Universitätsbibliothek
Weimar Open Access

During the course of last decade or so, there has been a significant surge of interest in developing processes and procedures that incorporate performance based concepts in design and evaluation of structural system, the findings and observations presented raise important issues that point to the need for additional research and the development and validation of methodologies that minimize uncertainty and maximize confidence. Beyond question, apart from many advantages, these methodologies have some shortcomings which need to be overcome. The primary focus of this study is to provide an analytical approach to develop the generalized seismic load patterns which the structures experience during different earthquakes at their highest demand levels and develop general forcing function which can be used as load patterns for seismic performance analysis of structures. A second emphasis has been given towards the performance evaluation of the existing structures presented herein. In this context, the need of retrofitting has to be discussed taking into account the interaction with masonry infill walls and seismic action types.