PEER Reports

Considerable research is under way throughout the world to establish performance-based assessment and design methodology for buildings. Japan and the United States are at the forefront of this research effort, as well as efforts to implement the research results. The U.S.-Japan Cooperative Research in Urban Earthquake Disaster Mitigation, sponsored in Japan by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, and in the U.S. by the National Science Foundation, is funding collaborative research in Japan and the U.S. The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center in the U.S. has...

Fractures observed at the welded beam-column connections in steel moment-resisting frames after recent earthquakes have led structural engineers to investigate the hysteretic behavior of such connections. Extensive research was subsequently performed on connections, and much is now known about their behavior. However, the same cannot be said for the effects of this behavior on overall system response, particularly if degradation occurs in connection strength or stiffness. Some analytical studies have been performed, but experimental data are virtually nonexistent for systems with degrading...

The objective of this study is to improve the understanding of behavior patterns and the quantification of seismic demands for nondeteriorating regular fr ames subjected to ordinary ground motions. In this study, the term ordinary refers to ground motions that are recorded at distances greater than 13 km from the fault rupture, that do not exhibit pulse-type characteristics, and that are recorded on stiff soil sites. Engineering demand parameters (EDPs) of interest include roof and story drifts, local deformations, absolute floor accelerations and velocities, story shears and...

Fragility functions are developed that predict the method of repair required for older reinforced concrete beam-column joints damaged by earthquake loading. The results of previous experimental studies are used to develop empirical relationships between damage states and traditional measures of earthquake demand, such as interstory drift, joint deformation, and number of load cycles. Damage states are proposed and linked deterministically with commonly employed MORs; these damage states are characterized by parameters such as concrete crack width, extent of concrete spalling, and yielding...