Evaluation of seismic damage to cladding panels in single-storey steel buildings through a multi-criteria approach

The seismic design of steel constructions is commonly based on structural models where only the primary steel members and connections contribute to the strength and stiffness, i.e. cladding panels are considered in the seismic mass but are not included as components influencing the structural response. Few exceptions to this common approach can be found. In this context, the objectives of this article are: 1) the analysis of the influence of the cladding panels on the structural response under seismic conditions as compared to the results obtained when only beams, columns, and braces are considered in the model; 2) the evaluation of the seismic damage that cladding panels might undergo through explicit modelling of their response as component of the structural model. Recent studies on single-storey steel buildings made by moment-resisting portals in the transverse direction and concentrically-braced frames in the longitudinal direction have pointed out that claddings might have an important role on influencing the seismic response and proposed a multi-criteria scheme for the evaluation of the damage in claddings. Starting from these achievements, the current study presents the analysis of the quantification and extent of the damage in the cladding panels for increasing levels of the seismic input. The considered case study is a single-storey steel building made of moment-resisting portals in the transverse direction and concentrically-braced frames in the longitudinal direction. Specific attention is given to the investigation of the influence of cladding panels with non-symmetric distributions in plan introducing torsional effects even if the structural elements have a symmetric configuration.