Seismic resistant concrete frame failing according to a global mechanism

In this paper a new method for designing moment resisting concrete frames failing in a global mode is presented. The method is based on the application of the kinematic theorem of plastic collapse. The beam section properties are assumed to be known quantities, because they are designed to resist vertical loads. As a consequence, the unknowns of the design problem are the column sections. They are determined by means of design conditions expressing that the kinematically admissible multiplier of the horizontal forces corresponding to the global mechanism has to be the smallest among all kinematically admissible multipliers. In addition, the proposed design method includes the influence of second-order effects. The practical application of the proposed methodology is herein presented with reference to the design of a multi-storey frame whose pattern of yielding is validated by means of push-over analysis.