CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

MODULE 01. INTRODUCTION TO EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

1.1 Course Content and General Information

The course is presented as a series of linked modules. Modules that focus on approaches to earthquake
resistant design, characterization of earthquake shaking, elastic and inelastic response of SDOF and
MDOF systems to earthquake shaking, seismic analysis and evaluation of building systems, and seismic
protective systems are currently planned. Each module will be uploaded to the class web site prior (see
http://overlord.eng.buffalo.edu/ClassHomePages/cie619/index.htm) to the material being covered in class
and each module will include reading assignments specific to that module.

Homework assignments will be uploaded to the class web site. Solutions must be submitted by the due
date, else a grade of 0 points will be assigned.

The grading policy for CIE 619 is presented on the class web site. Thirty points (of 100) is assigned to
homework; twenty points (of 100) is assigned to the midterm examination, and fifty points (of 100) is
assigned to the final examination. A passing grade in both the homework (15 points out of 30) and the
final examination (25 points out of 50) is required for a passing grade in the class.

1.2 Acknowledgements

Faculty at the University at Buffalo and the University of California at Berkeley, and expert design
professionals contributed information, directly or indirectly, to the content of CIE 619. These individuals
are listed below and their contributions are gratefully acknowledged.

University at Buffalo
Professor Michael Constantinou
Professor Gary Dargush
Professor Andrei Reinhorn

University of California at Berkeley

Professor Stephen Mahin
Professor Jack Moehle

Consulting Structural and Geotechnical Engineers

Ron Hamburger, ABS Consulting (formerly EQE International)
James Malley, Degenknolb Engineers

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

1.3 Recommended Reading

There are no assigned textbooks for CIE 619. However, a list of reference material will be assembled over
the course of the semester and will be available at the class home page: cie619/index.htm/references.pdf.
As noted above, additional reading material (papers, chapters from textbooks, etc.) will be assigned over
the course of the semester.

1.4 History of Earthquake Engineering in the United States

1.4.1 Introduction

Procedures for analysis and design of buildings and bridges for seismic effects have existed in the United
States for more than 70 years. A detailed history of the procedures used for buildings is presented in
ATC-34 (ATC, 1995). Information on early analysis and design procedures for bridges is presented in
Competing Against Time (SOC, 1990).

For buildings, earthquake effects were first recognized in the 1927 Uniform Building Code bit that Code
did not prescribe any design requirements (see ATC, 1995). The 1930 edition stated: “The following
provisions are suggested for inclusion in the Code by cities in areas subject to earthquake shocks. The
design of buildings for earthquake shocks is a moot question but the following provisions will provide
adequate additional strength when applied in the design of buildings or structures.” The requirements for
design in 1930 were that a building should be designed to resist a horizontal force F at every elevation as
follows:

F  CW

where C is a seismic coefficient and W is the dead weight plus live load above the level under
consideration. The seismic coefficient has the values of 0.075 when the foundation rests on material upon
2
which a load of 2 tons/ft or more is allowed and 0.10 elsewhere.

 Inclusion of soil-type dependent response coefficient

For bridges, codes of practice for the seismic design were first developed in 1940 in California by the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). However, earthquakes were considered in the design
of important bridges before the publication of the first code. In the early 1930s, earthquake shaking was
considered for the design of important bridges such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco
Oakland Bay Bridge. An equation similar to that of the 1930 UBC was used to calculate the effects of
earthquake shaking and C was set equal to 0.10 (or 0.075 depending on the reference document) for the
design of the bridges mentioned above. These values were either taken from the 1930 UBC or used a
common source. In 1940, the Caltrans seismic design criteria was “Provision shall be made for seismic
stresses resulting from earthquake. The seismic force shall be considered as an assumed horizontal force
applied at the center of mass in any direction that will produce a maximum stress in the member
considered. The assumed horizontal force shall be a percentage of the dead load and will be determined
by the Designing Engineer.” The criteria were revised in 1943 to read “…structures…shall be designed to
resist a seismic force (F) in accordance with the following formula: F=CW, where F is the seismic force

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

to be applied horizontally in any direction at the center of gravity of the weight of the structure, W= dead
load of the structure, and C is: 0.02 for structures founded on spread footings with bearing capacity
2
exceeding 4 tons/ft or better, 0.04 for structures founded on spread footings with bearing capacity less
2
than 4 tons/ft , and 0.06 for structures founded on piled foundations.”

1.4.2 Key Developments and Geographic Focus

Key developments in the practice of earthquake engineering generally followed damaging earthquakes.
Most of the early developments related to buildings (in the period 1930 through 1970) were products of
work done by the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC). From the 1960s onwards,
these developments were published in the SEAOC Recommended Lateral Force Requirements and
Commentary (widely known in the western states as the Blue Book) prior to adoption in building codes.
These provisions were published in 1959, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1988,
1990, 1996, and 1999. (The reader is encouraged to skim read the pre-1970s editions of the Blue Book to
learn about the development of seismic design provisions for buildings in the United States.) Key
developments in the practice of seismic design are listed in the table below.

