Modeling Steel Frame Buildings in Three Dimensions. I: Panel Zone and Plastic Hinge Beam Elements

A procedure for efficient three-dimensional nonlinear time-history analysis of steel framed buildings is derived. It incorporates two types of nonlinear beam elements—the plastic hinge type and the elastofiber type—and nonlinear panel zone elements to model yielding and strain-hardening in moment-frames. Floors and roofs of buildings are modeled using 4-node elastic diaphragm elements. The procedure utilizes an iteration strategy applied to an implicit time-integration scheme to solve the nonlinear equations of motion at each time step. Geometric nonlinearity is included. An overview of the procedure and the theories for the panel zone and the plastic hinge elements are presented in this paper. The theory for the elastofiber element along with illustrative examples are presented in a companion paper. The plastic hinge beam element consists of two nodes at which biaxial flexural yielding is permitted, leading to the formation of plastic hinges. Elastic rotational springs are connected across the plastic hinge locations to model strain-hardening. Axial yielding is also permitted. The panel zone element consists of two orthogonal panels forming a cruciform section. Each panel may yield and strain-harden in shear