The work described in this paper was undertaken to demonstrate that precast concrete systems can be practically designed to resist earthquakes, to identify areas where code provisions for seismic design need to be re-evaluated to specifically address the intrinsic characteristics of precast concrete, and to recommend improvements to these areas. The research focuses on a six-story precast concrete office building with a size and layout common in the United States. The system consists of an interior gravity load-resisting frame and a "dual system" for lateral load resistance consisting of interior shear walls and exterior spandrel frames. A testing program comprising panel-to-panel and beam-tocolumn connection tests was conducted, and an inelastic dynamic analysis of the lateral load-resisting system was performed. The study shows that the seismic performance of precast systems in resisting seismic loads can be as good as or better than that of cast-in-place systems.
