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Most current seismic design includes the nonlinear response of a structure through a response reduction factor ( R). This allows the designer to use a linear elastic force-based approach while accounting for nonlinear behavior and deformation limits. In fact, the response reduction factor is used in modern seismic codes to scale down the elastic response of a structure. This study focuses on estimating the actual ' R' value for engineered design/construction of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Kathmandu valley. The ductility and overstrength of representative RC buildings in Kathmandu are investigated. Nonlinear pushover analysis was performed on structural models in order to evaluate the seismic performance of buildings. Twelve representative engineered irregular buildings with a variety of characteristics located in the Kathmandu valley were selected and studied. Furthermore, the effects of overstrength on the ductility factor, beam column capacity ratio on the building ductility, and load path on the response reduction factor, are examined. Finally, the results are further analyzed and compared with different structural parameters of the buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 25 April 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal caused severe structural damage in central Nepal, including the capital city Kathmandu. Both seismic vulnerability analysis of affected buildings and nonlinear time history analysis need increasing time history. However, no adequate records are available in Nepal, thus structural engineering practices follow Indian guidelines. The Nepal building code allows time history analysis along with the seismic coefficient and response spectrum methods, so nonlinear time history analysis can be used to assure adequate seismic safety. To fulfill the gap of recorded accelerograms, we developed artificial acceleration time histories considering the seismic hazard model of Chaulagain et al. (2015). We compared the synthetic accelerograms developed in this study with the records of Gorkha earthquake; the recorded maximum peak ground acceleration during the Gorkha earthquake showed comparable acquaintance only to the peak amplitudes of synthetic accelerograms generated for 300- and 475-year return periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]