The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) is conducting a large “area of emphasis�? project to develop an industry-endorsed comprehensive seismic design methodology for precast concrete floor diaphragms. A multi-university research team from the University of Arizona (UA), Lehigh University (LU), and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) has been selected to perform this collaborative research. An active industry task group is overseeing the planning and execution phases of the research. These groups comprise the DSDM (Diaphragm Seismic Design Methodology) Consortium. The 05DM Consortium research closely integrates finite element analyses of the diaphragm at UA with full-scale reinforcing detail experiments at LU and shaking table system tests at UCSD. The purpose of this and a companion paper, published in the September-October2005 issue of the PCI JOURNAL, is to outline the foundation for this research and provide context for the technical papers to follow as well as the eventual design methodology. The earlier companion paper described the underlying design philosophy and the resulting design framework that will serve as a basis for the emerging design methodology. This paper focuses on the research program itself, including the integrated research approach, the project’s physical scope, and the specific analytical and experimental research activities.
