On the design and evaluation of seismic response of RC buildings according to direct displacement-based design approach

This paper describes a research work on the evaluation of seismic response of reinforced concrete frames designed according to Direct Displacement-Based Design (DDBD) approach. A group of plane RC frames, characterized by a variable number of storeys, was designed by means of this methodology. Then, seismic performance of designed frames was studied by carrying out pushover and non-linear dynamic analyses. Results of analyses were compared with the seismic behavior expected from design. Some evaluations are also made on the differences between DDBD and more traditional force-based design procedures.