The performance of buildings designed to meet the minimum requirements of building codes such as the
UBC likely varies widely for reasons that will be discussed later in the semester. The writers of early
codes intended that code-compliant buildings provide safety for the public (whatever that means). The
stated intent of the 1959 Blue Book was to

“…provide minimum standards to assure public safety. Requirements contained in such

codes are intended to safeguard against major structural failures and to protect against
loss of life and personal injury… The Recommended Lateral Force Requirements are
intended to provide this protection in the event of an earthquake of intensity or severity of
the strongest of those, which California has recorded…The code does not assure
protection against non-structural damage….Neither does it assure protection against
structural damage…”

These performance objectives are still the basis of modern codes of practice. The performance level is life
safety (protect against loss of life) and the hazard (earthquake) level is that of a rare earthquake. Whether
the codes deliver the intended performance is another matter.

For many years (through the early 1980s) engineers in the State of California led efforts to develop and
update seismic design codes for buildings. As such, building seismic codes through the early 1980s were
California-centric and little real attention was given to the threat of earthquakes in the middle and eastern
US and to structural framing systems widely used in these two regions. Nowadays, code development and
writing is a national endeavor and the NEHRP Recommended Provisions (e.g., FEMA 2000) have
replaced the SEAOC Blue Book as the source of innovation in the practice of earthquake engineering for
building structures.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

Table 1.1 Key early developments in seismic analysis and design in the United States

Year Development

Severe earthquake strikes the San Francisco Bay Area; some engineers treat
1906 earthquake effects similar to design for wind and use an equivalent wind speed
proposed by Eiffel.

Consideration of earthquake shaking identified in the UBC; no design requirements

1927
proposed

1930 Design equation, F  CW , introduced in the UBC

1933 M 6.2 Long Beach earthquake kills several hundred people

L

Design equation of 1930 UBC remains unchanged; seismic zones introduced (Zone 1
1946 = lowest; Zone 3 = highest); values assigned to C are zone dependent and are equal to
0.08 and 0.16 for Zone 3. See zoning map in handout.

Design equation not changed; W is the dead weight above the story under
consideration, C is calculated as C  4  [0.15 /( N  4.5)] , where N is the number of
1949
stories above the story under consideration (indirectly accounting for dynamic effects);
C is no longer dependent on soil type.

Structural system type introduced as a design variable in the 1959 Blue Book; design
equation presented in the form of a base shear, where V  KCW , where V is the
design base shear, K is a horizontal force factor (the predecessor of R) and equal to
1.33 (bearing wall building), 0.80 (dual systems), 0.67 (moment-resisting frames), and
1959
1.0 otherwise; W is the total dead load; and C defined the shape of the response
spectrum as follows: C  0.05/ 3 T , where T is the fundamental period in the direction
under consideration; V was not dependent on zone because the Blue Book was written
for use in California only and California was assumed to have uniform seismicity.

Provisions of the 1959 Blue Book were adopted but location dependence was added as
follows: V  ZKCW , where Z is a zone factor that is equal to 1.0 in zone 3 (highest
1961 seismicity), 0.50 in zone 2, and 0.25 in zone 1.
AASHTO adopts the 1943 Caltrans seismic design specification.

1960s Ductile detailing introduced in the Blue Book for reinforced concrete structures.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

Caltrans revises the design equation to EQ  KCD , where EQ is the horizontal force
at the center of gravity, K is a system factor, C is a seismic coefficient per the 1959
1965
Blue Book, and D is the dead load of the structure; K is 1.33 for squat wall-pier
supported bridges, 0.67 for bridges supported by frames, and 1.0 otherwise.

San Fernando earthquake in the Los Angeles basin badly damages buildings, bridges,
and civil infrastructure. Sample photographs are shown below.

Lower San Fernando Dam

1971

Olive View Hospital

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

Interchanges on I5

After the San Fernando earthquake, Caltrans doubled design forces for frames on
spread footings; increased design forces on frames supported on piles by 2.5; and
1971
introduced ductile detailing; and initiated an aggressive research program in bridge
earthquake engineering.

ATC-3-06 published, introducing modern concepts of earthquake engineering for

buildings, including hazard characterization, dynamic analysis, and use of ductile
1978
detailing in steel and reinforced concrete components. ATC-3-06 was the forerunner
of the NEHRP Recommended Provisions.

Recent damaging earthquakes in the United States (1989 Loma Prieta, 1994 Northridge) and abroad
(1995 Kobe, Japan; 1999 Izmit, Turkey; and 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan) have led the public-at-large, public
officials (local, state, and federal), and owners of structures (buildings, bridges, and infrastructure) to
question the utility of modern seismic design codes. Many have argued that a higher level of public safety
is required (despite the extremely low likelihood that an individual will die as a result of earthquake
shaking).

