| This thesis investigates the performance a 9-story low-ductility moment resisting frame (MF1) under Boston's moderate seismic demands.; A modal analysis found that MF1's natural period is 3.33 seconds, quantifying the frame's significant flexibility. Pushover analyses illustrated that MF1 exhibits little global ductility before the onset of connection fractures, and MF1's weak panel zones significantly reduce its ultimate strength. Response spectrum analyses revealed that although demands are limited by MF1's flexibility, higher-mode effects still play an important role. Non-linear time-history analyses found that inelastic behavior occurred under only five of the 38 ground motions, with this behavior typically confined to the top stories of MF1. Performance evaluations showed that the MF1 frame has a collapse-prevention confidence in the range of 80 to 95%. These results suggest that although MF1's risk of collapse is low, this risk is also not insignificant. |
