The research leading to this paper was prompted by the need to estimate strength and stiffness of Rigid Rocking Cores (RRCs) as essential elements of resilient earthquake resisting structures. While a limited number of such studies have been reported, no general study in terms of physical properties of RRCs, their appendages and adjoining structures have been published. Despite the growing knowledge on RRCs there are no design guidelines on their applications for seismic protection of buildings. The purpose of the present article is to propose effective rigidity limits beyond which it would be unproductive to use stiffer cores and to provide basic guidelines for the preliminary design of RRCs with a view to collapse prevention, re-centering and post-earthquake repairs/replacements. Several examples supported by computer analysis have been provided to demonstrate the applications and the validity of the proposed solutions.

This paper introduces a novel design concept for the development of efficient, sustainable Rocking-Wall Moment Frames (RWMFs) under seismic conditions. The proposed concepts lead to a novel structural configuration with provisions for Collapse Prevention (CP), Self-Centering (SC), reparability, performance control (PC), damage reduction, and energy based seismic analysis. It introduces the merits of design led analysis (DLA) over the traditional methods of approach, followed by the development of a lateral resisting system that is more efficient than its conventional counterparts. The fundamental idea behind the proposed methodology is that seismic structural response is mainly a function of design and construction, rather than numerical analysis. In design led analysis the rules of mechanics and structural design are induced rather than followed. The new system is a combination of grade beam restrained moment frames and articulated shear walls, tied to each other by means of post tensioned (PT) stabilizers and Gap Opening Link Beams (GOLBs).

The need to improve the seismic performance of buildings has brought about innovative systems such as Rocking wall-moment frame (RWMF) combinations. The behavior of RWMFs can best be visualized by the moment frame (MF) restraining the wall in place, and the rigid Rocking wall (RRW) providing additional damping and imposing uniform drift along the height of the frame. A novel method of analysis followed by the development of a new lateral resisting system is introduced. The proposed concepts lead to an efficient structural configuration with provisions for self-centering, reparability, performance control, damage tolerance and collapse prevention. Exact, unique, closed form formulae have been provided to assess the collapse prevention and self-centering capabilities of the system. The objective is to provide an informative account of RWMF behavior for preliminary design as well as educational purposes. All formulae have been verified by independent computer analysis. Parametric examples have been provided to verify the validity of the proposed solutions.