Introducing a New Wall-Frame Earthquake Resisting System

The paper introduces a new earthquake resistant rocking-wall moment frame (RWMF) that is capable of damage reduction, collapse avoidance and self-centering due to strong ground motion. The system consists of a grade beam restrained moment frame, (GBRMF) attached to a co-planar, post tensioned (PT) rigid rocking core (RRC) by means of gap opening link beams (GOLBs) and buckling restrained braces (BRBs). Several practical details aiming at damage reduction have been presented. Worked examples have also been provided to demonstrate the validity of the proposed solutions. All results have been verified by independent computer analysis. The proposed formulae are ideally suited for preliminary design and teaching purposes.