50 - 1 - 322 2 C4 1 Ductility and Capacity Design 2022

CSE C4 - 2022
C4 - EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND

SEISMICITY
Ductility and Capacity Design

Course Coordinator:
Dr. Carlos E. Ventura, P.Eng.
Instructor:
Dr. Freddy E. Pina, P.Eng.
Certificate Program in Structural Engineering

Instructor: Dr. F. Pina
Ductility and Force

Reduction Factors
Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4

Ductility
Structures (and individual members) are "ductile" if

• they can undergo repeated cycles of loads (or displacements)
that take them into the inelastic range without loss of strength
• although there could be considerable loss of stiffness
Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 3

Elastic versus Inelastic Response

Total Horizontal 
Load Total
Horizontal
Load
Max. Elastic Force Fel Linear Elastic

Response
Nonlinear
Response:
Ductile
Max.Inelastic Capacity Fy
Design Force Fdes

Nonlinear
Response:
Brittle
Roof
Displacement Δ
0
Inelastic Seismic Response
Consider 2 structures: A and B

Structure A with sufficient strength to remain elastic during
the entire earthquake.
Structure B is elasto-plastic and has the same initial
stiffness as structure A, but with a smaller strength (Fy)
as compared to A.
Even though the structure B undergoes inelastic response
(and hence damage), it will not collapse if it has the
capacity to undergo the large displacements required by
the inelastic response.

Elastic vs Inelastic Response


Total
Horizontal
Load
Fmax
Force
Force
Fy
0 ∆max 0 ∆y ∆max
Displacement Displacement
A - Linear Elastic System B - Inelastic (elasto-plastic) System

Ductility
Ductility is the capacity of a structure or a member to
undergo deformation beyond yield without loosing the
load-carrying capacity.
When you bend a pencil, it snaps without warning. Do
the same with a coat hanger and it will bend without
breaking – the coat hanger is ductile.
In order for a structure or a member to demonstrate

ductile behaviour, it needs to behave in an inelastic
manner, that is, elastic structures are generally not
ductile.

Ductility: a Definition
Total 
Horizontal
Load Total
Horizontal
Idealized Load
Response
Fy
Actual
Nonlinear
Response
Roof
0 Displacement Δ
∆y ∆max
Maximum Displacement  max

Ductility   
Yield Displacement y
Ductility…..
• Ductility is generally measured simply as the ratio µ of some total (elastic +

inelastic) deformation at failure to deformation at first yield
• Deformation can be expressed as displacement, rotation, or curvature
f o uo
Ry  
f y uy

um um 
uy

uo R y

What’s ∆ ?
SDOF
Δ
majority of mass m

MDOF T<1s, uniform buildings
me
Frame Building Shear Wall Building Linear

y~ 0.64 H y ~ 0.77 H y ~ 0.67 H
me ≈ 0.86M me ≈ 0.57M me ≈ 0.77M

What’s k?
V k V
1 k
1
Vy Vy
0.75V y
equal area II
Δy Δ Δy Δ

Measures of ductility:
1. Displacement ductility – entire structure μ∆=∆y/∆u
2. Rotational ductility – member
3. Curvature ductility – section
beam yields-forms
Δy Δu plastic hinges
Elastic Deformation Elastic+Plastic Deformation
θp-plastic rotation
Yield rotation - beams

θy
My My
MM
2L
L My
y  My
My
3EI My
θy θp Фθ
θu= θy+ θp
Rotational ductility p
  1 
y
p
  1 
y
What’s θy for shear

wall?
Δ
F
FL3 ML2
 
3EI 3EI
Recall that Rotn. for a Beam: L
θ  ML
 
L 3EI
M=F*L
L M yL
y  My y 
3EI 3EI

M
Curvature ductility
My
u p
   1 
y y
φy-well defined
Фy Фu Ф
φu, φp –difficult to Фu=Фy+ Фp
estimate
p
p 
lp
lp= length of plastic hinge, not well defined

Walls and columns
Concrete sections
Fy Wall Fy
H
θy θp
lp
lp/2
W
Фp=θp/lp
lp = .08H + .022dbfy (m & MPa) for column and beam sections

 0.5W
lp= 0.5d + .032(H/d)1/2 for walls, d  0.8W for rectangular walls, m units

Force Reduction Factor
We don't design buildings to remain undamaged after major earthquakes.

