Nanako Marubashi - Assistant Professor, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi,
Santiago Pujol - Assistant Professor, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Toshikasu Ichinose - Professor, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya
Mogens P. Nielsen - Emeritus Professor, Technical University of Denmark, Bygning

A new methodology for design of low-rise RC building structures is proposed. This methodology uses base shear strength as the sole variable in the estimation of the maximum displacement demand. The formulation is applicable to ‘asymmetric’ ground motions exhibiting a large difference between the peak accelerations in opposite directions of motion, which result in larger inelastic displacement than symmetric ground motions. Conventional methods such as The Capacity Spectrum Method do not yield adequate results for such ‘asymmetric’ ground motions. The proposed method is effective if the period at the yield strength is smaller than 0.5 s, the base shear coefficient of the building is smaller than 0.4, and the ground motion is strong (PGA > 0.5g and PGV > 0.5 m/s).

base shear strength, displacement demand, asymmetric ground motions