3. Practical Implementation of EC8 for Seismic Design of R/C Buildings – Flowcharts and Commentary

This chapter delineates all the required computational and logical steps involved in the analysis stage of seismic design of ordinary reinforced concrete (r/c) buildings according to Eurocode 8 (EC8) by means of detailed self-contained flowcharts and pertinent comments. Special focus is given to verification checks for structural regularity in plan and elevation, on the classification of building structures based on torsional sensitivity, on the determination of the maximum allowed behavior factor by EC8, and on the selection and implementation of the two equivalent linear methods of analysis considered by EC8, namely the lateral force method and the modal response spectrum method. Furthermore, additional flowcharts and comments are included for the implementation of EC8-prescribed post-analysis verification checks based on deformations, that is, verification check of second-order effects via the interstorey drift sensitivity coefficient and verification check for maximum interstorey drift to ensure that damage limitation requirements of EC8 are met. Practical recommendations expediting the implementation of EC8-compliant analysis of ordinary r/c buildings are provided. Finally, the required detailing and verification checks for the design of r/c structural members according to Eurocode 2 and Eurocode 8 are presented in the form of self-explanatory flowcharts, along with the special requirements for the determination of seismic design bending moment and shear force diagrams.