This study investigates the influence of ground motion duration on the dynamic deformation capacity of a suite of 10 modern reinforced concrete moment frame buildings. A robust numerical algorithm is proposed to estimate the dynamic deformation capacity of a structure by conducting incremental dynamic analysis. The geometric mean dynamic deformation capacity of the considered buildings was, on average, found to be 26% lower under long duration ground motions, compared to spectrally equivalent short duration ground motions. A consistent effect of duration on dynamic deformation capacity was observed over a broad range of structural periods considered in this study. Response spectral shape, however, was found to not significantly influence dynamic deformation capacity. These results indicate that the effect of duration could be explicitly considered in seismic design codes by modifying the deformation capacities of structures.

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