Partially in response to the damage wreaked by the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency funded studies on performance based earthquake engineering: studies
that resulted in FEMA 283 (Moehle and Whittaker, Eds), FEMA 273 and FEMA 274: two documents that
have been replaced by FEMA 356.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

The past 10 years has seen rapid innovation in the practice of earthquake engineering. Examples include

 Computational tools, including

 IDARC (http://civil.eng.buffalo.edu/idarc2d50/)

 OpenSees (http://opensees.berkeley.edu/)

 SAP 2000 NL (http://www.csiberkeley.com/)

 3-D BASIS (http://civil.eng.buffalo.edu/3dbasis/)

 Fast computational hardware that facilitates large-scale design-office simulation

 New methods for nonlinear analysis

 New hardware (seismic protective systems) and materials (composites).

Many of these innovations will be discussed this semester in CIE 619. These recent innovations facilitate
the analysis and design of more complex soil-foundation-structure systems and real progress in the
endeavor to deliver tools for performance-based earthquake engineering. Further, improved
understanding of earthquakes, engineering seismology, and geotechnical engineering has led to new
characterizations of earthquake hazard across the United States, with explicit account taken of (a) near-
source effects (directivity and fling), (b) soil effects, and (c) strong-motion duration.

During this period, owners and insurance companies have been paying increased attention to potential
losses following moderate-to-severe earthquakes, including

 Direct losses (cost to repair damage)

 Indirect losses (loss of income due to business interruption, etc)

As a result, performance expectations of owners and insurance companies are changing from preventing
collapse to controlling damage but these end-users

 Cannot articulate their expectations (because they do not understand the issues at play)

 Don’t want to pay significantly more for improved performance

The following section presents the fundamental basis to earthquake resistant design, describes design
philosophies, introduces uncertainty and randomness in the context of seismic design, describes different
general procedures for design, and discusses the move toward performance-based earthquake engineering.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

1.5 Design for Normal and Abnormal Loadings

The design process for gravity effects is relatively straightforward once a framing system and geometry
are selected. The key steps for each component are as follows:

1. Determine gravity loads on the component.

2. Compute moments, shears, and axial forces in the component

3. Size the component using either ACI 318 (for reinforced concrete) or the AISC LRFD provisions
(for structural steel) thus ensuring that

Demand  Capacity

where demands and capacities are measured in terms of forces.

4. Check deflections (for beams). If acceptable, STOP. If unacceptable, select another cross section
and return to step 1.

The design process for earthquake effects is not straightforward even after a framing system and
geometry are selected because one component cannot be designed independently of the other components
in the frame. Complexities include

 Determination of global earthquake effects

 Dynamic properties of the framing system (that are initially unknown)

 Type of framing system

 Distribution of the effects over the height of the structure

 Different load patterns produce different demands on components

 Modeling of the building frame

 Centerline properties?

 Cracked or uncracked properties?

 Beam-column joint flexibility

 Second-order effects?

 Load combinations and component checking

Demand  Capacity

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

where demands and capacities are measured in terms of forces for traditional design

 But inelastic response is anticipated for a code-compliant building, so is this approach

appropriate? Consider the global force-displacement relationship shown below.

Base shear

Roof displacement

Contrast here the objectives of analysis and design. The basic analysis paradigm that

Demand  Capacity

requires the engineer to have already selected a framing system, developed a realistic mathematical
model, established accurate estimates of the loads, and access to reliable (and accurate) computational
tools. The basic design paradigm involves finding a solution (building design) that

 Performs adequately under service (frequent) and severe environmental effects (wind, earthquake,
blast)

 Is insensitive to uncertainties in the loading

 Is economical

How do we achieve the design objective? By first selecting the best framing system, executing the
analysis paradigm using robust estimates of component capacities, developing construction documents
that accurately reflect the results of the analysis and component-checking work (transferring a 3-d
building into a series of 2-d images), and transferring the 2-d images into a 3-d structure using a
workforce that is generally composed of a combination of skilled and unskilled labor.

Codes of practice are generally used as design tools for a number of reasons

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 Serve as the standard of care (written by expert design professionals for design professionals)

 Provide a minimum standards for design to provide life safety (whatever that is)

 Legal protection

The stated mission of the code (IBC, 2000) is to

“…provide minimum standards to safeguard life or limb, property, and public welfare by
regulating and controlling design, construction, quality of materials, use and occupancy,
location, and maintenance of buildings.”

But do the seismic provisions of the codes deliver the intended performance? Are the codes, which were
originally written for low-rise regular buildings of new construction, adequate for:

 Medium- and high-rise buildings?

 Irregular buildings?

 Non-structural components?

 Rehabilitation of existing buildings?

 A focus of many earthquake-engineering consultancies at this time.

 Delivering the intended performance?