Therefore, buildings do not respond elastically to major earthquakes.
We expect buildings to suffer some damage and therefore to respond inelastically
When a building undergoes inelastic deformation, the following occurs:
• Effective stiffness is reduced
• Period is increased
• Energy is dissipated through plastic deformation, cracking, etc. (hysteresis
loops)
• Effective damping is increased
• Amplification of ground motion is reduced ○
 Therefore, earthquake loads on structure are reduced!

4.1.8.9. Overstrength and Ductility
• Rd ≈ Ductility factor
• Ro ≈ Overstrength factor
• Rd, Ro defined for each type of SFRS
• both appear in denominator of base shear equation
Reflects the capability of a structure to dissipate

energy through inelastic behaviour (often
referred to as a “ductility” factor)

Ductility & Force Modification Factor

1. The force modification factor, R, in past codes (eg. NBC 1995) reflected the
capability of a structure to dissipate energy through inelastic behaviour.
2. It was intended to characterize the important aspects of the hysteretic
behaviour of different structural systems undergoing inelastic response under
severe earthquake events. This factor was often referred to as a general
“ductility” factor, indicative of the ability of the structure to undergo deformations
beyond yielding, but also included several other key features such as energy
absorption and the ability to sustain load and stiffness under reversed cyclic
loading.
3. Since the 2005 version of NBCC, the design approach has considered the
additional influence of the inherent overstrength in different structural
systems. The NBCC includes two separate factors, one for ductility (Rd) and
one for overstrength (Ro).

A Force Modification Factor, Rd

 The ability of the structure to sustain levels of inelastic deformation implicit in
these ductility values is dependent on the material and detailing used.
 Both the structural ductility and the structural performance factors depend on
both the structural form selected and the materials used.
Near Elastic
=1.25
System Strength
Limited Ductile
=2.0
Fully Ductile
=4
Displacement

Ductility Modification Factor, Rd
1. The ductility-related force modification factor, Rd, essentially corresponds to

the R factor used in previous editions of the NBCC.
2. This factor ranges from 1.0 for brittle systems such as unreinforced masonry
to 5.0 for the most ductile systems such as ductile moment-resisting steel
frames.
3. For the more ductile systems, one must not only ensure ductile response of
individual elements of the seismic force resisting system (SFRS) but also
apply capacity design principles.
4. Capacity design is aimed at providing significant yielding in those elements
known to have the most ductile response, while limiting inelastic demand in
the other elements and avoiding all potential brittle failure modes.
5. This results in a structural system with a controlled hierarchy of yielding to
maximize the energy dissipation.


• Newmark and Hall conducted extensive dynamic analyses of elastic and elastic,
perfectly plastic SDOF systems
• They found that over most of the practical range of building periods (T > 0.4 sec)
elastic and elastic-plastic systems with the same T subjected to the same
ground motions have approximately the same peak displacement.
• This is known as the “equal displacement principle”
• So if a structure has an available ductility of R, the design forces can be
reduced by that same factor of R

Dependence on period T
Force Force
Elastic Elastic
Ductile Ductile
Displacement Displacement
Short T Structures Intermediate/Large T Structures

(T < ~0.4 s) (T > ~0.4 s)
Ductility (Equal Energy)
Using similar triangles:
Substituted above:
Simplifying:

Force Modification Factor, Ro
• During such a severe event, it is expected that structures having a “normal”

importance category would be damaged but would not collapse.
• Consequently, the actual capacity of the structure may be fully mobilized,
with the more ductile structures undergoing significant inelastic action.
• Traditionally, structures have been designed such that the members have
factored resistances equal to or greater than the effects from factored
loads.
• However, it has been shown that structures, particularly the more ductile
ones, can have a considerable reserve of strength that was not explicitly
considered in the past
• The overstrength-related force modification factor, Ro, which varies
between 1.00 and 1.70, was introduced (since 2005) to account for the
reserve of strength in the SFRS.

Ro - Overstrength Factor
Ro=RsizeRRyieldRsh Rmech
Rsize = rounding of sizes and dimensions

R = difference between nominal and factored resistance, 1/φ
Ryield = ratio of actual “yield” to minimum specified “yield”
Rsh = overstrength due to strain hardening
Rmech = overstrength arising from mobilizing full capacity of structure
(collapse mechanism)

Determination of the lateral design force, V, including ductility- and
overstrength-related force modification factors.
Vy = lateral force at yielding;
∆ = roof displacement;
∆e = roof displacement corresponding to Ve.
R = Rd x Ro
V=Ve/R
Ro Factors – Steel (Table 2, Mitchell)
R Factors – Steel (NBCC Table 4.1.8.9 )
1.3
Ro Factors – Concrete (Table 4, Mitchell)
R Factors – Concrete (NBCC Table 4.1.8.9)
Ro Factors – Masonry (Table 8, Mitchell)
R Factors – Masonry (NBCC Table 4.1.8.9)
Ro Factors – Timber (Table 6, Mitchell)
R Factors – Timber (NBCC Table 4.1.8.9)
Capacity Design
Concept
The following notes were kindly provided by Dr. Svetlana Brzev

Capacity Design – Goal:
Forces the structure to yield in a ductile manner, and
makes the rest of the structure strong enough not to
fail when the system forms a ductile mechanism.

