DEFORMATION-CONTROLLED EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT DESIGN OF RC BUILDINGS

A procedure for deformation-controlled, or displacement-based, seismic design of multistorey RC buildings is proposed, implemented and applied for the full design of a four-storey RC structure. It is integrated into the overall structural design, along with the design for the non-seismic actions and consists of a ULS verification against the conventional strain limits for a frequent “serviceability” earthquake and of proportioning the compression reinforcement and the transverse reinforcement of critical regions of members to meet the member peak inelastic chord rotation demands under the “life-safety” seismic action. Quantitative rules and expressions are proposed for the estimation of (a) mean and upper-characteristic peak inelastic chord rotation demands, through appropriate linear-elastic analyses, and (b) mean and lower-characteristic values of member ultimate chord rotations, in terms of member geometric and material data.