 Performance is the objective but prescriptive formats are used instead of performance
approaches

Recent earthquakes (Loma Prieta and Northridge) have left owners of buildings dissatisfied with the
levels of performance delivered by modern seismic codes. Some examples include

 Severe damage to new reinforced concrete buildings

 Beam-column connection fractures in approximately 70% of steel moment-frame buildings in the

epicentral region of the Northridge earthquake

 Closure of buildings and hospitals due to the failure of architectural and mechanical (non-
structural) components

One example of code-compliant but poor performance (as judged by others) from the Northridge
earthquakes is shown below. This reinforced concrete building was demolished after the photograph was
taken.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

Efforts are under way to improve building codes and to develop new approaches to better reflect the
wishes of the public-at-large, building owners, and government agencies. Incremental improvements to
current practice are presented in

 International Building Code (a combination of the UBC, NBC and SBC)

 NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Design of Buildings by the Building Seismic
Safety Council

 ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures

New approaches are being developed for performance based design and for retrofit construction,
including those listed below

 SEAOC Vision 2000

 FEMA Performance-Based design (EERC)

 FEMA 356, Prestandard for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings

 FEMA SAC Steel Project

Where is the profession heading at this time in terms of new approaches?

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 Codes will likely continue to specify minimum standards

 Guidelines will be further developed to facilitate performance-based design and levels of

performance in excess of those delivered by the codes

 May take 10 to 15 years to develop robust guidelines and even longer to gain widespread
acceptance by design professionals

 Need to move new information into the profession by

 Educating graduate students

 Continuing education for design professionals

To address the complexities associated with designing and constructing buildings, bridges, and
infrastructure to resist the effects of earthquakes, the engineer must possess a broad skill set that can
integrate information from the following disciplines

 Architecture

 Engineering seismology

 Geotechnical earthquake engineering

 Structural design

 Structural analysis

 Dynamic analysis

 Risk and reliability analysis

 Construction and cost estimating

Information from the above disciplines must be integrated to deliver the performance sought by the owner
(if in fact the owner is knowledgeable in this regard).

 Will minimum code standards be sufficient?

 Prescriptive (indirect) approaches with no assessment of performance: use this force, check
this stress, adopt this detail, etc

 Is code+ performance required? If so, what are the performance objectives? How can this
performance be delivered?

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 Direct approaches are needed: state the performance objectives, proportion components,
design components, and detail components to deliver the intended performance, evaluate the
design, iterate as necessary until all the performance objectives are met.

The needs of both the analyst and the designer (perhaps the same person) must be met in order to deliver
a performance-oriented product

 The analyst needs a toolbox to

 Analyze demands on the structure

 Analyze capacities of components (forces and displacements)

 The designer must manage uncertainty and risk

 Load and resistance factors

 Capacity design approaches to control inelastic dynamic response

 Procedures that focus on displacements and not forces

The content of this course will address some of the issues identified above including

 How can earthquake shaking be characterized and how do different ground motions affect the
response of building structures?

 How can demands on framing systems be assessed using simplified techniques?

 How do different framing systems and materials behave under extreme loadings?

 How can the response of structural systems be made somewhat insensitive to earthquake shaking?

 How can new materials and technologies be used for new and retrofit construction?

However, before presenting information on these subjects it is worthwhile to reflect on the state-of-
practice in the United States (with an emphasis on performance-based earthquake engineering) in terms of

 Seismic design philosophies

 Approaches to seismic design

 The design process

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

1.6 Seismic Design Philosophies

1.6.1 Performance Expectations of Modern Seismic Codes

The performance expectations of modern seismic codes such as the 2000 International Building Code, the
1997 Uniform Building Code, and the 2000 NEHRP Recommended Provisions are those traditional
objectives first set forth in the SEAOC Blue Book, namely,

No. Earthquake Intensity Frequency of Occurrence Performance Level

No damage to structural or
Several times during life of
1 Minor non-structural components
building
(Immediate Occupancy)

Limited damage to structural

Once or more times during
2 Moderate components and no damage
the life of the building
to structural components

Limited damage to structural

Rare event (as large as any components; building egress
3 Severe
measured at the site) maintained; no substantial
loss of life (Life Safety)

No global collapse of
Very rare (as large as can be building frame; partial
4 Major, Catastrophic
expected at the site) collapses acceptable
(Collapse Prevention)

These definitions of intensity, frequency, and performance are vague and subjective. What are moderate,
limited damage, one or more times? How can performance be delivered at 4 levels if only level 3 is
checked? Is the performance at all 4 levels consistent across the United States? In fact, does the code
deliver performance objective 3?

 What is the technical basis for performance objective 3 and the corresponding code provisions?

The ambiguity in the definitions given in the above table leads to wide variations in (a) the interpretation
of the codes of practice by design professionals, (b) the performance across structural framing systems,
and (c) the performance by seismic region.

 Improved definitions and design approaches are needed

1.6.2 Uncertainties and Randomness in Seismic Design

Uncertainty and randomness are common to design for both gravity load effects and earthquake effects.

Consider first randomness. For gravity-load design, randomness exists in both the demands on the
components and in the (strength) capacity of the components to resist the demands.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 How is randomness handled for gravity-load design?

For seismic design, randomness exists in both the demands on the structure and in the (deformation and
strength) capacity of the structure to resist the demands. Earthquake motions are inherently random.
Structural behavior (capacity) is affected by randomness in material properties and construction quality
and by loading history and duration, which are in turn influenced by the randomness of the earthquake
shaking.

Now consider uncertainty. Uncertainty exists in both the demand and the capacity of a component
subjected to gravity loads and a structure subjected to earthquake shaking.

