The effect of low and mid-rise buildings performance due to the definition of section damage limits with different codes

The aim of the study is to determine the seismic performance levels of 5, 10 and 15-storey building models selected to represent reinforced concrete structures in Turkiye, according to different regulations under the same acceleration records. 2018 Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBEC-2018) was taken into consideration during the design phase for the selected buildings. Pamukkale University, Denizli for the building location and ZD soil type were chosen during design and seismic performance evaluation. Building models designed according to TBEC-2018 were modelled for nonlinear analyses using section damage limits and effective section stiffness values defined in four different standards or codes: 2007 Turkish Earthquake Code, 2018 Turkish Building Earthquake Code, ASCE-41-17 and Eurocode-8. 11 acceleration pairs compatible with TBEC-2018 were selected for nonlinear time history analyses by applying both x- and y-directions of the models. The displacement demands, relative story drift ratios, displacement profiles and damage distribution ratios were compared for the considered standards/codes. The results differ depending on the section stiffness and section damage limit definitions for the performance level. It has been observed that the performance levels of TBDY-2018, which differs from the other three standards/codes, are incompatible with the design. It was evaluated that this situation was caused by effective section stiffness and reinforcing steel strain limits. To eliminate the incompatibility between new design and performance evaluation, new recommendations have been presented for section stiffness and reinforcing steel strain limits. It has been observed that the performance evaluation made with the recommended values is compatible with the design.