Reinforced Concrete Frame Example Building: Appendix B
Reinforced Concrete Frame Example Building: Appendix B
Reinforced Concrete Frame Example Building: Appendix B
B.1 Introduction
The following example documents the development of a computer model and a series
of analyses to ascertain building behavior by implementing this Guidelines document
and Part I Guidelines. The simple and discrete nonlinearity modeled is intentional
and reflects the modeling a practicing engineer may select as part of their ASCE/SEI
7-16, Minimum Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE, 2017a), design to
satisfy requirements of Chapter 16. As a simplification for this example, foundations
are modeled with pinned supports and rotational springs to represent the mat
foundation. For soil-structure interaction guidance refer to NIST 12-917-21, Soil-
Structure Interaction for Building Structures (NIST, 2012).
Floor construction consists of 12 in. normal weight concrete flat plate with perimeter
beams. The perimeter beams have a width of 24 inches and a depth below slab of 18
inches. A 12-inch-thick reinforced concrete slab is used in lieu of a post-tensioned
The site is located on Soil Type D and per ASCE/SEI 7-16 the building is designed
for Seismic Design Category D. The sites location in San Francisco is outside the
near-fault zone and within the deterministic cap.
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GCR 17-917-46v3
Figure B-2
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GCR 17-917-46v3
B: Reinforced Concrete Frame
Example Building
Level 5 plan.
Figure B-3
B-4
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B.3 Linear Structural Analysis and Design of Building
The example building is proportioned and designed under elastic analysis per
prescriptive requirements of ASCE/SEI 7-16 and ACI 318-14, Building Code
Requirements for Reinforced Concrete (ACI, 2014). The elastic analysis and design
process is not documented in its entirety as the interest of this guideline is focused on
the nonlinear analysis and design. However, some important elastic modeling
assumptions, analysis results, and structural designs are provided below.
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The computed periods and the modal response characteristics of the building for the
first six modes are presented in Table B-1.
The building is analyzed using the Modal Response Spectrum Analysis (MRSA)
procedure of ASCE/SEI 7-16 § 12.9.1 and ETABS software. In accordance with
ASCE/SEI 7-16 Section 12.9.1.4, the results of the MRSA are scaled such that the
base shear of MRSA is no less than that of the Equivalent Lateral Force (ELF)
The Story drifts are computed in accordance with ASCE/SEI 7-16 Section 12.9.1.4.2
and then checked for acceptance based on Section 12.12.1. According to ASCE/SEI
7-16 Table 12.12-1, the story drift limit for this Occupancy Category II building is 2
percent of the story height. The story drifts are taken directly from the modal
combinations in ETABS. A plot of the total deflection in both the N-S and E-W
directions is shown in Figure B-5 and a plot of story drifts is in Figure B-6.
Based on the elastic analysis results, the design and detailing of the primary moment
frame members, perimeter beams and columns, are representatively presented in this
section. The design of these members are of interest as the reinforcing in beams and
columns determines the backbone curves of the plastic hinges of beams and the fiber
cross section of the columns. The beam and column reinforcing design for MF-D
along grid D and MF-1 along grid 1 are scheduled in Table B-2 and Table B-3. The
primary beams and columns of MF-D and MF-1 are identified in Figures B-7 and
B-8.
As discussed in Section 3.6, the gravity system of the building also participates in
resisting earthquake demands and contributes to the overall building stiffness.
Therefore, the reinforcing design for floor slab is required to be modeled as a
secondary slab-beam frame system with nonlinear hinges. The design of the top and
bottom bars only at the column strips are of interest as the middle strips are generally
considered not engaged in the moment frame action. The following describes the
typical slab design over columns for the example building:
Top Bars: #7 @ 10 o.c.
Bottom Bars #5 @ 12 o.c.
Note that the design is given in the rebar intensity as the width of the slab-beam is
determined later in Section B.4.5.
The material stress-strain models for concrete and steel are developed for the
implementation of fiber-section hinges. The stress-strain model for steel is based on
a simple parametric definition. The parameters used to define the steel stress-strain
model are as follows and the resulting curve is illustrated in Figure B-9.
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The stress-strain model for confined concrete is based on the Mander parametric
definition. The parameters used to define the concrete stress-strain model are as
followed and the resulting curve is illustrated in Figure B-10.
Expected confined compressive strength: 7.8 ksi
B.4.2 Beam
The primary moment frame beams are modeled using elastic line elements and zero-
length rotational hinges to capture both the elastic deformation over the member
length and inelastic deformations near the ends of the members. The discrete
concentrated hinges are generally located at about 10% of the member length from
the ends, but the additional distance needs to be considered as the software typically
considers the analytical length, or center-to-center length, not the clear span length.
In this example, to account for the software using center-to-center element lengths, a
relative length factor of 0.20 is used instead of 0.10, so that the beam concentrated
hinges are all properly located to approximately account for the joint panel zone area.
The effective stiffness of the line-element, which captures both the flexural rigidity of
the beam outside the plastic hinges and the bar-slip effects, is determined using
Equations 4-2 and 4-3.
