Energy-Based Seismic Design of Ductile Cladding Systems

Advanced cladding connections take advantage of the interaction between architectural cladding panels and the building structure to dissipate energy. At the same time, like other passive dissipators, they provide additional lateral stiffness to the structure. A design criterion formulated in terms of energy provides the optimal balance of stiffness and energy dissipation to be added to the structure by the connections. Nonlinear models of advanced connections were incorporated into a two-dimensional structural model of a building with two cladding panels per bay. The response of the structure to a variety of seismic motions is presented. Time histories of the energy demand and supply to the building, both with and without cladding, trace the response of the structure to earthquake excitations. Results show that, when designed according to the proposed criterion, energy dissipative elements can be responsible for the total hysteretic energy dissipated in the structural system. The reduction in displacements (e.g., interstory drift) will depend on the position of the modified fundamental frequency of the structural system with respect to the critical frequency of excitation.