Conventional seismic lateral force resisting systems (SFRS) such as moment resisting frames and
braced steel frames are designed to undergo inelasticity during design level earthquakes (e.g. AISC
2010a). Historically, the focus in earthquake engineering has been to develop prescriptive
requirements (i.e. design and detailing specifications) for these types of systems to produce
sufficient inelastic deformation capacity so that the resulting structures do not collapse during an
earthquake. Although the design approach is intended to focus inelasticity in ductile components,
these components typically cannot be easily replaced. Furthermore, permanent lateral drifts can
remain after an earthquake as a result of inelasticity in the SFRS. Residual drifts and inelastic
damage to non-replaceable structural components can make it economically advantageous to
demolish buildings after an earthquake rather than repair them. Self-centering (SC) seismic
systems have been developed in the past two decades as a means for a building to survive a large