering steel moment-resisting frames for damage-free seismic resistant buildings

Self-centering steel moment resisting frames (SC-MRFs) for seismic resistant buildings have been developed in the past decade as an alternative to conventional welded steel moment-resisting frames (WMRFs). While conventional WMRFs are expected to sustain cyclic inelastic deformations in critical regions of the beams during a moderate or severe earthquake, SC-MRF systems are designed to exhibit similar stiffness and strength as WMRFs and provide stable energy dissipation, while sustaining only minor damage to structural elements and essentially no residual drift under the design basis earthquake. In this paper, the concepts and mechanics of an SC-MRF are presented, followed by an overview of the experimental and numerical research that has been conducted to develop and validate SC-MRFs. The main issues that are central to the seismic design and performance of these SC-MRFs are discussed. Finally, critical aspects related to the practical implementation of SC-MRFs are outlined and a discussion of the steps that are still needed for practical implementation is presented.