Author(s)

MARIA CRISTINA PORCU

Abstract

Despite being the more accurate method to design earthquake-resistant buildings, the non-linear dynamic analysis still remains the least used in practice. The paper shows that some code inadequa- cies may even contribute to ward off the designer from this kind of seismic analysis. To this purpose, non-linear analyses under different sets of spectrum-compatible earthquakes and by considering two distinct plastic-hinge models were carried out for a multistory reinforced concrete (r/c) frame designed according to the Eurocode 8 provisions. It has been shown that owing to the inadequate limits imposed to the spectrum-compatible earthquakes, the European codes of practice may lead to significant inconsistencies in the seismic design of structures through the time-history non-linear analysis. 

Keywords

earthquake-resistant buildings, EC8 inadequacies, spectrum-compatible earthquakes, time-history non-linear seismic analysis