Modeling and Response of a Three‐Story Steel Building With Sliding Slabs in Earthquake Motions

ABSTRACT In conventional steel building construction, the slabs are rigidly connected to the beams by steel‐headed stud anchors. This study explores a novel sliding slab system where the slabs are allowed to slide with respect to the steel frame by adding low‐friction Teflon pads and a horizontal all‐steel sandwiched buckling‐restrained brace (H‐SBRB) to enhance the seismic response of the building system. In this work, the effectiveness of this system in enhancing the seismic response is evaluated by constructing and validating a numerical model of a full‐scale three‐story steel dual‐frame building equipped with a buckling restrained braced frame (BRBF). The frame specimen was subjected to strong ground motions simulated using a shaking table at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Tainan, Taiwan. A component test of the Teflon was conducted, where the frictional behavior displayed a velocity‐dependence, and the results were integrated into the analytical model. The model showed a good correlation with the test results, particularly in drift response, slab response, floor acceleration, and overall sliding response. Two H‐SBRB design forces, referred to as Design 1 and Design 2, were presented, and the slab sliding response was obtained by conducting nonlinear response history analyses. Design 1 reduced the floor accelerations by 19%, the interstory drifts by 15%, and the total base shear by 13% compared to a building model with rigidly‐connected slabs. In Design 2, the H‐SBRB design force was reduced, leading to a reduction in floor acceleration by 31% and interstory drift by 34%.