For demand on a structure subjected to earthquake shaking, uncertainties exist in the following areas

 Engineering seismology

 What intensity of shaking is expected at the site? What attenuation relationships are to be
used? Do they apply in this instance?

 How is the shaking to be characterized? Elastic spectra? Earthquake histories?

 Directivity effects? Fling effects?

 Characteristics of earthquake shaking at the site in question

 Frequency content? Duration?

 Characteristics of the structural system

 Is the foundation modeled?

 What are the actual distributions of mass, stiffness, and strength in the building at the time of
the shaking?

 Modeling of the structural system

 Is the model accurate for the likely response of the framing system?

 Centerline dimensions? Rigid-end offsets?

 Analysis and interpretation of the demand data

 What methods shall be used? Linear or nonlinear? Static or dynamic?

 Are the methods accurate? Can the chosen method capture the important behaviors?

For demand on a component subjected to gravity loads, uncertainties exist in what areas?

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

Uncertainties exist in the calculation of capacity of a component subjected to gravity loads. For gravity-
load design, capacities are generally measured in strengths, which can often be predicted reasonably
accurately, especially for components whose response is governed by flexure. However, flexural strength
estimates can be complicated by slab contributions, connection details, shear force, axial force, and the
presence of non-structural elements.

Uncertainties exist in the calculation of capacity of component and systems subjected to earthquake
effects over and above the contributors listed above to the uncertainty of strength calculations, including

 Emphasis on deformations and not strengths

 Inelastic response in many components

 Strength capacities at large deformations

 Load-history dependent

 Rate effects?

 Deformation capacities much more difficult to predict than strength capacities

 Load-history dependent

 Capacities highly dependent on coexisting axial and shear forces

 Translating component strengths into system strengths

 Loading profile at critical instant?

 Translating component deformation capacities into system deformation capacities

 Displacement profile at maximum response?

 Will failure of one or more components result in system failure?

All of these sources of uncertainty in both demand and capacity of components and systems subjected to
earthquake shaking show that there is a need to de-sensitize the response of framing systems to
uncertainties due to earthquake shaking and the dynamic characteristics of the frame. The question is
how.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

1.6.3 Limits States Design

Limit States Design (LSD) is widely used in Europe and has been adopted in the United States for
gravity-load design. The AISC Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) is a limit states approach to
design.

LSD involves precise statements related to limiting states of response (performance levels), relationships
between qualitative performance descriptors and quantitative response values (how the engineer checks
for performance, statements of performance criteria (generally expressed as an acceptable probability of
exceeding the criteria), and explicit recognition of randomness and uncertainty (see above). The table and
figure below (adapted from Mahin 1999) illustrate the approach.

Limit Performance Probability of Exceeding

Performance Criteria
State Level Performance Criteria

1 Goal 1 Demand-1 less than capacity-1 x1 % in y1 years

2 Goal 2 Demand-2 less than capacity-2 x2 % in y2 years

As suggested in the fourth column of the above table, it is not sufficient to just say that the average
demand is less than the average capacity, but rather a probability of failure must be defined. In this case
the probability of failure is usually described as x% probability of failure (not meeting the criteria) in y
years, where y is the assumed service of the structure. Consider the figure below.

Frequency of occurrence

Dave Cave

Demand Capacity

Response parameter

Failure probability

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In the AISC LRFD document, load factors on demand and resistance factors on capacity are used to
provide a certain probability of failure. For details, see Nowak and Collins (2000). The basic design
(strength) equation is

 Dave   Cave

A limit states format is often used in current approaches to performance-based design (e.g., FEMA 356)
because it can be used to capture the uncertainties associated with both demand and capacity.
Uncertainties in demand on a structure arise from

 Earthquake shaking: treated using probabilistically based response spectra

 Structural response: within a family of earthquake histories with similar characteristics

 Methods of analysis: linear or nonlinear

 Modeling of components and systems: variations will lead to uncertainties in response (demand)

Uncertainties in capacity of a structure arise from

 Strength and deformation capacities after repeated cycling

 How should these capacity quantities be defined?

 Brittle failure modes

 Relationship between component deformations and system displacements

 Relationship between component failure and system failure

Uncertainty is normally handled by a probabilistic analysis. In general, the problem should be stated as x
% chance of exceeding the performance goal in y years, but this is a complex problem to solve rigorously.
More often, the problem is approached as x% chance of exceeding the performance goal for an
earthquake with a z% probability of occurrence in y years, which allows the engineer to treat the structure
and the ground motion separately. How is this done? A probabilistic response spectrum can be coupled
with a conservative deterministic design, or a calibrated load and resistance factors can be developed
using Monte Carlo simulation (Nowak and Collins, 2000) or reliability analysis to deliver the target
reliability.

One step in the above process is to characterize earthquakes with a z% probability of occurrence in y
years. This can be done using estimates of selected ground motion parameters, elastic response spectra,
and earthquake histories.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

The table below (adapted from Mahin 1999) presents the three-tier limit state format that can be found in
the earthquake-engineering literature. The three limits states are Service, Damage, and Ultimate.
Comments on the three limit states follow the table.