Capacity Design
Concrete
 Ductile yielding generally means flexural yielding, plastic hinges
 Shear yielding usually means shear failure, and is normally a brittle failure, not good
Steel - ductile yielding can be:

 Flexural
 Joint deformation
 Shear deformation if detailed adequately e.g. shear yielding in eccentric braced panels
 Tension-compression yielding in buckling restrained braces
Wood
 Ductile shear walls – the nails deform plastically
 Special connections
Masonry
 Shear walls in flexure

Type of Damage
– Sudden versus gradual
• Example: Multi-storey Steel Building
– Beam Failure versus Brace Failure
– Beams : Flexural yielding versus Local Buckling
F Flexural Yield Response:

Ductile 
F
Local Buckling in Flexure : Non-
ductile
Brace Failure: Non-Ductile

∆
0

Progressive Collapse Mechanism …

• Beam versus Columns
Weak Beam
Weak Column
Strong
Beam
Strong
Column
Strong-Column Weak-Column
Weak-Beam Strong-Beam
Design Design
Beam sidesway Column sidesway

mechanism (weak mechanism (weak column-
beam-strong column)
strong beam)

There are “good” and “bad” failures …

The Concept
Sequencing
Ensure ductile element(s) yield prior to failure of brittle elements
Parent Metal Weld Metal
Maximum
Force
Maximum Force
Brittle
F Material
Force F
Force F
Bar Ductile
Final Final
Material Elongation Elongation
is large is small
0
0
Elongation of Bar Elongation of Bar
The Procedure
• Capacity Design Approach
– Step 1:
Assess required strength of Structure from seismic code
– Step 2:
Apply suitable safety factors on this load and material
properties, and design/detail ductile elements(s)

The procedure…
• Capacity Design Approach…
– Step 3:
Identify a desirable collapse mechanism
(Weak Column Strong Beam) (Strong Column Weak Beam)

:: SWAY Mechanism :: BEAM Mechanism
Poor
Good
The procedure…
• Capacity Design Approach…
– Step 4:
Assess upper-bound strength of the ductile element
(upper-bound loads on structure corresponding to
yielding of ductile elements)
– Step 5:
Design brittle elements corresponding to upper bound
load calculated above
Thus, ensure that brittle elements remain elastic

when the ductile elements yield

Capacity Design
of RC Frames

Frame Components

Weak Beam – Strong Column Mechanism – How to Achieve in

Design?

Weak Beam – Strong Column Mechanism – How to Achieve in

Design?
Columns must be stronger than beams in terms of

moment resistance !
Simple flexural mechanism
Flexural hinges
h
or
lp/2 typ.
Once a mechanism has formed, and if the flexural hinges do not have
strain hardening, then the forces resisted by the frame or the forces in
the members cannot increase. Thus the members can be designed for
shear and axial loads so that they will not fail in these brittle manners.
If there is strain hardening then the moment capacity of the flexural
hinges is taken to be the maximum that could occur before flexural
degradation or weakening.

Shear Resistance for Beams
The objective of the shear design of beams is to ensure that the member develops flexural
hinging (flexural failure) prior to shear failure
Column Shear Requirements
The objective of shear design of columns is to

preventCertificate
shear failure prior to flexural failure !
Program in Structural Engineering – C4
Plastic Hinges
1. Deformations in ductile concrete frames are mainly

concentrated at the predetermined locations in the
beams and columns called hinges.
2. In case of a major earthquake, these hinges are
expected to be subjected to very high stresses and
they need to be designed and constructed with a
special care.

