Evaluation / Design Approaches to be Applied per ASCE 7-16

ASCE 7-16 recommends that a standard building be designed to satisfy one performance objective, life safety. It has been subjected to two-thirds of the Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) shaking level.

In the usual application, two sets of earthquake ground motions are selected, one to represent a service level earthquake (SLE) and another to represent a maximum considered earthquake (MCE). Calculated responses include maximum transient and residual displacements and story drifts; inelastic rotations and strains in components that are intended to yield as part of the inelastic mechanism; and internal forces in components or in behaviors that are intended to remain within the linear-elastic range of response. Each ground motion produces its own response, requiring a statistical evaluation of the results to determine whether the structural system meets the performance criteria.