ABSTRACT
The response of earthquake resistant steel frames subject to material variability is investigated in this paper. Attention is focused on response parameters pertinent to the performance of ductile energy dissipating frames. The importance of failure mode on these parameters is highlighted, and advantage is taken of this to establish an efficient Monte-Carlo simulation method based around plastic limit analysis and stratified sampling techniques. This methodology is then applied to obtain the distribution and characteristic values of the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of a steel frame.