Plastic hinges formed in the ground floor of the Imperial County building
(note the offset between the columns and shear wall above)

Detail of column failure at the base (note the absence of adequate

confinement of the concrete and shear reinforcement)

Plastic hinge at the top of a bridge pier (1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake)

The Soft Storey Collapse Mechanism
drift
drift
normal soft story
overstress

Soft Storey Effect
Extensive damage to the Olive View Hospital in the 1971 San

Fernando (California) eq. due to soft storey mechanism and P- effect
(Credit: Steinbrugge Collection)
Soft Storey Effect
Building collapse in the 2003 Boumerdes (Algeria) eq. Due to the soft
storey effect (Photo: M. Farsi)
Confinement in Plastic Hinge Regions - Beams

Confinement in Plastic Hinge Regions - Columns
Lap splices allowed within the center half of

the column length (Cl.21.4.3.2)

RC Moment Frames
A Summary of A23.3-04 Seismic Requirements
Rd=1.5 Rd=2.5 Rd=4.0

Beam-Column Joints
A frame structure carries earthquake forces primarily through bending in the beams and
columns. The bending is mobilized by strong rigid joints between columns and beams .
The joints, however, become highly stressed and the details of their construction are very
important.
The main objective of seismic design of beam-column joints in moment frames is to

ensure that the joints are properly confined and capable of transmitting shears from beam
hinging.

Behaviour of beam-column joints

Shear failure of beam-column joints

The shear force is transferred through a joint by diagonal compressive struts in

the concrete acting together with tensile forces in vertical reinforcement.

1985 Mexico City eq. (Credit: EERI)

Beam-Column Joints

Beam-Column Joints Details

Anchorage Details

Summary
1. Without ductility, we must design our structure to withstand much greater
forces as it must remain elastic.
2. Furthermore, without ductility we have no reserve capacity in case the
earthquake is bigger than we expect it to be
3. For the more ductile systems, one must not only ensure ductile response
of individual elements of the seismic force resisting system (SFRS) but
also apply capacity design principles.
4. Capacity design is aimed at providing significant yielding in those elements
known to have the most ductile response, while limiting inelastic demand in
the other elements and avoiding all potential brittle failure modes.
5. This results in a structural system with a controlled hierarchy of yielding to
maximize the energy dissipation.

References & Notes
Anil Chopra, “Dynamics of Structures,”3rd Ed. Prentice Hall, 2008.
Denis Mitchell, Robert Tremblay, Erol Karacabeyli, Patrick Paultre, Murat Saatcioglu, and
Donald L. Anderson. “Seismic force modification factors for the proposed 2005 edition of the
National Building Code of Canada,” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 30: 308–327 (2003)
Several slides were kindly provided by Dr. Svetlana Brzev
Notice
While the instructors have tried to be as accurate as possible, they cannot be held responsible for the designs of others that might be based
on the material presented in this course and these notes. The material taught at this course is intended for the use of professional personnel
competent to evaluate the significance and limitations of its contents and recommendations, and who will accept the responsibility for its
application. The instructors and the sponsoring organizations disclaim any and all responsibility for the applications of the stated principles
and for the accuracy of any of the material taught at the course and contained in these notes.

The End








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CSE C4 - 2022

C4 - EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND

Ductility and Capacity Design

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering

Ductility and Force

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4

Structures (and individual members) are "ductile" if

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 3

Elastic versus Inelastic Response

Max. Elastic Force Fel Linear Elastic

Design Force Fdes

Inelastic Seismic Response

Consider 2 structures: A and B

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4

Elastic vs Inelastic Response

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4

In order for a structure or a member to demonstrate

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4

Maximum Displacement  max

• Ductility is generally measured simply as the ratio µ of some total (elastic +

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 9

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 10

MDOF T<1s, uniform buildings

Frame Building Shear Wall Building Linear

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 11

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 12

Elastic Deformation Elastic+Plastic Deformation

Yield rotation - beams

What’s θy for shear

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 15

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 16

lp = .08H + .022dbfy (m & MPa) for column and beam sections

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 17

Force Reduction Factor

We don't design buildings to remain undamaged after major earthquakes.

 Therefore, earthquake loads on structure are reduced!

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 18

4.1.8.9. Overstrength and Ductility

Reflects the capability of a structure to dissipate

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 19

Ductility & Force Modification Factor

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 20

A Force Modification Factor, Rd

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 21

Ductility Modification Factor, Rd

1. The ductility-related force modification factor, Rd, essentially corresponds to

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 22

Force Reduction Factor

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 23

Short T Structures Intermediate/Large T Structures

Ductility (Equal Energy)

Using similar triangles:

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 25

Force Modification Factor, Ro

• During such a severe event, it is expected that structures having a “normal”

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4 No. 26

Rsize = rounding of sizes and dimensions

Force Reduction Factor

The following notes were kindly provided by Dr. Svetlana Brzev

Certificate Program in Structural Engineering – C4

Capacity Design – Goal:

Forces the structure to yield in a ductile manner, and

makes the rest of the structure strong enough not to