This paper uses computational simulation to investigate the lateral load‐displacement behavior and failure modes of a modern 14‐story reinforced concrete (RC) core wall building. The design complies with the minimum code requirements of the current California Building Code, which is based on ASCE 7–16 and ACI 318–14. The computational representation of the building, which accounts for the material nonlinearities of all structural components, employs the beam‐truss model (BTM) for the walls and floor slabs. Analyses of the building model are conducted for static monotonic and cyclic lateral loads using the program FE‐MultiPhys, which provides a user‐friendly implementation of the BTM as an assemblage of rectangular shell macroelements. Two different load patterns, that is, lateral load distributions along the building height, are considered. The analyses provide insights into the evolution of damage and lateral strength degradation and their dependence on the load pattern, while also elucidating the complex interaction between the webs and flanges of the core wall and the system effects associated with coupling between the walls, beams, slabs, and columns. The presentation of the analytical results is accompanied by a discussion on the advantages of the BTM over seismic analysis methods used in current code‐minimum and performance‐based seismic design (PBSD) practice.

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In this paper, a displacement-based seismic design procedure is presented for reinforced masonry shear-wall structures, with the objective of being more consistent, transparent, and practical than current force-based seismic design procedures. The procedure anticipates the formation of a plastic mechanism at specified target displacements, calculates the local deformation demands associated with that mechanism, and ensures that those local deformation demands remain below deformation capacities for flexure-dominated and shear-dominated wall segments. Guidelines to determine the target displacements and effective damping properties for reinforced masonry wall structures are provided. The proposed procedure and guidelines are used in a trial application to design a full-scale, two-story reinforced masonry shear-wall system.

This paper provides a comprehensive validation of a displacement-based seismic design procedure proposed in a companion paper for reinforced masonry shear-wall structures. For this purpose, a full-scale, two-story reinforced masonry specimen was tested on a shake table to examine the global and local behaviors of a low-rise reinforced masonry building designed by the proposed displacement-based procedure, and to validate the analytical tool used in the design process. This specimen successfully resisted repeated ground motions with intensities up to the maximum considered earthquake (MCE). Its performance on the shake-table demonstrates that a reinforced masonry structure designed, detailed, and constructed according to the proposed displacement-based design procedure can resist MCE earthquakes without collapse even though it may suffer severe damage. In critical regions of this specimen, elements detailed in accordance with displacement-based requirements showed more inelastic deformation capacity than the deformation limits imposed by the displacement-based design provisions proposed here. The proposed procedure produces structures that behave according to design expectations, even though severely damaged.