Myths and Fallacies in Earthquake Engineering, Revisited

In 1993, the author, in a paper “Myths and Fallacies in Earthquake Engineering” which received some notoriety and several major awards, critically examined a number of fundamental principles on which seismic design of structures is based, and concluded that many were deeply flawed. In this monograph, a number of these principles are reviewed in more detail, and in the lights of ten years progress in research and design philosophy. Detailed information on the elastic stiffness of reinforced concrete members is given. It is shown that strength and stiffness are directly proportional, and hence the current practice of allocating strength in proportion to assumed values of stiffness is irrational. The use of 3-D multi-modal elastic analyses is shown to be inadequate to describe higher mode or torsional effects in inelastic systems, despite these being the rationale for the use of this design approach. Seismic design of structures using precast concrete with unbonded prestressing reinforcement is examined in some detail. It is shown, based on both analytical and experimental evidence that despite having low hysteretic energy absorption characteristics, seismic performance is superior to systems with the conventionally recognised ideal of high hysteretic damping. Finally, progress in development of a simple and rational seismic design procedure based on displacement rather than force considerations, which was first introduced in the 1993 paper, is presented in some detail. Some unusual conclusions resulting from application of the displacement-based design logic are presented.

Mechanical Engineering Principles

Seismic Slope Displacement Spreadsheet
(Gslip- Ver. 101)

This spreadsheet is not free. But fortunately, as you work with program you see that when the 5 number of trial runs finish, you can go to input panel by hitting the cancel button two times.

Seismic Slope Displacement Spreadsheet Based on Bray and Travasarou 2007 Model

This paper provides the theoretical background of a simplified seismic design procedure for cylindrical ground-supported tanks. The procedure takes into account impulsive and convective (sloshing) actions of the liquid in flexible steel or concrete tanks fixed to rigid foundations. Seismic responses – base shear, overturning moment, and sloshing wave height – are calculated by using the site response spectra and performing a few simple calculations. An example is presented to illustrate the procedure, and a comparison is made with the detailed modal analysis procedure. The simplified procedure has been adopted in Eurocode 8.

This paper presents the formulation and implementation of a new static push-over analysis algorithm for the seismic rehabilitation of building frames, in accordance with “NEHRP Guidelines for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings”. The concept of the push-over analysis is described and problems associatedwith its implementation in a nonlinear finite element program are examined. Earlier work, which contributed to the development of the strategy, is reviewed. The theory of the solution algorithm is presented with special consideration placed on the stability of the algorithm and the method of iteration for the nonlinear behavior.
Examples are carried out that demonstrate the remarkably stable and efficient procedure.