Limits of Applicability of Conventional and Advance Pushover Analysis for Seismic Response Assessment

In this report, the applicability of conventional and advanced inelastic static (pushover) analysis for seismic response assessment is investigated. A methodology is first suggested for evaluating the performance of pushover methods, based on a quantitative measure for the difference in response between pushover and inelastic dynamic analysis which is deemed to be the most accurate, but still expensive numerical method available. This methodology is applied on a set of eight different structural systems, covering various levels of irregularity in plan and elevation, structural ductility and directional effects. An extensive series of pushover analysis results, monitored on various structural levels is presented and compared to inelastic dynamic analysis under various strong motion records. General conclusions on the applicability of inelastic static analysis for seismic response assessment are finally discussed.National Science Foundation EEC-9701785published or submitted for publicatio