Meeting the Challenges of Reducing Earthquake Losses: Engineering Accomplishments and Frontiers

Accomplishments in earthquake engineering under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) have been numerous since the inception of the federal program in 1977 and are noted herein with a series of examples of former and present work done by NSF, FEMA, NIST and their investigators. These examples illustrate the implementation of research and development towards reducing earthquake losses, and include projects done to (a) better understand response of constructed facilities to earthquakes, (b) develop improved national standards and practices for planning, design and construction of earthquake resistant facilities, (c) develop methods for assessment of vulnerability of existing facilities to earthquake effects, and (d) develop methods for strengthening or repair of vulnerable facilities. Future frontiers in earthquake engineering research are also discussed including cross-disciplinary approaches of newly established national earthquake engineering research centers that are directed at minimizing losses to communities and national networks.

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NGA-West2 Research Project

Earthquake Spectra ◽

10.1193/072113eqs209m ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 973-987 ◽

Cited By ~ 198

Author(s):

Yousef Bozorgnia ◽

Norman A. Abrahamson ◽

Linda Al Atik ◽

Timothy D. Ancheta ◽

Gail M. Atkinson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ground Motion ◽

Earthquake Engineering ◽

Research Program ◽

Epistemic Uncertainty ◽

Response Spectra ◽

Site Amplification ◽

Earthquake Hazards ◽

Research Project ◽

Engineering Research ◽

Crustal Earthquakes

The NGA-West2 project is a large multidisciplinary, multi-year research program on the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) models for shallow crustal earthquakes in active tectonic regions. The research project has been coordinated by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER), with extensive technical interactions among many individuals and organizations. NGA-West2 addresses several key issues in ground-motion seismic hazard, including updating the NGA database for a magnitude range of 3.0–7.9; updating NGA ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for the “average” horizontal component; scaling response spectra for damping values other than 5%; quantifying the effects of directivity and directionality for horizontal ground motion; resolving discrepancies between the NGA and the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) site amplification factors; analysis of epistemic uncertainty for NGA GMPEs; and developing GMPEs for vertical ground motion. This paper presents an overview of the NGA-West2 research program and its subprojects.

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Brief review of modern earthquake engineering

Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering ◽

10.5459/bnzsee.4.3.397-401 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 397-401

Author(s):

J. Ferry Borges ◽

J. Despeyroux ◽

Y. Maeda ◽

P. Mazilu ◽

J. R. Robinson

Keyword(s):

Earthquake Engineering ◽

Working Group ◽

Structural Engineering ◽

International Association ◽

European Convention ◽

Earthquake Hazards ◽

Engineering Research ◽

Engineering Problems ◽

Set Up ◽

Research And Education

This review is a brief survey of the  present status of Earthquake Engineering. It contains information on earthquake hazards, main Earthquake Engineering problems, safety of structures under the action of earthquakes, Earthquake Engineering research and education, and international collaboration. The review is prepared in accordance with  a decision by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering to set up a working group for dealing with “Information on Earthquake Engineering”. The decision to  create this working group was supported by the "Comite de Liaison", which co-ordinates the activity of several international associations dealing with Structural Engineering, such as  the International Association for Bridge and  Structural Engineering, the European Committee for Concrete, the International Federation for Prestressing, the International Council for Building Research Studies and Documentation, the European Convention of the Associations for Steel Construction, and the International Association for Shell Structures.

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The Importance of Postearthquake Investigations

Earthquake Spectra ◽

10.1193/1.1585402 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 653-667

Author(s):

Walter W. Hays

Keyword(s):

Building Codes ◽

Technical Knowledge ◽

Earthquake Hazards ◽

Seismic Safety ◽

Earthquake Resistant Design ◽

Earthquake Resistant ◽

Reduction Program ◽

Critical Facilities ◽

Earthquake Prediction Research ◽

San Fernando

Data and technical knowledge gained from postearthquake investigations of a dozen earthquakes since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska, earthquake have significantly advanced the state-of-knowledge about earthquakes. These advances have motivated new and (or) improved programs, applications, and changes in public policy, including (1) the 1977 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program and its extensions, (2) earthquake prediction research, (3) deterministic and probabilistic hazards assessments, (4) design criteria for critical facilities, (5) earthquake-resistant design provisions of building codes, (6) seismic safety elements, (7) seismic microzoning, (8) lifeline engineering, and (9) seismic safety organizations. To date, the 1971 San Fernando, California, earthquake has triggered more rapid advances in knowledge and applications than any other earthquake.

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Development of Earthquake Energy Demand Spectra

Earthquake Spectra ◽

10.1193/011212eqs010m ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 1667-1689 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Ahmet Anıl Dindar ◽

Cem Yalçın ◽

Ercan Yüksel ◽

Hasan Özkaynak ◽

Oral Büyüköztürk

Keyword(s):

Earthquake Engineering ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Damping Ratio ◽

Time History ◽

Response Spectra ◽

Seismic Demand ◽

Current Response ◽

Earthquake Hazards ◽

Engineering Research ◽

Plastic Energy

Current seismic codes are generally based on the use of response spectra in the computation of the seismic demand of structures. This study evaluates the use of energy concept in the determination of the seismic demand due to its potential to overcome the shortcomings found in the current response spectra–based methods. The emphasis of this study is placed on the computation of the input and plastic energy demand spectra directly derived from the energy-balance equation with respect to selected far-field ground motion obtained from Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) database, soil classification according to National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and characteristics of the structural behavior. The concept and methodology are described through extensive nonlinear time history analyses of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems. The proposed input and plastic energy demand spectra incorporate different soil types, elastic perfectly plastic constitutive model, 5% viscous damping ratio, different ductility levels, and varying seismic intensities.

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MODELING, ANALYSIS AND RELIABILITY OF SEISMICALLY EXCITED STRUCTURES: COMPUTATIONAL ISSUES

International Journal of Computational Methods ◽

10.1142/s0219876208001674 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 05 (04) ◽

pp. 483-511 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

MICHALIS FRAGIADAKIS ◽

MANOLIS PAPADRAKAKIS

Keyword(s):

Earthquake Engineering ◽

Common Ground ◽

Engineering Practice ◽

Earthquake Losses ◽

Current State ◽

Modeling Analysis ◽

Earthquake Resistant ◽

Earthquake Resistant Structures ◽

Future Earthquake ◽

Engineering Parameters

A critical review of the current state of the art of the computing practices adopted by the earthquake engineering community is presented. Advanced computational tools are necessary for estimating the demand on seismically excited structures. Such computational methodologies can provide valuable information on a number of engineering parameters which have been proven essential for earthquake the engineering practice. The discussion extends from the finite element modeling of earthquake-resistant structures and the analysis procedures currently used to future developments considering the calculation of uncertainty and methodologies which rely on sophisticated computational methods. The objective is to provide a common ground of collaboration between the earthquake engineering and computational mechanics communities in an effort to mitigate future earthquake losses.

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