Recently, several attempts in the earthquake engineering field could find their ways into numerous innovative systems that provide the structure with a specific performance under a given earthquake level. Among others, the most known systems are: (a) seismic isolation systems, which uncouple the superstructure from its substructure leading to a “conceptual separation between the horizontal and vertical resisting systems” (Palermo et al. 2014b); (b) tuned mass damping systems, which are used to minimize the excitation of a structure caused by high lateral vibrations (Hoang et al. 2016); (c) active and semi-active systems, which adjust the mechanical properties of a structure in accordance with the measured response (Datta 2010b); (d) dissipative systems, which are inserted in the superstructure in order to minimize the seismic effects in the structure through their energy dissipation capacity (Chopra and Anil 2001). Although the listed systems have been well integrated into literature and practice, none of them could entirely fulfil the seismic performance@en

The primary objective of the “performance-based seismic design” is to provide stipulated seismic performances for building structures. However, a certain degree of design freedom is needed for matching a specific seismic response. This design freedom is not obtainable by the conventional lateral resisting systems because their stiffness and strength are coupled. Here, we put emphasis on the role of the unconventional lateral resisting systems in adding more flexibility to the design. In this paper, we seek to explore the seismic design of moment-resisting frame structures equipped with an innovative hysteretic device, known as “crescent-shaped brace.” One conspicuous feature of this device is its distinctive geometrical configuration, which is responsible for the enhanced nonlinear force-displacement behavior exhibited by the device. A new performance-based approach for the seismic design of the crescent-shaped brace is proposed. The performance of the device is evaluated, and its application in multistory shear-type structures is investigated. Two case studies were established to illustrate the design methodology. The first is a new two-story RC structure, and the second is an existing three-story RC structure. Nonlinear time history and pushover analyses are performed to evaluate the behavior of the controlled structures. The analyses show that for each of the two case studies, the acceleration–displacement capacity spectrum conforms to the performance objectives curve. This finding confirms the validity of the proposed design approach and the effectiveness of the new hysteretic device in resisting lateral forces.@en