An evolutionary-degrading hysteretic model for thin-walled steel structures

An evolutionary-degrading hysteretic model is presented which can be used to simulate the seismic response of thin-walled steel structures. The degradation of strength and stiffness is related to the concept of the damage index. The damage index used, was developed to account for the various damaging effects observed in experiments, including the effect of the loading history. This enables the hysteretic model to simulate the response under a variety of loading histories. It is shown that the model is capable of simulating the various phenomena observed under cyclic loading. Finally, the model is used to simulate the pseudodynamic test results obtained by using earthquake accelerograms. Also the average values of the various parameters used in the simulation are presented for steel bridge piers of box section, designed according to the code of the Japan Road Association. These values, which are based on tests on a variety of specimens, can be used to develop the various inelastic response spectra for such piers.