The concentrated nonlinear moment-rotation hinges for the beams are defined per
Section 4.2.3. Four parameters, cap,pl, pc, My, and Mc, are required to define the
idealized tri-linear backbone curve. Figure B-11 illustrates a sample T-beam section
B24×30×62 with (5)-#8 top and (5)-#7 bottom reinforcing.
p = 0.046
pc = 0.096 0.10
To account for the cyclic behavior, the backbone curve is modified with 0.7 and 0.5
factors applied to p, and pc, respectively (in accordance with Section 4.2.3).
p,cyclic = 0.033
pc,cyclic = 0.048
My + = 6100k-in
My = 7400k-in
numerical difficulties because the multiple events from one hinge could be
intertwined with the events from other hinges as multiple hinges are competing to
incrementally redistribute the loads to each other. This causes the nonlinear analysis
to become unstable as the program tries to reduce time steps to an unreasonable
minimal number to capture all these redistribution events. Based on this, the
presumably-conservative backbone approach of Figure B-12 was used in place of the
recommended approach of Figure 4-2.
B.4.3 Column
Similar to the beam assembly, columns are modeled using elastic line elements and
zero-length plastic hinges to capture both the elastic deformation over the member
length and inelastic deformations near the ends of the members. The discrete hinges
are located at 0.20 relative length from the ends (with the rationale being consistent
The effective stiffness of the line-element, which captures both the flexural rigidity of
the column outside the plastic hinges and the bar-slip effects, is determined using
Equations 4-2 and 4-3. Similar to beams, this equation assumes the drift ratio of
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0.008. Based on the equation above and the assumption of 1.0% reinforcing and
axial load ratio of 0.25, the effective stiffness factor of approximately 0.40 is
determined.
The fiber section of a column concentrated hinge is defined using its rebar layout
with concrete lumped into a reasonable number of fibers distributed within the
section geometry. A given concrete section with a rebar layout is automatically
converted to fiber-section in SAP2000 (CSI, 2016a). The original section definition
input and the resulting fiber-section are illustrated in Figure B-13 and B-14,
respectively.
In accordance with ASCE/SEI 41-13 Section 10.4.2.2, the beam-column panel zone
is defined without explicitly modeling joint stiffness, but rather using the line
elements extending from the beams and columns into the panel zone. The implicit
modeling of the joint stiffness has the column offsets as rigid and beam offsets as
flexible as new construction of moment frames have strong column-weak beam
conditioned as prescribed by ACI 318-14.
B.4.5 Slab-Beam
The slab-beam elements represent the secondary moment frame composed of the
gravity system. Similar to the primary beams, slab-beams are modeled using
elastic line elements and zero-length rotational hinges to capture both the elastic
deformation over the member length and inelastic deformations near the ends of the
The effective beam width calculated per ASCE/SEI 41-13, as referenced in Section
3.6.2, for the slab-beams ranges from 105 to 210 inches. To simplify modeling, four
representative slab-beam sections are defined with the widths of 105, 125, 160,
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and 210. The effective stiffness factor, eff, calculated per ASCE/SEI 41-13 (Eq.
C10-4) is 1/3 for all slab-beams in the model.
Condition i with Vg/Vo = 0.2 is assumed in determining the a, b, and c
modeling parameters in ASCE/SEI 41-13 Table 10-15. The resulting parameters are
as follows and the backbone curve is shown in Figure B-15.
a = 0.03
b = 0.04
c = 0.20
The resulting rigid-plastic backbone curve for the interior slab-column connection
torsional spring is illustrated in Figure B-16.
B.4.7 Damping
MCER ground motion. The building site in San Francisco is located outside the
near-fault zone and within the deterministic cap. Ground motions were scaled
between the period range of 3.20 s and 0.10 s per 16.2.4.1 and 16.2.4.2. Figure B-17
shows the target and ground motion response spectra developed for this building site
and Table B-4 lists the ground motion properties and scale factors.
Chi-Chi,
3 7.6 CHY029 C 11.0 0.27 38 -- 2.24
Taiwan
Chi-Chi,
4 7.6 TCU060 C 8.5 0.20 46 -- 3.53
Taiwan
Darfield, New
5 7.0 HORC D 7.3 0.47 105 9.9 1.14
Zealand
Christchurch
Darfield, New
6 7.0 Cashmere High E 17.6 0.25 49 -- 2.03
Zealand
School
7 Duzce, Turkey 7.1 Duzce D 6.6 0.53 86 -- 1.07
El Mayor- El Centro Array
8 7.2 D 11.3 0.39 74 8.7 1.7
Cucapah #12
El Mayor- Michoacan De
9 7.2 D 15.9 0.48 72 -- 1.39
Cucapah Ocampo
Kocaeli,
10 7.5 Duzce D 15.4 0.34 60 -- 1.46
Turkey
11 Landers 7.3 Joshua Tree C 11.0 0.30 33 -- 1.87
The computed periods and the modal response characteristics of the nonlinear
building model for the first six modes are presented in Table B-6. It is of interest to
note that the building periods are elongated compared to the elastic building model,
even though the nonlinear model has additional elements to contribute in lateral
stiffness. This is mainly because of the difference in the stiffness modifiers for the
beam and column elements used in the nonlinear model versus the elastic model.
