Earthquake Design Spectra

Abstract

This chapter introduces the major concepts implemented in seismic design codes for determining the seismic design forces. Two main code streams are emphasized in the entire chapter. The Eurocode 8 (CEN 2004) and NEHRP provisions together with ASCE 7 standards are discussed to describe their approach for determining the minimum seismic design loads. The first part of the chapter discusses the computation of elastic design spectrum and the rest of the text presents the reduction of elastic design spectrum to inelastic design spectrum with the assumption of expected nonlinear behavior in code-conforming buildings. Example problems that are solved after each major topic reinforce the critical concepts discussed throughout the text.