Objectives Probability
Probability
Limit Performance of Exceeding
of Seismic
State Criteria Performance
Functional Damage-related Event
Criteria

Stresses less than

yield, limited x1 % in y1 u1 % in v1
Continued
accelerations,
occupancy w/o No significant years years
Service displacements
business damage
and drifts less (50% in 50 (0.1% in 30
interruption.
than threshold years) years)
values

Limited damage
to nonstructural
Structure can be Stresses may
components and x2 % in y2 u2 % in v2
returned to exceed yield
no significant
service following limit, years years
Damage damage to
modest repairs, displacements
structural (20% in 50 (0.2% in 30
some business and drifts exceed
components; years) years)
interruption damage threshold
structure can be
repaired

Plastic
deformations
with rotations
No global less than
collapse of capacities, limit x3 % in y3 u3 % in v3
structure, drifts to avoid
No substantial years years
Ultimate structure could be instability, limit
loss of life
returned to rotatoins and (5% in 50 (0.3% in 30
service after energy years) years)
repair dissipation to
components or
regions that can
be repaired

The service limit state is the best defined of the three limit states because elastic response in the structural
and non-structural components is mandated. Performance limits such as drift are generally dictated by the
elastic response of (brittle) no structural components.

The damage limit state is that range of response between the service and ultimate limit states and is not
crisply defined. Damage in this range should be repairable but often decisions to repair are more financial

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

in nature than technical. What is repairable? Also, issues related to business interruption are important in
this range of response because the cost of business interruption (loss of income, loss of tenants, etc) may
far outweigh the costs of repair.

The ultimate limit state is principally associated with (preventing) the global collapse of a structure and
avoiding large loss of life (that often follows global collapse). Key to any discussion associated with this
limit state is the earthquake characterization

 10% in 50 years (traditional practice for commercial construction)

 2% in 50 years (used for hospitals and EOCs)

 1% in 100 years (used for nuclear and defense-related facilities)

1.6.4 Performance Based Earthquake Engineering

SEAOC Vision 2000

Vision 2000 (SEAOC, 1995) was prepared by the Structural Engineers Association of California as a first
step toward improving current seismic design codes such as the 2000 IBC, 1997 UBC, and 2000 NEHRP
Recommended Provisions. An important first step was the development of a performance matrix that is
reproduced below.

Performance Objective

Fully Near
Operational Life Safe
Operational Collapse

Frequent 
Unacceptable Performance
Occasional  
Earthquake
Probability
Rare   

Very Rare   

 Basic facilities

 Essential or hazardous facilities (hospitals, EOCs, refineries)

 Safety critical facilities (nuclear installations, national defense)

What are the implications of this performance matrix?

 Less damage to safety critical facilities than basic facilities for a given level of shaking

 Increased amount of damage for more severe shaking

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

Is this matrix reasonable? It depends on how performance and earthquake probability are characterized.
Vision 2000 proposed the following definitions for seismic damage states (see above figure) and
earthquake probability.

Limit State Description of Damage

Fully operational No damage, continuous service

Most operations and functions can resume immediately. Repair is required to restore some
Operational non-essential services. Damage is light. Structure is safe for immediate occupancy.
Essential operations are protected.

Damage is moderate. Selected building systems, features or contents may be protected

Life safe from damage. Life safety is generally protected. Structure is damaged but remains stable.
Falling hazards remain secure. Repair possible.

Structural collapse is prevented. Nonstructural elements may fall. Repair generally not be
Near collapse
possible.

Collapse Complete structural collapse

Earthquake classification Recurrence interval Probability of occurrence

Frequent 43 years 50% in 50 years

Occasional 72 years 50% in 50 years

Rare 475 years 10% in 50 years

Very Rare 970 years 10% in 100 years

Recommendations regarding maximum permanent and transient drift (% of story height) are also listed in
Vision 2000:

Limit State Maximum (transient) drift (%) Maximum permanent drift (%)

Fully operational 0.2 Negligible

Operational 0.5 Negligible

Life safe 1.5 0.5

Near collapse 2.5 2.5

Collapse >2.5 >2.5

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

Vision 2000 made important proposals and recommendations to the earthquake engineering community
regarding the future of design practice. Although Vision 2000 serves as a valuable resource document, it
has several shortcomings that include

 No technical basis (risk assessment) associated with the performance matrix

 Subjective definitions for the performance limit states

 No analytical approaches proposed to deliver the intended performance

 Approach is somewhat uncoupled

 A deterministic design procedure is linked with a probabilistically determined spectrum

 No technical basis for the displacement limits

 Does a building collapse when the drift exceeds 2.5%?

FEMA 356, Prestandard for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings

In 1997, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published resource documents FEMA 273
and FEMA 274, guidelines and commentary, respectively, for the seismic rehabilitation of buildings.
These two documents have recently been combined into one pre-standard, FEMA 356.

