This detailed guide is designed to enable the reader to understand the relative importance of the numerous parameters involved in seismic design and the relationships between them, as well as the motivations behind the choices adopted by the codes.

This comprehensive and well-organized book presents the concepts and principles of earthquake resistant design of structures in an easy-to-read style. The use of these principles helps in the implementation of seismic design practice. The book adopts a step-by-step approach, starting from the fundamentals of structural dynamics to application of seismic codes in analysis and design of structures. The text also focusses on seismic evaluation and retrofitting of reinforced concrete and masonry buildings. The text has been enriched with a large number of diagrams and solved problems to reinforce the understanding of the concepts. Intended mainly as a text for undergraduate and postgraduate students of civil engineering, this text would also be of considerable benefit to practising engineers, architects, field engineers and teachers in the field of earthquake resistant design of structures.

A brief summary of the history of seismic design as given in chapter 1, indicates that initially design was purely based on strength or force considerations. When the importance of displacement, however, became better appreciated, it was attempted to modify the existing force-based approach in order to include considerations of displacement, rather than to totally reconsider the procedure on a more rational basis. In the last decade, then, several researchers started pointing out this inconsistency, proposing displacement-based approaches for earthquake engineering evaluation and design, with the aim of providing improved reliability in the engineering process by more directly relating computed response and expected structural performance. The main objective of this report is to summarize, critically review and compare the displacement - based approaches proposed in the literature, thus favouring code implementation and practical use of rational and reliable methods. Chapter 2 Seismic performance and design objectives of this report introduces concepts of performance levels, seismic hazard representation, and the coupling of performance and hazard to define performance objectives. In fact, for displacement analysis to be relevant in the context of performance-based design, the structural engineer must select appropriate performance levels and seismic loadings. A critical review of some engineering limit states appropriate to the different performance levels is therefore proposed. In chapter 3 Conceptual basis for displacement-based earthquake resistant design, the fundamental principles associated with displacement of the ground during an earthquake and the effects, in terms of displacement, in the structure, are reviewed. The historical development guides the presentation with a review of general linear and nonlinear structural dynamics principles, general approaches to estimate displacement, for both ground and structure, and finally a general presentation of the means to measure and judge the appropriateness of the displacements of the structure in section. Chapter 4 Approaches and procedures for displacement-based design can be somehow considered the fundamental part of the report, since a critical summary of the displacement - based approaches proposed by different researchers is presented there. Displacement - based design may require specific characterization of the input ground motion, a topic addressed in Chapter 5 Seismic input. In general, various pertinent definitions of input motion for non-code format analysis are included, while peak ground parameters necessary for code base shear equations are only addressed as needed for the definition of motion for analysis. Chapter 6 Displacement capacity of members and systems addresses the fundamental problem of evaluating the inelastic displacement capacity of reinforced concrete members and realistic values of their effective cracked stiffness at yielding, including effects of shear and inclined cracking, anchorage slip, bar buckling and of load cycling. In Chapter 7 Application and evaluation of displacement-based approaches, some of the many different displacement based design procedures briefly introduced in Chapter 4 are applied to various case studies, identifying and discussing the difficulties a designer may encounter when trying to use displacement based design. Results for five different case studies designed in accordance with eight different displacement based design methods are presented. Although in general case studies are considered a useful but marginal part of a state of the art document, in this case it has to be noted that chapter 7 is possibly the most innovative and fundamental part of the whole report. The conclusions of chapter 7 are the fundamental and essential conclusions of the document and allow foreseeing a bright future for displacement - based design approaches. The state-of-art report has been elaborated over a period of 4 years by Task Group 7.2 Displacement-based design and assessment of fib Commission 7Seismic design, a truly international team of experts, representing the expertise and experience of all the important seismic regions of the world. In October 2002 the final draft of the Bulletin was presented to the public during the 1st fibCongress in Osaka. It was also there that it was approved by fib Commission 7Seismic Design.

This book examines and presents essential aspects of the behavior, analysis, design and detailing of reinforced concrete buildings subjected to strong seismic activity. Seismic design is an extremely complex problem that has seen spectacular development in the last decades. The present volume tries to show how the principles and methods of earthqua

The papers, from 18 countries in Europe and elsewhere, contain discussions of quite radical innovations in material technology, design philosophy, experimental techniques and analytical approaches that will affect seismic design practice into the next century. Papers are organised into 9 sections: Ground motion and seismic hazard studies; Seismic design of foundations; Seismic design of steel, concrete and masonry buildings; Seismic design of offshore, nuclear and petrochemical installations; Seismic design of bridges, dock and power station structures; Repair and strengthening of bridges and buildings; Active and passive methods of seismic control; Dynamic testing methods; Seismic codes of practice. The proceedings will provide essential material for all those from both industrial and research organisations needing to keep in touch with the state-of-the-art in earthquake engineering and related earch sciences.

A comprehensive book focusing on the Force Analogy Method, a novel method for nonlinear dynamic analysis and simulation This book focusses on the Force Analogy Method, a novel method for nonlinear dynamic analysis and simulation. A review of the current nonlinear analysis method for earthquake engineering will be summarized and explained. Additionally, how the force analogy method can be used in nonlinear static analysis will be discussed through several nonlinear static examples. The emphasis of this book is to extend and develop the force analogy method to performing dynamic analysis on structures under earthquake excitations, where the force analogy method is incorporated in the flexural element, axial element, shearing element and so on will be exhibited. Moreover, the geometric nonlinearity into nonlinear dynamic analysis algorithm based on the force analogy method is included. The application of the force analogy method in seismic design for buildings and structural control area is discussed and combined with practical engineering.