Seismic fragility assessment of a RC frame considering concentrated and distributed plasticity modelling

Abstract Researchers must decide on how they will model the non-linear material response in a Finite Element simulation to assess seismic vulnerability. This paper aims at giving an insight into these modelling decisions by comparing Fiber and Lumped Plasticity Finite Element Models in static and dynamic non-linear analysis in a RC frame. The methodology is based on the performance-based earthquake engineering to determine the expected damage on structures. The results indicate that both models are in good agreement with the static analysis, and when considering Extensive and Complete Damage Limit States on the dynamic analysis. The choice between them depends on the main goals of the research and resources available, since they have a significant difference in processing time.