Example Evaluation of the ATC-63 Methodology for Reinforced Concrete Special Moment Frame Buildings

The Applied Technology Council, under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has recently completed the ATC-63 document which contains a codified assessment methodology for quantifying structural collapse safety under seismic loading. This methodology is described in related companion papers. This paper illustrates how the ATC-63 performance assessment methodology can be applied to the class of reinforced concrete (RC) special moment frames (SMFs). The purpose of this example is two-fold: (a) to illustrate an application of the methodology; and (b) to "benchmark" the methodology by showing that it concludes that code-conforming RC SMF buildings, designed by recent code provisions, pass the method and are deemed to have acceptable collapse safety. This finding has one caveat; this work found that use of the ASCE 7-05 provisions result in unacceptable collapse safety for some tall buildings. To remedy this, the minimum base shear requirement of ASCE 7-02 is reinstated so that acceptable collapse safety can be achieved.