Seismic response modification factors of reinforced concrete staggered wall structures

This study investigated the response modification factor for reinforced concrete staggered wall structures based on the approach of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema P695). In this study, 24 model structures, categorised into 14 performance groups, were designed as per recommendations of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE 7-10) using two different response modification factors. Incremental dynamic analyses were carried out using 44 earthquake records, and the results were used to obtain fragility curves. The results showed that model structures designed with a response modification factor (R) of 3 satisfied the acceptance criteria specified in Fema P695. However, the model structures designed with R 6 and categorised as seismic design category D_max failed to satisfy the acceptance criteria. Based on this observation, response modification factors of 4 to 5 are recommended for staggered wall system structures.