The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Computer-aided optimum seismic design of ductile reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames

Zagajeski, Stanley W.; Bertero, Vitelmo V.

UCB/EERC-77/16, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1977-12, 146 pages (555.6/Z3/1977)

A computer-aided design procedure based on limit state design concepts is proposed for multistory reinforced concrete frames of buildings which are expected to experience severe earthquake ground shaking during their service life. In this procedure, a structure is designed to meet (1) various serviceability criteria under service loading conditions, (2) damage limitations for abnormal environmental conditions, and (3) safety requirements for extreme earthquake excitations. The design procedure, which makes use of computer optimization methods as well as static and dynamic elastic and nonlinear analysis procedures, consists of five basic steps which are grouped into a preliminary design phase and a final design phase. The objective of the preliminary design phase is to obtain a preliminary design which is as close as possible to the desired final design. It entails three steps, preliminary analysis, preliminary design, and analysis of the preliminary design. The objective of the final design phase is to obtain an optimum final design. This phase consists of two steps, final design and an analysis of the reliability of the final design. The design procedure is illustrated on a ten-story, three-bay reinforced concrete frame. The influence of the different limit states considered is indicated by the example.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-77-16.pdf (9 MB)