In this study the effects of different levels of column axial load on seismic performance of Welded Flange Plate (WFP) connections with different panel zone strength are presented. Finite element method was used to do this investigation and reliability of the modelling method was verified by comparison with experimental available records in documents. Fifteen sub-assemblages of WFP connections were generated by means of ABAQUS software. The aim was to enhance the knowledge about the consequence of column axial load level on cyclic behaviour and fracture potential of the connections with different panel zone strength for external joints in Steel Moment Resisting Frames (SMRFs). Results showed that cyclic behaviour including hysteresis loops and energy dissipation were not affected significantly by increasing column axial load regardless of the panel zone strength. It was also found that increase of the fracture potential due to increase in column axial load became less pronounced when the panel zone strength was decreased.

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This paper presents the seismic analytic fragility curve of soil nail wall structures. The numerical modeling procedure of the soil nail wall is presented and discussed in detail. Nonlinear elements have been used to provide an accurate finite element modeling of the soil nail wall. The effect of different soil modeling approaches is studied. Detailed procedures to select an efficient intensity measure are presented. Analytical fragility curves for the different performance levels of the soil nail wall are developed. Detailed techniques have been used to generate accurate soil modeling, such as the Mohr-Coulomb model (MC), Hardening Soil model (HS), and Hardening Soil model with Stiffness effect from small strains (HSS), and these are studied. Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) is implemented to capture the response of the wall from linear to nonlinear levels. The efficiency of the two common intensity measures is studied (PGA and Sa(T1,5%)). It has been demonstrated that HSS and HS models are more reliable techniques for soil modeling. Two common intensity measures are studied, and the efficiency and the sufficiency of them are compared. It has been suggested that Sa(T1,5%) is a more efficient intensity measure than PGA for soil nail structures due to less depression in the IDA results. Different performance levels were defined to develop analytical fragility curves for different damage states.