Performance-Based Seismic Design of RC SMF Using Target Drift and Yield Mechanism as Performance Criteria

Reinforced concrete special moment frames (RC SMF) have been widely used as part of seismic force-resisting systems. Design methodologies and systematic procedures of RC SMF are needed which require no or little iteration after initial design in order to meet the targeted design objectives. This paper presents the first time application of the Performance-Based Plastic Design (PBPD) approach to RC SMF. The PBPD method uses pre-selected target drift and yield mechanisms as key performance objectives. These two design parameters are directly related to the degree and distribution of structural damage, respectively. Four baseline RC SMF (4, 8, 12 and 20-story) as used in the FEMA P695 were selected for this study. Those frames were redesigned by the PBPD approach. The baseline code designed frames and the PBPD frames were subjected to extensive inelastic pushover and time-history analyses. The seismic responses of the study frames met the targeted performance criteria with considerable improvement over the corresponding baseline code designed frames.