a b s t r a c t
This paper presents an analytical procedure for determining ductility damage indices using static
collapse mechanism analysis for ductile reinforced concrete (RC) frames subjected to prescribed drift
limits corresponding to different seismic performance levels. This assessment benefits from
performance-based seismic design (PBSD) concept that employs rotation ductility factors, pre-defined
target damage indices and beam sidesway mechanism as key performance objectives to estimate
curvature ductility demands at pre-designated plastic hinges of beam sidesway mechanism. The
proposed ductility-based damage indices (DBDI) assessment procedure considers regular frames with
secondary effects such as P-Delta and soil–structure interaction (SSI) within a simple non-iterative
process suitable for practical applications. A 12-story RC moment frame was chosen to implement the
proposed procedure considering P-Delta effect. Pushover analysis using SAP 2000 was carried out for the
frame to verify the results of the DBDI method. The results show that the DBDI seismic assessment
procedure can be used to quantify the damage potential at different performance levels and relate that to
local flexural ductility of critical frame members. The research presented in this paper provides a simple
yet conservative damage assessment tool for use by practicing engineers
A r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 12 January 2015
Accepted 24 May 2015
Available online 12 June 2015
Keywords:
Damage index
Ductility
RC
Seismic performance
Drift limit