Building Failures - Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering - page 115

Lessons Learned
The Northridge earthquake revealed unforeseen vulnerabilities in the seismic resisting
system of choice for tall buildings, namely a steel frame with moment resisting beam-
column.
However, as is so often the case with technological progress, the pressures to
adopt new, supposedly more cost efficient, techniques outran the performance
verification process necessitating major reconsideration of the recently accepted
industry standards.
References
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) (1994). Northridge Steel Update I ,
AISC Inc., Chicago, IL
Bertero, V.V., Anderson, James, C. & Krawinkler, H. (1994). Performance of Steel
Building Structures during the Northridge Earthquake , Report No.
UCBIEERC-94/09, Earthquake Engineering Center, University of California,
Berkeley.
City of Los Angeles (1994). Repairs of Cracked Moment Frame Connections in
Welded Steel Frame Structures and Requirements for SMRF-Welded
Connections in New Buildings , Plan Check Information.
California Seismic Safety Commission (CSSC) (1994). “Damage to Steel Frame
Buildings by the Northridge Earthquake,” Public Advisory issued by the
CSSC, Sacramento, CA
Hall, John. F. ed. (1994). Northridge Earthquake, January 17, 1994; Preliminary
Reconnaissance Report , Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Oakland,
CA
Modern Steel Construction (1994). "Localized Steel Damage," American Institute of
Steel Construction (AISC) Inc., 34(4).
SAC (1994). Program to Reduce Earthquake Hazards in Steel Moment Frame
Structures , formulated by the SAC Joint Venture Partnership, Structural
Engineers Association of California, Sacramento, CA
SAC (1994). Steel Moment Frame Connection, Advisory No. 1 , SAC Joint Venture
Partners, Structural Engineers Association of California, Sacramento, CA