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Seismic Performance of Steel and Composite Structures
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Seismic Performance of Steel and Composite Structures

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 2902

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Keyang Ning

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Steel Construction (Hong Kong Branch), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Interests: stainless steel structures; high-strength steel structures; structural stability performance; seismic performance; laser-arc hybrid welding
Dr. Pengfei Men

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Interests: ultra-high-performance concrete; high-performance steel-concrete composite structures; high-strength steel structures; flexural and shear behaviour
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Peng Dai

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Interests: CFST structures; stainless and bimetallic steels; cyclic behaviour; fire and post-fire performance; corroded steel properties
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue invites cutting-edge research on high-performance steel and steel-concrete composite structures, with a focus on advancing seismic performance evaluation and performance-based seismic design methods. We aim to address critical challenges in earthquake-resistant design through innovative studies of material behavior, structural response under cyclic loading, and the application of advanced materials, such as stainless steel, in modern infrastructure. Submissions should emphasize the integration of experimental validations, numerical simulations, or hybrid methodologies to bridge theoretical advancements with practical engineering solutions. Contributions may explore constitutive modeling of advanced materials, multi-hazard resilience frameworks, or novel design strategies that balance seismic safety with sustainability goals.

We welcome interdisciplinary approaches that leverage emerging technologies, such as machine learning for performance prediction or sensor-based monitoring for real-time structural assessment. Studies demonstrating field applications of performance-based methodologies or proposing code-compliant design optimizations are particularly encouraged.

Dr. Keyang Ning
Dr. Pengfei Men
Dr. Peng Dai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • high-performance steel structures
  • steel-concrete composite structures
  • seismic performance
  • seismic design method
  • structural performance
  • constitutive model
  • high performance materials
  • stainless steel

