The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Use of energy as a design criterion in earthquake-resistant design

Uang, Chia-Ming; Bertero, Vitelmo V.

UCB/EERC-88/18, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1988-11, 46 pages (530/U15/1988)

The conventional derivation of an energy equation for the seismic response of structures is reviewed and compared with an alternative definition which is physically more meaningful. The following engineering parameters computed using these two definitions are compared: (1) the profiles of energy time histories for short- and long-period structures, which are shown to be significantly different, and (2) input energy spectra based on a constant ductility ratio for which significant difference exists for both the short- and long-period ranges although for periods in the range of practical interest in building design the difference is small for most of the recorded ground motions. The reliability of using input energy spectra derived for a single degree-of-freedom system to predict the input energy to multistory structures is illustrated by correlating the analytical prediction with the experimental results of a six-story steel frame. Finally, the uniqueness of the energy dissipation capacity of a structural member is evaluated. Tests results for three types of structural members--steel beams, reinforced concrete shear walls, and composite beams--are examined.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-88-18.pdf (12 MB)