Keywords: advanced analysis, pushover analysis, constant ductility inelastic spectrum, target displacement, Eurocode 8, reinforced concrete frames.

This paper presents an integrated system for advanced structural analysis and seismic performance evaluation of reinforced concrete frameworks. The advanced non-linear inelastic static analysis employed herein uses the accuracy of the fiber element approach for large deflection inelastic frame analysis and addresses its efficiency both at element level, through the use of only one element to model each physical member of the frame, and at a cross-sectional level through the use of the path integral approach for numerical integration of the cross-sectional nonlinear characteristics. In this way, the states of strain, stress and yield stress are monitored explicitly during each step of the analysis, the arbitrary cross-sectional shape, various stress-strain relationships for concrete and reinforcement steel are accurately included in the analysis. The capacity curve is determined through advanced pushover analysis, and then the evaluation of the seismic performance is achieved with an approach that uses nonlinear time-history analysis of a single degree-of-freedom oscillator. The procedure is developed in the framework of the provisions of Eurocode 8. The ductility demand is determined directly from a set of accelerograms, without graphical or numerical approximations. Several computational examples - for different height-rise frame structures of 5, 9 and 15 stories - are given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the reliability and time saving of the code. The proposed approach is presented as an efficient, reliable tool, ready to be implemented into design practice for advanced analysis and pushover analysis of reinforced concrete frame structures.

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