To examine the implications of near-fault ground motions on current aseismic designmethods, in this work a numerical investigation is carried out considering the nonlinearseismic response of reinforced concrete (RC) framed buildings designed according to theEuropean seismic code (EC8). More precisely, six- and twelve-storey RC plane frames,representative of medium and high rise symmetric framed buildings, are designed withreference to the enhanced ductility class and to the stratigraphic profiles A (corresponding torock) and D (corresponding to moderately soft soil) in a high-risk seismic region. The seismicanalysis of the test structures is performed by using a step-by-step procedure and a bilinearmodel idealizing the behaviour of the frame members. Artificially generated (matching EC8response spectra for subsoil classes A and D) and real (for rock- and soil-site at near-faultareas) accelerograms are considered. The results show that near-fault ground motion effectsshould be adequately taken into account in EC8 provisions, particularly regarding flexible RCframed structures placed near known active faults; moreover, more attention should be paid tothe design of the lower storeys.
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