On the Use of Spectra to Establish Damage Control in Regular Frames during Global Predesign

A reliable seismic design requires the formulation of explicit design requirements for structural and nonstructural damage control. Recently, several methods for structural damage control have been established. While the majority of them take into consideration the maximum deformation demand, a few of them account for the effect of cumulative plastic deformation demands. From the comparison of the spectral values of displacement and plastic energy evaluated at the fundamental period of vibration and their corresponding demands in regular frames, it can be concluded that reliable estimates of these demands can be obtained for regular frames through the use of response spectra. Furthermore, within the context of performance-based design that accounts for low cycle fatigue, response spectra can be used for the conception of regular frames and, through the use of the static method of analysis, for their global predesign. Any reduction in lateral strength (base shear) that may be obtained from the use of dynamic methods of analysis should be carefully assessed.