ABSTRACT –
Seismic risk of Turkey is high due to location and vulnerable building stock. Research and
advances in earthquake engineering need to be followed by civil engineers in practice to
reduce seismic risk that is a primary concern for Turkey. Nonlinear static and dynamic
procedures are well-known methods for the evaluation of existing structures. However,
modeling of structures for these methods is complex compared to linear procedures. The
deformation capacity of each element component needs to be determined using its material and
geometric characteristics for the nonlinear procedures. Repeating this process for several
hundred elements in a typical structure makes the use of these procedures almost impossible.
In this paper, a practical software for estimating deformation capacity of reinforced concrete
sections is introduced. The software includes moment-curvature analysis and determination of
moment-rotation capacity of a section. Program provides the use of 4 different concrete
models and 4 different plastic hinge lengths. Additionally, it has the feature of preparing input
data for commonly used nonlinear analysis programs in Turkey. The easy-to-use feature and
provided alternatives in modeling makes the program useful and an educational tool for
engineers in practice and students. Also, visual part of the program makes engineers and students to easily understand element and system behavior under earthquakes The proposed
program is considered as useful tool for civil engineers in practice because it helps to visualize
the behavior of concrete components and understanding of the new chapter in 2007 Turkish
Earthquake Code that is included to guide evaluation and retrofit of existing structures