06-10-2010, 11:12 AM
The articles in EC8 refer to primary and secondary members. For further information about the formation of plastic hinges in columns go to: Seismic Design of Reinforced Concrete and Masonry Buildings by T.Paulay&N.Priestley.
By choosing some structural members as secondary members, they can be designed without considering the requirements given in EC8. So, in my opinion, this solution can be applied if you have beams with very large dimensions, compared to the columns.
Codes do not require non-linear analysis, so if you design a building using any type of linear analysis you won't be able to see if hinges appear in columns. Only nonlinear analysis can tell you this. How can you design a building so as not to have plastic hinges in columns without the use of nonlinear analysis?
I have never said that it is OK to have plastic hinges in columns, but this situation can occur and this does not mean that you will have a structural collapse.
What do you mean by brittle collapse?
The formation of plastic hinges in columns is due to the bending moment. From the beginning it is assumed that any form of brittle failure is forbidden. So of what type of brittle collapse are you talking about?
By choosing some structural members as secondary members, they can be designed without considering the requirements given in EC8. So, in my opinion, this solution can be applied if you have beams with very large dimensions, compared to the columns.
Codes do not require non-linear analysis, so if you design a building using any type of linear analysis you won't be able to see if hinges appear in columns. Only nonlinear analysis can tell you this. How can you design a building so as not to have plastic hinges in columns without the use of nonlinear analysis?
I have never said that it is OK to have plastic hinges in columns, but this situation can occur and this does not mean that you will have a structural collapse.
What do you mean by brittle collapse?
The formation of plastic hinges in columns is due to the bending moment. From the beginning it is assumed that any form of brittle failure is forbidden. So of what type of brittle collapse are you talking about?