Seismic damage assessment of reinforced concrete frames with shear wall according to load pattern

Studies have shown that most structures subjected to strong ground motions fall into an inelastic state. Therefore, it is necessary to study the inelastic behaviour of structures undergoing such earthquakes. In this study, three reinforced concrete (RC) frames with shear wall are considered. The preliminary designs of these frames are based on equivalent static forces in accordance with six patterns of loading distribution (namely Uniform Building Code (UBC), National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), Iranian seismic code, modified rectangular, first mode and the first three modes). The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of damage in accordance with these six load patterns. IDARC 2D software has been used to calculate maximum drift, hysteretic energy and structural damage index when subjected to severe earthquakes. The results show that the current seismic design based on strength principles, even considering uniform strength distribution, does not lead to a uniform distribution of hysteretic energy, drift and damage index in storey height. However, modified rectangular and the first three mode patterns show more uniform distribution of damage than the others.