••A simple yet efficient performance-based design optimization methodology for cable tray systems is proposed.••••A simple yet efficient performance-based design optimization methodology for cable tray systems is proposed.••The thresholds of drift ratio between adjacent supports are specified based on shaking table test results.••The performance-based optimum seismic design procedure for cable tray systems is verified in three cases.••The. This study aims to develop a simple yet efficient performance-based design optimization methodology for cable tray systems in building structures. In the paper, the drift ratio between adjacent supports is proposed as a performance index and the acceptable threshold values are specified based on experimental results of shaking table tests for cable tray systems. The seismic performance levels of cable tray systems are presented according to current seismic design codes. A performance-based optimum seismic design procedure for cable tray systems is given and verified by three studied cases. The results show that the proposed performance index (drift ratio between adjacent supports) for cable tray systems is a reasonable criterion for performance-based seismic design and is much more practical and rational than th. Cable trayPerformance-basedOptimizationSeismic designBuilding structures designed based on the latest seismic design specifications and provisions can basically ensure structural safety after potential earthquakes [,,,,,, ]. For example, most buildings have negligible demand for retrofitting of primary structures after destructive earthquakes such as the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, 2011 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake, and 2018 Anchorage Earthquake. On the contrary, kinds of nonstructural components suffered severe damage during the earthquake, and the destruction of nonstructural elements makes it difficult to restore the buildings to full functionality quickly [,,,,,, ]. As one type of nontrivial nonstructural component in modern buildings, the cable tray system is mainly utilized to support electric cables for pow. 2.1. Specimen descriptionsTo investigate the seismic behavior and failure mechanism of the cable tray, a series of shaking table tests were conducted on a full-scale steel frame with a cable tray system enhanced by seismic braces. The tested steel frame has a size of 12.84 m × 11.64 m × 5.4 m. The dimensions of the specimen and components are given in Fig. 1, and three types of seismic braces are shown in Fig. 2. Note that to prevent local stiffness concentration, the seismic braces are only utilized in both ends of the cable tray system. Total of 42 loading cases of the shaking table test are listed in Table 1. More details of the experiment are available in reference 47.Fig. 1. Geometric dimensions of cable tray system (unit: mm): (a) specimen, (b) main beam, (c) sub bea.