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 22171 KB  
Article
Experimental Study on the Influence of Out-of-Plane Effects on In-Plane Performance of Composite Slabs
by Cheng-Hao Jiang, Qi-Liang Zhou, Yue-Xin Jiang, Li-Yan Xu and Mu-Xuan Tao
Buildings 2026, 16(10), 1928; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16101928 - 12 May 2026
Viewed by 149
Abstract
This study comprised an experimental investigation of the in-plane performance of composite floor slabs under out-of-plane effects. Two composite floor slabs were subjected to pure in-plane loading, and in-plane and out-of-plane coupled loading, respectively. The study analyzed crack patterns, failure modes, and load–displacement [...] Read more.
This study comprised an experimental investigation of the in-plane performance of composite floor slabs under out-of-plane effects. Two composite floor slabs were subjected to pure in-plane loading, and in-plane and out-of-plane coupled loading, respectively. The study analyzed crack patterns, failure modes, and load–displacement curves, and evaluated how out-of-plane effects influenced in-plane performance. The test results indicated that both specimens exhibited a typical shear-tension failure mode, forming diagonal shear cracks. The specimen with out-of-plane loading exhibited a trend for lateral development of the shear cracks. The load–displacement curves of the two specimens showed obvious strength degradation, stiffness degradation, and a pinching effect. By comparing the two specimens, it could be observed that at a small out-of-plane displacement angle, the in-plane ultimate bearing capacity of a specimen was not significantly weakened; however, as the out-of-plane displacement continued to increase, the in-plane bearing capacity of the specimen decayed more rapidly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Performance of Steel and Composite Structures)
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28 pages, 7410 KB  
Article
Seismic Deformation Capacity Prediction of Steel-Reinforced Concrete (SRC) Columns Based on Test Database and Machine Learning
by Mingzhe Cui, Cuikun Wang, Caihua Chen, Huahua Qiu, Yuhua Pan and Baixiang Wang
Buildings 2026, 16(10), 1891; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16101891 - 10 May 2026
Viewed by 331
Abstract
Seismic resilience assessment of high-rise buildings heavily relies on the deformation limits and fragility data of structural components, yet such data is still lacking for steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) columns, which are widely used in high-rise structures. To address this gap, this study establishes [...] Read more.
Seismic resilience assessment of high-rise buildings heavily relies on the deformation limits and fragility data of structural components, yet such data is still lacking for steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) columns, which are widely used in high-rise structures. To address this gap, this study establishes a test database consisting of 312 SRC column specimens, including 17 input parameters and three key experimental results, i.e., failure mode, yielding drift ratio θy, and ultimate drift ratio θu. Two machine learning (ML) frameworks are proposed and four ML models are trained and compared. It is found that the two-stage framework incorporating a failure mode classification shows only a slight improvement in the model performance. Thus, an end-to-end framework is recommended due to its simplicity and avoidance of error propagation, and RF and XGBoost models are adopted and tuned for θy and θu prediction for their optimal performance. Model interpretation is carried out using permutation importance (PI) and SHAP analyses to verify consistency with domain knowledge, with the key influencing factors identified as longitudinal reinforcement strength (fyl) and axial load ratio (nt) for deformation capacity, and shear-span ratio (λ) for failure mode classification. The performance of ML models is compared with conventional data-fitting approaches, and it is proven that ML models outperform conventional formulas, with the R2 for predicting θy and θu improved by 26.5% and 32.9%, the RMSE reduced by 30.0% and 30.4%, and the MAPE reduced by 18.5% and 48.4%, respectively, thus providing a powerful data-driven tool for the seismic resilience assessment of SRC columns and expanding the fragility data of composite components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Performance of Steel and Composite Structures)
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18 pages, 5169 KB  
Article
Physics-Constrained Identification and OpenSees Deployment of a Twelve-Parameter BWBN Model for RC Column Hysteresis
by Bochen Wang, Hongqian Lu, Weiming Gong, Zele Li, Jiaqing Shu and Xiaoqing Gu
Buildings 2026, 16(6), 1184; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16061184 - 18 Mar 2026
Viewed by 308
Abstract
Accurate simulation of reinforced concrete (RC) members under cyclic loading requires hysteresis models that capture degradation and pinching, yet inverse identification of such models remains challenging because the internal-state evolution is strongly coupled and sensitive to incremental consistency. This study develops a physics-constrained, [...] Read more.
Accurate simulation of reinforced concrete (RC) members under cyclic loading requires hysteresis models that capture degradation and pinching, yet inverse identification of such models remains challenging because the internal-state evolution is strongly coupled and sensitive to incremental consistency. This study develops a physics-constrained, model-based framework to identify the full twelve-parameter Bouc–Wen–Baber–Noori (BWBN) model directly from cyclic force–displacement records and to deploy the calibrated parameters in OpenSees. Parameter estimation is posed as a bound-constrained nonlinear least-squares problem, where each objective evaluation advances the BWBN internal variables through a discrete incremental constitutive update and accumulates the energy-driven deterioration measure using a consistent trapezoidal work integration. Validation on nine RC column tests covering flexural, flexural–shear, and shear failures shows good agreement between simulated and experimental hysteresis loops, with R2 ranging from 0.956 to 0.986 and RMSE ranging from 0.06 to 0.09 over the full records. Unlike simpler hysteresis models that omit degradation and pinching, the calibrated BWBN model reproduces mode-dependent deterioration and reloading pinching, and the identified parameters can be used directly in OpenSees for subsequent nonlinear simulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Performance of Steel and Composite Structures)
