Overview
Structural seismic engineering deals with studying the behavior of structures subjected to seismic loading. Primarily, the focus of my research has been the behavior of non-seismically designed reinforced concrete frame structures. Such non-seismically designed structures form a major portion of the existing structures worldwide and are particularly vulnerable against seismic excitation. Some of the major issues making these structures vulnerable against earthquakes include insufficient joint shear capacity, poor detailing with small embedment lengths and inadequate lap splices, insufficient confinement, undesirable hierarchy of strength (e.g. strong beam – weak column) etc.