Ranking of ground motions destructive capacity for low- and middle-rise RC frame structures based on a comprehensive intensity measure

To quantitatively evaluate the destructive capacity of ground motions for Chinese seismic design, a method to rank the ground motion based on a new comprehensive intensity measure is proposed. A total of 5535 ground motions from NGA-West2 database were used as the input ground motions for dynamic time history analysis to four typical reinforced concrete structures. By performing correlation analysis on the ground motion intensity measures (IMs) and structural response parameters, two optimal IMs, including the peak ground velocity and the relative input energy, are first selected to represent the damage capacity of ground motion. Through regression analysis, a new comprehensive IM is proposed to quantitatively describe the destructive capacity of ground motions. Then based on the proposed comprehensive intensity measure, all ground motions are ranked from first to last. Finally, the comparison with other methods proves the feasibility of the proposed ranking method in quantitatively describing the destructive capacity of ground motions.