Seismic performance investigation on self-centering friction frames: Collapse capacity and post-earthquake recovery

Self-centering technology is a promising approach to enhance seismic resilience of frame structures. Despite extensive experimental and theoretical research on various self-centering components, there has been relatively limited quantitative study on the collapse and post-earthquake recovery capabilities of self-centering frame structures. Therefore, this paper introduces a self-centering friction beam-column joint (SCFJ) and develops a simplified analytical model for the joint. Then a series of RC frames with SCFJ are designed, and their seismic resilience and post-earthquake recovery performance are conducted. Finally, this study quantitatively investigates the contribution of SCFJ to the seismic safety and post-earthquake recovery capabilities of RC frames with varying stories. The results indicate that under maximum considered earthquake, the peak floor accelerations and inter-story drift ratio of self-centering friction frames (SCFF) are comparable to those of ordinary RC frames (ORCF). However, the overall residual deformation of the SCFFs can be reduced by 85%-94%. Furthermore, their seismic collapse resistance is improved by 8%-23%. Immediate occupancy and reparability of SCFFs are enhanced by 41%-72% and 29%-35%, respectively. Notably, the enhancement in collapse capacity and post-earthquake recovery performance of SCFFs becomes more pronounced as the number of stories increases.