although there is enough knowledge indicating on the influence of frequency content of input motion on the deformation demand of structures, state-of-the-practice seismic studies use the intensity measures such as peak ground acceleration (pga) which are not frequency dependent. the v max/a max ratio of strong ground motions can be used in seismic hazard studies as the representative of frequen...

Large-scale parallel finite-difference method (FDM) simulations of seismic wave propagation have been conducted using the Earth Simulator in order to clarify the complex seismic wavefield resulting from heterogeneities in structures and the source rupture process during the Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake (Mj 7.2; Mw 6.9) in 1995. High-resolution simulation using 240 nodes (1920 processing el...

earlier studies have shown conclusively that a tuned liquid damper (tld) is effective for controlling vibrations in structures subjected to narrow-banded wind excitations. a recent numerical study has shown that if the design parameters of a tld are properly set, this device could also be very effective for controlling structural vibration to broad-banded earthquake excitations. here the result...

Broader Impacts. The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) conducts a broad program of earthquake system science that seeks to develop a predictive understanding of earthquake processes with a practical mission aimed at providing society with improved understanding of seismic hazards. In partnership with earthquake engineers, SCEC researchers are developing the ability to conduct end-to-...

A recent development of the Earth Simulator super parallel computer has made it possible to realized realistic 3-D simulations of high-frequency seismic wave propagations on a regional scale. Paralleling this development, the deployment of dense networks of strong ground motion instruments in Japan (K-NET and KiK-net) has now made it possible to directly visualize regional seismic wave propagat...

This paper compares base shear computed from floor accelerations (inertial base shear) and column shears (structural base shear) for several single-degree-of-freedom (SDF) systems and two mid-rise, multi-story buildings due to a suite of 30 earthquake ground motions. The presented results show that the inertial base shear is close to structural base shear in short-period (<1 sec) SDF systems bu...

This paper aims to investigate the effects of motion duration on the structural seismic demands, seeking potential correlations between motion durations and structural responses at several seismic intensity levels. Three seismic intensity levels with 100years, 475years, and 2475years earthquake return periods (RPs) are first considered for correlation computations. Spectrally matched ground mot...

the objective of this paper is to present a new method for protecting the lives of residents in catastrophic earthquake failures of unreinforced masonry buildings by introducing some safe rooms within the buildings. the main idea is that occupants can seek refuge within the safe rooms as soon as the earthquake ground motions are felt. the information obtained from the historical ground motions ...

The Natural Resources Building (NRB) in Olympia, Washington, was shaken by three earthquakes (Mw = 5.8, 6.8, and 5.0) between 1999 and 2001. Building motions were recorded on digital accelerographs, providing important digital recordings of repeated strong shaking in a building. The NRB has 5-stories above grade with 3 sub-grade levels and a ductile steel-frame elongated in the E-W direction. T...

The nationwide strong-motion seismograph network of K-NET and KiK-net in Japan successfully recorded the strong ground motions of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence, which show the several notable characteristics. For the first large earthquake with a JMA magnitude of 6.5 (21:26, April 14, 2016, JST), the large strong motions are concentrated near the epicenter and the strong-motion attenuat...