Resilience of dual steel-dual frame buildings in seismic areas

Resilience has many components, but two are of importance when structural systems are envisaged, i.e. the capacity to resist the hazard, or robustness, and the ability to recover from the hazard. So, the structure may sustain structural damage, but collapse should be avoided. Moreover, the damages are repairable, such that the initial functionality is recovered.
In terms of structural mechanics, a robust structure is associated with a good balance between stiffness, strength, and plastic deformation capacity. As a result, it is expected that alternative routes are available for redistributing the loads and prevent the progressive collapse in case of a local damage. The seismic design codes in force today aim at these objectives by applying the capacity design method and using relevant admissibility criteria. However, there are exceptional situations when the earthquakes are more powerful than expected, and even the structures correctly designed can be at risk. The situation can be worsened by cascading hazards, like fire or explosion. When safety margins are exceeded, partial or global collapse can be initiated. The reliability demands of building structures at high seismic risk need to be considered to increase the resilience. One such approach is based on the so-called Dual Steel-Dual Frame concept, which combines steel grades and structural systems to increase the capacity of response and reduce the consequences of extreme hazards.