REVIEW OF NONLINEAR TIME HISTORY ANALYSIS IN PERFORMANCE-BASED DESIGN FOR MEDIUM TO HIGH-RISE RC BUILDINGS

Abstract

Medium- to high-rise reinforced concrete (RC) buildings are highly vulnerable to earthquake forces due to their complex dynamic behavior and nonlinear response characteristics. Conventional force-based seismic design methods are often inadequate for accurately predicting structural performance during strong earthquakes, leading to the development of Performance-Based Seismic Design (PBSD) as a more reliable and objective-oriented approach. This review paper examines the role of Nonlinear Time History Analysis (NLTHA) in the PBSD of medium- to high-rise RC buildings. The study discusses the development of PBSD, international seismic guidelines, nonlinear modeling techniques, ground motion selection and scaling, material and geometric nonlinearities, performance assessment procedures, and recent research trends. It also reviews seismic performance studies on regular and irregular RC buildings, shear wall systems, dampers, and base isolation techniques. The review highlights that NLTHA provides superior accuracy in predicting structural response, damage progression, plastic hinge formation, and collapse mechanisms compared to conventional seismic analysis methods. Although NLTHA requires significant computational effort and detailed modeling, it is considered one of the most effective tools for realistic seismic performance evaluation and for achieving safer, more resilient, and performance-oriented design of reinforced concrete buildings.