Although FEMA 356 was written to aid in the evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings, the procedures
contained in the FEMA 356 can be applied directly to new construction, because acceptance criteria are
provided for materials and details required by modern seismic codes.

FEMA 356 represents a radical departure or paradigm shift in the practice of earthquake engineering in
the United States. Key features of FEMA 356 include

 Four performance levels

 Operational

 Immediate occupancy

 Life safety

 Collapse prevention

 Earthquake hazard characterization using the USGS National Seismic Hazard Maps

 Spectrum defined for 5% damping at T = 0.2 second, and 1.0 second

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 Displacement-based methods of analysis

 Linear Static Procedure (LSP) and Linear Dynamic Procedure (LDP)

 Nonlinear Static Procedure (NSP) and Nonlinear Dynamic Procedure (NDP)

 Displacement-based component checking procedures

 Deformation and force capacities presented for different performance levels for new and
existing (old) construction

FEMA 356 will be discussed at length in this class later in the semester. Because FEMA 356 is not a code
of practice but rather guidelines for seismic rehabilitation of buildings, no performance objectives are
mandated for retrofit construction, although building collapse should be avoided in a very rare
earthquake. FEMA 356 addresses some of the shortcomings of Vision 2000 (recognizing that the writers
of Vision 2000 never intended to draft new analysis methods, etc.), namely,

 No performance matrix is mandated

 Qualitative descriptors of performance have been assigned quantitative values at the component
level

 Limited technical basis for many of the response limits

 New analysis methods have been implemented to deliver the intended performance

 No displacement limits are specified in FEMA 356

SAC Steel Project

The SAC (SEAOC-ATC-CUREE) Steel project was a joint venture whose primary mission (in Phase 2 of
the project) was to develop a performance-based engineering approach for the design and construction of
new steel moment-resisting frames. The work of the SAC project built on FEMA 273 and 274.

Key features of the SAC project include

 Two performance levels

 Incipient damage (elastic response, low drift)

 Incipient collapse (global instability)

 Multiple earthquake probabilities

 50%, 10%, and 2% in 50 years

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 Consistent reliability approach (see Hamburger, 1998)

 Developed and evaluated using a large-scale Monte Carlo simulation effort

 Includes a treatment of randomness and uncertainty to focus on confidence of achieving the

performance goal during the specified period

 Rational load, resistance, and bias factors are used to handle uncertainties

Mahin (1999) describes the basic approach as follows:

 1 2 .... n D  12 ...nC

or by combining terms and adding the confidence level

 con D   C

The SAC approach is a multi-level approach and includes (a) a code approach with specified demand,
capacity, and confidence values, and (b) methods permitting nonlinear analysis and testing to develop
demand and capacity values, or to specify different target confidence levels.

Mahin (1999) outlines the design procedure for new steel moment-frame buildings as follows:

1. Select performance level and earthquake probability (e.g., Incipient Damage and 50% in 50
years)

2. Determine seismic hazard for the earthquake probability of 1., generally a spectral displacement
at the fundamental period of the building

3. Develop a mathematical model of the framing system

4. Analyze the mathematical model to determine the values of the key design parameters

5. Apply demand and bias factors to the values of the design parameters from 4. to compensate for
the biases and uncertainties inherent in the predictive methodology (linear versus nonlinear
method of analysis) and the randomness inherent in structural response to earthquake effects.
Apply an additional demand factor to achieve the desired confidence level.

6. Compare the factored demand against the factored acceptance criteria for the design parameter:
 con D   C .

1.7 Seismic Design Practice

Mahin (1999) writes “…a few homilies to keep in mind regarding the design process are

 A design is only as good as the structure.

 You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 The level of engineering must be reflected in the details.”

All in all, this is good advice, especially bullet item 2. No level of sophisticated analysis will transform a
poorly configured lateral framing system into a robust framing system. What is meant by bullet item 3?

The basic parts of the design process are shown below. This chart oversimplifies the design process to be
sure but can be used to introduce aspects of design.

Functional Requirements Site Evaluation

Select Structural System

Engineering and Construction Documents

Quality Assurance and Control

Functional requirements for a building structure include

 Loading environment (dead, live, wind, earthquake, blast)

 Performance criteria for gravity (deflections, stresses) and environmental (damage,

displacements, and collapse) loads

 Geometric (space) requirements (often driven by architecture)

 Time available for construction

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

Site evaluation for a building can include the following

 Proximity to unacceptable risks (earthquake fault zone, liquefiable zones, steep slope)

 Geotechnical investigation (bearing pressures, pile sizes, pressures on walls)

 Seismic hazard characterization

During pre-schematic (or pre-scheme) design, several alternative framing systems are generally
considered. This phase of the work may include preliminary design that has been assigned to the
engineering phase for this presentation. Factors that drive the final choice of a structural system include

 Cost

 Architectural flexibility

 Performance in scenario earthquakes (likely damage, deformations, etc)

 Cost

The engineering and construction documents phase of a project can include

 Preliminary or schematic design (20% of total effort)

 Key step in the design of a building (see homily number 2 above)

