Development of a Drift Protocol for Seismic Performance Evaluation considering a Damage Index Concept

In this paper, two new protocols are proposed, developed based on cycle counting and forward ordering of interstory drift time histories for representative mid- and low-rise building structures. The proposed drift protocols involve: (i) ground motion selection and scaling, (ii) representative building selection and modeling, (iii) nonlinear structural dynamic response calculations, and (iv) modified simple range counting to derive amplitude count information. In this work, demand sequencing is considered. This aspect is important, as excursions with the same amplitude occurring at different times will contribute differently to structural damage; therefore, they are sequenced and weighted differently. For this purpose, a damage index concept is used to evaluate each excursion and define instantaneous weight factors. The protocols are applied to a series of in-plane racking tests on window systems. Damage modes and associated drift limits are compared for the proposed protocols as well as several others, namely; a monotonic (static) push, the “Crescendo” (dynamic) loading protocol, and the FEMA 461 (quasistatic) loading protocol.