ABSTRACT
Use of high strength materials in construction is on the increase, mainly due to pressure on land use in urban centres. However, insufficient information exists on the deformational characteristics of members with high strength concrete and high yield steel in the inelastic range, relevant to seismic response. Since the constituent materials respond in a manner clearly distinct from their normal strength counterparts, it follows that existing seismic design guidelines are probably inadequate for design of high strength structures. In this paper, the progression of the use of high strength reinforced concrete in construction is reviewed briefly. A compendium of previous test ranges is assembled to demonstrate that the problem has not been consistently and comprehensively addressed. The framework of an ongoing testing programme at Imperial College is presented and sample results given. Finally, results from static and dynamic analysis of multi-storey buildings with different concrete strength-steel yield pairs are discussed and assessed from an earthquake response viewpoint.