 Regular structure of good proportions

 Complete (and short) load paths from the roof to the foundation

 Well-proportioned distribution of lateral stiffness and strength

 Iterative process for multiple performance objectives

 Frequent, occasional, rare, and very rare earthquakes

 Prepare cost estimate

 Commence peer review

 Design development (30% of total effort)

 Linear analysis of the framing system to help size components

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 Simple nonlinear analysis to evaluate framing system and components sized using linear
methods

 Consideration of multiple performance objectives

 Refine member sizes and develop standard details

 Develop floor spectra for non-structural components

 Trial details for architectural façade elements

 Finalize floor plans and structural framing elevations

 Continue peer review

 Prepare cost estimate

 Construction documents (50% of total effort)

 Finalize analysis and construction details for multiple performance objectives

 Iterate as necessary

 Complete structural drawings and coordinate with other disciplines

 Write specifications

 Finalize peer review

 Prepare cost estimate

 Quality control and quality assurance

 Critical phase in the delivery of a performance-oriented product

 Contractor should have an in-house QA/QC program

 Owner should retain an independent QA/QC program that includes on-site observation and
shop inspection (steel and precast components)

1.8 Seismic Design Methods and Procedures

1.8.1 Introduction

There are various approaches or strategies used by engineers to control accelerations (construction cost),
displacements (and damage) in building frames during earthquake shaking. Some of these approaches are
discussed briefly below.

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

For the purpose of this presentation, two classes of structural framing systems are considered

 Elastic framing systems

 Make the system stiff and strong enough to remain elastic during the design earthquake

 Expensive

 Not used unless safety-critical facility (such as a nuclear power plant) but must consider
downsides

 Nonstructural component response?

 What happens to the framing system during a maximum earthquake? Catastrophic collapse?

 Inelastic framing systems

 Nonlinear fuses to control response

 Plastic hinges in structural components, damping devices, seismic isolation

 Ideally force energy dissipation (damage) into components that are not part of the gravity-
load-resisting system

 Controls forces (and accelerations) in framing systems

Force

h Force limits

Displacement

 How are accelerations controlled?

 Assume that the force limit is V y , that the stick forms a bilinear plastic hinge at its
base at moment M p , and that the mass of the oscillator is m

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

 How are V y and M p related?

 Consider now the dynamic equilibrium of this oscillator and ignore the effects of
damping

mu  F   mug

F  m(u  ug )  mut

Vy
ut 
m

 The major challenge with inelastic or nonlinear systems is to calculate the deformation or
displacement demands

 Displacement-based design: one focus of this class

 Nonlinear spectra

 Estimates based on elastic displacements with empirical multipliers

 Nonlinear static analysis for local deformation estimates

 Nonlinear dynamic analysis for global and residual displacements

1.8.2 Allowable Stress or Working Stress Design

Allowable Stress Design (ASD), also known as Working Stress Design, is used in older codes for seismic
design in the United States but has been abandoned in large part at this time. For reinforced concrete
structures, the ultimate-strength-design provisions of ACI 318 are used for seismic design. The
shortcomings of this traditional approach are

 Lateral loads are unknown so the costs of keeping the framing system in the elastic range become
extremely prohibitive

 Failure modes of components are not considered

 Reserve strength in flexure and shear may be substantially different: say 1.1 for shear and 1.5
for flexure.

 Impact?

1.8.3 Capacity Design

Capacity design was first proposed in 1961 by Blume, Newmark, and Corning (with significant
contributions by Sozen). Paulay and Park further developed these concepts in New Zealand in the 1970s.
The basic strategy is to proportion the component to fail in a ductile manner (flexure) by making the
capacity in other modes greater. Consider the beam from a reinforced concrete moment-resisting frame

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

shown below (from ACI 318). The design shear force Ve is calculated using the plastic moments at each
end of the beam, where these moments are based on the rebar provided in the beams and rebar stresses
greater than f y . The capacity design procedure works well for beams (as shown below) and beam-
column joints (as discussed in CIE 525), but does not always work well for columns (as discussed in CIE
525). Also, only component behavior is considered and no consideration is given to system response.

1.8.4 Damage Tolerant Design

Damage tolerant design serves to provide alternate load paths through framing systems for gravity and
lateral loads. Damage tolerant design originated from blast loading considerations in the 1950s and
considerations of the progressive collapse limit state. Two examples of damage tolerant structures are
shown below: one building damaged (but standing) following the 1999 Izmit earthquake and one building
damaged by falling debris from the No. 2 World Trade Center.

Izmit, Turkey, 1999 New York, New York, 2001

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CIE 619 Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics II Instructor: Andrew Whittaker

1.8.5 Displacement-Based Design

As noted previously, procedures for displacement-based design (more correctly displacement-based

evaluation) will be developed in detail in this class. In summary, global displacements are determined
using either direct or indirect procedures, and interstory drifts, floor accelerations, and component
deformations are back calculated from these global displacements. Component deformation demands are
then compared with component deformation capacities and strength and deformation demands on non-
structural components are compared with the corresponding response limits. Key to the success of this
method is the correct calculation of global displacements.

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