COMPDYN 2017 6 th ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering M. Papadrakakis, M. Fragiadakis (eds.) Rhodes Island, Greece, 15–17 June 2017 PREDICTION OF DUCTILE DAMAGE IN CASE OF SEISMIC ACTION USING INNOVATIVE DAMAGE MECHANICS Simon Schaffrath 1 , Helen Bartsch *1 , Benno Hoffmeister 1 , Markus Feldmann 1 1 Institute of Steel Construction, RWTH Aachen University Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str. 1 D-52074 Aachen {schaffrath, h.bartsch, hoff, feldmann}@stb.rwth-aachen.de Keywords: Moment-resisting frames, beam-column connections, cyclic loading, ultra- low-cycle fatigue, damage mechanics, ductile crack initiation, toughness. Abstract. An approach to investigate the true behaviour of dissipative elements utilising numerical simulations is presented. By way of example dissipative members in terms of beam- column connections of moment-resisting frames are considered. Material failure in terms of crack formation is taken into account by incorporating a damage mechanics model into the numerical analyses. By means of a phenomenological damage mechanics model, which is based on critical strains depending on the stress state, an efficient simulation of large scale components is enabled. To validate this approach, an extensive testing program has been per- formed. Subsequently, numerical simulations of the experimental investigations have been conducted. 4496 Available online at www.eccomasproceedia.org Eccomas Proceedia COMPDYN (2017) 4496-4508 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Eccomas Proceedia. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of COMPDYN 2017. doi: 10.7712/120117.5740.17886