Proportioning of Earthquake-Resistant RC Building Structures

A simple and efficient method is presented for proportioning of regular, moderate-rise reinforced concrete building structures. The method differs from conventional procedures in that member sizes are selected based on the demand defined by the displacement spectrum and criteria specified in relation to drift response. The maximum mean drift, or average distortion over the total height, is limited to reduce the expected damage to the structure. A series of analytical reinforced concrete frames are proportioned and tested using a suite of ground motions. Results of the analyses indicated that maximum displacement responses of the proportional frames were within the specified drift limit when a maximum-allowable period criterion was satisfied.