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Tools for Assessing Performance
- The results of an analysis are useful only if they are presented in a way that supports decision making for design. PERFORM-3D includes powerful tools that assess the performance of a structure, and hence support design. These tools are as follows:
- Target displacement calculation for push-over analysis. A number of methods can be used, including those in ASCE 41 and FEMA 440.
- Usage ratio plots for single load cases. As the drift increases in a push-over analysis, or time increases in a response history analysis, the usage ratios for the limit states progressively increase. A usage ratio plot shows how the usage ratios vary for user-selected groups of limit states.
- Usage ratio envelopes for load combinations. It is common practice to run response history analyses for several earthquakes (often 7 or more), and to assess performance based the mean values of the usage ratios. The tool implements this procedure.
- Deflected shapes with color coding based on D/C ratio. These can be used to identify “hot spots” where the components are most heavily deformed.
User Processing of Analysis Results
- The PERFORM-3D analysis results are saved in a number of results files, each file containing results of a specific type (for example, node displacements).
- If the performance assessment tools in PERFORM-3D do not meet your needs, you can access the results files, and process the results in any way that you choose.
- You must, of course, write computer code to do the processing. You can use almost any programming language.
