Evaluating ASCE 41‐17 performance‐based provisions on optimally designed steel moment frames

In this study, the ASCE 41‐17 nonlinear static procedure for steel moment‐resisting frames is evaluated using a three‐phase constraint handling procedure. For the first time, advanced performance measures of ASCE 41‐17 are quantified during the optimization process by constructing concentrated plasticity models of the standard. Covariance matrix adaptation in evolution strategies (CMA‐ES) is used to obtain optimal designs for three‐ and nine‐story illustrative examples. Active and inactive constraints are discussed in the current performance‐based design methodology as a guide for future research. The seismic evaluation procedure outlined in FEMA P695 is applied to 147 optimal designs. Plastic hinge models explicitly simulate cyclic deterioration in nonlinear dynamic analyses. The numerical results conclusively demonstrate that the design procedure provides an acceptable margin of safety from collapse of the treated frames. Moreover, there is no significant relationship between the structural weights and the collapse margin ratios for such optimally designed structures.