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19 pages, 11508 KB  
Article
Finite Element Analyses on Bearing Performance of a Novel Precast Foundation for Cable Termination Support
by Liqiang Wang, Shizhe He, Lei Wang, Xiaoping Wang, Lingxiao Gao, Tao Li and Bo Lu
Buildings 2026, 16(4), 848; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16040848 - 20 Feb 2026
Viewed by 344
Abstract
This study designs a novel modular prefabricated concrete foundation for cable termination supports in the power industry. This foundation is composed of prefabricated components including concrete segmented foundations, strut and connector via bolted connections, featuring convenient construction and a reduction of nearly 40% [...] Read more.
This study designs a novel modular prefabricated concrete foundation for cable termination supports in the power industry. This foundation is composed of prefabricated components including concrete segmented foundations, strut and connector via bolted connections, featuring convenient construction and a reduction of nearly 40% in concrete consumption. The finite element model was established using FEA software (Version ABAQUS 2020), and an economical and stable mesh size was selected through mesh convergence analysis. The settlement and bearing capacity of the foundation under axial compression were analyzed. Results show that this prefabricated foundation remains in the elastic stage under service load, with uniform settlement and excellent integrity. The stress of reinforcement bars and bolts is much lower than the material yield strength, and the concrete has ignorable damage. In addition, the safety margin is sufficient, and the force transfer path is clear. The research results can improve the prefabricated system for power facilities and provide technical support for the green and efficient construction of cable termination support foundations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Performance of Steel and Composite Structures)
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18 pages, 4206 KB  
Article
Constitutive Model of Duplex Stainless Steel: Experimental Investigation and Genetic Algorithm-Based Parameter Calibration
by Lin Chen and Keyang Ning
Buildings 2026, 16(3), 579; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16030579 - 29 Jan 2026
Viewed by 401
Abstract
Duplex stainless steel (S22053) is increasingly favoured in construction and marine engineering due to its superior corrosion resistance, toughness, and high strength-to-weight ratio. This study presents a comprehensive investigation into the mechanical behaviour of duplex stainless steel under both monotonic and cyclic loading. [...] Read more.
Duplex stainless steel (S22053) is increasingly favoured in construction and marine engineering due to its superior corrosion resistance, toughness, and high strength-to-weight ratio. This study presents a comprehensive investigation into the mechanical behaviour of duplex stainless steel under both monotonic and cyclic loading. First, monotonic behaviour is characterized, and the applicability of existing constitutive models is verified. Addressing the complexity of parameter identification for the cyclic constitutive model, a genetic algorithm (GA)-based calibration framework for the Chaboche model is proposed. This approach overcomes the subjectivity and inefficiency of traditional manual fitting. The proposed method is validated against experimental hysteresis curves, demonstrating high accuracy and providing a reliable basis for the seismic design of duplex stainless steel structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Performance of Steel and Composite Structures)
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20 pages, 6818 KB  
Article
Bending Test and FE Analysis of Novel Grouted Plug-in Connection for Prefabricated Assembled Raft Foundation
by Hongtao Ju, Kai Zhang, Xiaoping Wang, Yu Tang, Xinggang Huo, Wen Jiang, Shizhe He, Tao Li and Xin Tong
Buildings 2025, 15(21), 3931; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15213931 - 30 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 749
Abstract
Research on the development of prefabricated foundations has been quite extensive to date, while studies on prefabricated concrete raft foundations and their connection methods remain relatively scarce. This study proposes a novel type of prefabricated raft foundation and its corresponding grouted plug-in connection. [...] Read more.
Research on the development of prefabricated foundations has been quite extensive to date, while studies on prefabricated concrete raft foundations and their connection methods remain relatively scarce. This study proposes a novel type of prefabricated raft foundation and its corresponding grouted plug-in connection. The connection comprises two prefabricated units and achieves connection via steel inserts and grouting in pre-slots, possessing numerous advantages such as convenient construction, fast installation, and high construction quality. To verify the performance of the connection node and the bearing capacity of the foundation, based on the engineering practice of prefabricated raft foundations, this study fabricated a full-scale specimen composed of three prefabricated units of the raft foundation, conducted a stacking load test on it, and carried out finite element analysis afterwards. The main conclusion is that severe flexural failure occurred near the grouted plug-in connection of the prefabricated units when the specimen failed, implying that the node region has sufficient bearing capacity. The ultimate bending moments of the specimen obtained from the experiment and finite element analysis are 736.5 kN·m and 859.5·kN m, respectively, with a difference of 14%, indicating a good agreement between them. Ignoring the effect of the upper steel reinforcements, the calculated section bending capacity of the prefabricated unit is 892.8·kN m; the ultimate bending moment of the test specimen reached 0.83 of the section bending capacity of the prefabricated unit, indicating that the proposed raft foundation and its connection method have good bending bearing capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seismic Performance of Steel and Composite Structures)
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