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Earthquakes impose severe stresses and deformations on buildings, often resulting in significant damage to both structural and non-structural components. Reinforced concrete (RCC) buildings are particularly vulnerable due to the complex behavior of structural elements under cyclic seismic loading. Traditionally, structural damage has been evaluated using various damage indices based on parameters like ductility, drift, and deformation. Among these, the Park and Ang damage index is widely used for RCC structures. However, this index primarily relies on the plastic hinge concept and assumes a constant moment-curvature relationship, which does not accurately capture the nonlinear interaction between axial force and flexural momenta critical limitation in realistic seismic scenarios. To overcome this, advanced modeling techniques such as fiber discretization have been introduced. This method allows for a more accurate representation of material degradation, including stiffness and strength loss, while capturing the distribution of plasticity along the member length. By considering the coupled response between axial force and bending moment, fiber-based models significantly improve the reliability of damage assessment in RCC structures under seismic loads. This study focuses on enhancing seismic damage evaluation through the use of axial-flexural coupled damage models, providing deeper insight into the structural response and enabling better-informed decisions for seismic design, retrofitting, and post-earthquake evaluation.Earthquakes have a profoundly negative impact on society, often resulting in the loss of human life and substantial economic damage, primarily due to structural failures. Both structural and non-structural components of buildings are affected, with the most critical impact seen in the lateral load-resisting systems. The immense stresses and deformations caused by seismic activity can severely compromise the integrity of structural elements. Over the past few decades, significant research has been conducted in the field of seismic engineering, focusing on the characterization and evaluation of structural damage. However, quantifying damage remains challenging due to the complex nature of structural degradation processes. Various analytical and experimental techniques have been developed to assess structural damage in situations such as disaster planning, vulnerability assessment, retrofitting, maintenance inspection, and post-earthquake evaluation. Parameters commonly used to characterize damage include ductility, drift ratio, deformation, strain softening, and energy dissipation. Among these, damage indices have proven particularly useful for quantifying structural degradation. These indices are generally based on either static or dynamic responses of structures, with inter-storey drift and lateral deflection being common indicators. However, overall deflection is often insufficient for accurate damage evaluation, whereas maximum element rotation, curvature, and ductility provide better insight into deformation capacity. Still, none of these parameters alone can fully quantify damage from cyclic loading.

Copyright © 2025 VISHAL M.SAPATE. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.