The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Displacement design approach for reinforced concrete structures subjected to earthquakes

Qi, Xiaoxuan; Moehle, Jack P.

UCB/EERC-91/02, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1991-01, 186 pages (520/Q5/1991)

An analytical study of the characteristics of the inelastic displacement response of single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems subjected to earthquake ground motions was conducted to develop practical means of estimating the peak values of the displacement. Displacement response can be characterized in two period ranges and methods are established by which elastic analysis can be used to estimate the peak displacement response in both period ranges. Therefore, a design displacement response spectrum can be constructed for a given earthquake. The spectrum provides a measure of the expected inelastic displacement using a linear model. The method of estimating the displacement of inelastic SDOF systems is extended to estimate the peak lateral displacement of multistory frame structures. The maximum interstory drift that a frame could experience during a given earthquake is approximated based on the estimated roof level displacement. A study of the deformation capacities of reinforced concrete frame members and subassemblages is conducted to relate the details provided in reinforced concrete beams and columns to the maximum interstory drift capacity. A new displacement-based seismic design approach is outlined.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-91-02.pdf (6 MB)