The stiffness modifiers for beams and columns in the elastic model are 0.35 and 0.70,
respectively, while those in the nonlinear model are 0.21 and 0.40 (based on a
simplified approximation of stiffness modifiers, for a secant stiffness to the yield
point, not fully exercising the equations of Section 4.2.1.2).
In accordance with ASCE/SEI 7-16 Section 16.4.1.2, the mean story drift ratio is
checked as a part of the global acceptance criteria. The allowable story drift limit is
two times the limit employed for the elastic analysis. For the example building,
which is Risk Category II and masonry-free, the allowable story drift ratio under
nonlinear response history analysis is 4%. The mean story drift ratios in E-W and
N-S directions are illustrated in Figures B-18 and B-19, respectively. It is observed
that the building meets the drift criterion as the mean peak drifts at all levels and
directions are less than 4%.
Mean peak building responses in story shears and overturning moments in each
direction are illustrated in Figures B-20, B-21, B-22, and B-23.
Figure B-22 Maximum peak story overturning moment about north-south axis.
Figure B-23 Maximum peak story overturning moment about east-west axis.
For each beam or column element, there are two hinges associated to account for
both ends of the line element.
The acceptable plastic rotation for the primary beams of the example building is
determined based on the backbone curve of the beam hinges. Consistent with Table
10-7 of ASCE/SEI 41-13, the acceptable plastic rotations for beams at the
performance level of collapse prevention is equal to the rotation at the onset of the
strength loss, or cap,pl. The acceptable plastic rotation for the beams of the example
building is equal to 0.033.
The plastic rotations for the beam hinges in MF-D and MF-1 are illustrated in Figures
B-24 and B-25. It is observed that all beam hinges experience mean plastic rotations
(shown with orange rectangles in Figures B-24 and B-25) less than 0.033, therefore
the beam proportioning and design are all acceptable.
The acceptable plastic rotation for the primary columns of the example building is
determined from Table 10-8 of ASCE/SEI 41-13. The following parameters are
assumed to determine the acceptance criteria:
Condition =i
Axial ratio = 0.25
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The acceptable plastic rotation for the secondary slab-beams of the example building
is determined from Table 10-15 of ASCE/SEI 41-13. The consistent parameters used
to determine the backbone curve are assumed to determine the acceptance criteria:
Condition =i
Vg/Vo = 0.2
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The plastic rotations for the slab-beam hinges around the columns at B3 and C3, as
shown in Figure B-28, are illustrated in Figure B-29 and B-30. It is observed that all
slab-beam hinges experience mean plastic rotations less than 0.040, therefore the slab
proportioning and design are all acceptable.
The design shear demand for the column is the observed mean peak shear multiplied
by the critical load factor, = 2.0, and the importance factor, Ie = 1.0. The shear
capacity calculation and check of the column is not shown in this section. However,
it is observed that the B1 column and other columns at level 1 are not adequate
against the design shear, therefore re-proportioning and re-iterations may be required.
Transfer Beam
The internal forces, shear and moment, along the transfer beam are illustrated in
Figure B-33 and B-34. The design forces are the observed forces multiplied by the
load factor and importance factor. The resulting design forces for the transfer beam
are as follows. These transfer beams were then designed to remain elastic in
accordance with the requirements of Section 6.3.1 of the Part I Guidelines.
600 × 2 = 1,200k for shear (Critical element)
4,350 × 1.5 = 6,500k-ft for positive moment (Ordinary element)
6,800 × 1.5 = 10,000k-ft for negative moment (Ordinary element)
Figure B-33 Max and min peak shears for transfer beam on grid 4.
Figure B-34 Max and min peak moments for transfer beam on grid 4.
Because the column design against the simultaneous application of peak axial, peak
moments is very conservative, the P-M-M check of the column is evaluated with
internal forces corresponding to each time step. This results in DCR values for each
step and the peak DCR is observed for each ground motion cases. The mean of the
peak DCR values is then used to determine whether the column is adequate.
Before the DCR values are calculated for each time step, the internal forces due to
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the ground motion accelerations are amplified by the load and importance factors.
This is done by subtracting the initial internal forces, which are purely due to gravity
loadings corresponding to time step zero, from each time step and multiplying the
results with the appropriate factors and then adding back the previously subtracted
gravity induced forces.
The DCR check is evaluated using the column section design software spColumn by
StructurePoint. The resulting DCR of all 11 ground motions for the transfer column
at grid intersection of B.7 and 4 is plotted versus time in Figure B-35. The peak
values for each ground motion and the mean DCR are also determined as shown in
Table B-7 (which is the maximum DCR from each of the 11 ground motions, and
acceptance criteria is then based on the average value of these maximum individual
DCRs).
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