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In this paper, seven real earthquake records are scaled according to Eurocode 8 design acceleration spectrum by using SESCAP (Selection and Scaling Program). SESCAP is a scaling program based on time domain scaling method and developed by using MATLAB, GUI software. Real and scaled earthquake records are used for linear time history analyses of a six-storied reinforced concrete building modeled as spatial by SAP2000. Eurocode 8 allows the use of real earthquake records for linear and nonlinear time history analyses of structures. In the case of using three earthquake records in linear and nonlinear time history analyses, maximum results of structural responses are used for design of structures. If at least seven time history analyses are performed, the mean responses of the structures are taken into account rather than the maximum results. For the selection of maximum results of structural response from thirty five groups are created by calculating combination of threes of seven real and scaled earthquake records, and another group including all of the seven real and scaled earthquake records are created for selection of mean. Relative floor displacements along X axis of the building are preferred as structural response of the building in this study. It is seen that differences between mean value and maximum value of the relative floor displacements along X axis of the building induced by seven and three scaled earthquake records respectively are less than ones obtained from real earthquake records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The impact of the target spectrum on the acceleration causing collapse is investigated. • The impact of the number of ground motions on structural response is investigated. • Several MDOF and SDOF models are considered in the study. • A minimum of 15 ground motions should be used for time-history analysis. • The CS offers 1.2–2.3 times larger accelerations causing collapse than the UHS. Abstract The impact of the type of target response spectrum and the number of ground motions on the response of buildings is investigated. The parametric study involves the selection of ground motions based on the Eurocode 8 spectrum, a conditional spectrum using the official seismotectonic model of Slovenia, a uniform hazard spectrum based on the seismotectonic model of the SHARE project, and the corresponding conditional spectrum. In addition to the variation of the target response spectrum, the number of selected ground motions was varied from 7 to 60. Selected sets of ground motions were used to investigate the seismic response of eight reinforced concrete buildings with fundamental vibration periods from 0.15 s to 1.76 s. The aim of the study was to analyse the variation of target displacements obtained by a pushover-based method, i.e. the median displacement corresponding to a seismic intensity with a return period of 475 or 2475 years, and the median spectral acceleration causing collapse, which was estimated by incremental dynamic analysis. It was found that the target spectrum and the number of ground motions have a limited impact on the target displacement, especially if it corresponds to seismic intensities with a return period of 475 years. Additionally, the impact of the number of ground motions on the median spectral acceleration causing collapse is much lower than the impact of the target response spectrum. When the conditional spectrum was used as the target spectrum for ground motion selection instead of the design response spectrum prescribed by Eurocode 8, the resulting median spectral acceleration causing collapse increased by a factor of between 1.2 and 2.3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The details of the project of a 6-storey CLT building are presented. • The design for gravity and seismic loads is discussed in detail. • A recently developed proposal of revision of the timber chapter within the Eurocode 8 on seismic design is applied. • The design of the anchoring connections to the concrete foundation for multi-storey timber buildings is discussed. • Some details are also given regarding construction issues and fire design. Abstract This paper presents the design and construction of a six-storey residential cross-laminated timber (CLT) building in Florence, Italy. The different phases of the design process are described in detail, together with the production, transportation and on-site construction. Special emphasis is given to the seismic design, where a recently developed proposal for the revision of the Eurocode 8 has been applied, demonstrating its feasibility. Some design and construction issues are also addressed, including the connection of hold-down anchors to the concrete foundation. This connection represents the weakest link of the traditional commercial connectors used for CLT buildings, especially concerning the seismic design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the influence of cyclic and in-cycle degradation on seismic drift demands in moment-resisting steel frames (MRF) designed to Eurocode 8. The structural characteristics, ground motion frequency content, and level of inelasticity are the primary parameters considered. A set of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems, subjected to varying levels of inelastic demands, is initially investigated followed by an extensive study on multi-storey frames. The latter comprises a large number of incremental dynamic analyses (IDA) on 12 frames modelled with or without consideration of degradation effects. A suite of 56 far-field ground motion records, appropriately scaled to simulate 4 levels of inelastic demand, is employed for the IDA. Characteristic results from a detailed parametric investigation show that maximum response in terms of global and inter-storey drifts is notably affected by degradation phenomena, in addition to the earthquake frequency content and the scaled inelastic demands. Consistently, both SDOF and frame systems with fundamental periods shorter than the mean period of ground motion can experience higher lateral strength demands and seismic drifts than those of non-degrading counterparts in the same period range. Also, degrading multi-storey frames can exhibit distinctly different plastic mechanisms with concentration of drifts at lower levels. Importantly, degrading systems might reach a 'near-collapse' limit state at ductility demand levels comparable to or lower than the assumed design behaviour factor, a result with direct consequences on optimised design situations where over-strength would be minimal. Finally, the implications of the findings with respect to design-level limit states are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seismic behavior of flat-bottom silos containing grain-like material still presents strong uncertainties and current design codes tend to provide too conservative formulations for the estimation of the seismic actions. Over the years, some researchers focused on the dynamic behavior of such silos mainly through numerical investigations. Analytical formulations for the evaluation of the pressures exerted by the ensiled grain on the silo wall under seismic excitation were developed by Younan and Veletsos (J Struct Eng ASCE 124(1):62-70 ) and, more recently, by Silvestri et al. (Bull Earthq Eng 10(5):1535-1560 ). Experimental shaking-table tests were performed on silo specimens (Silvestri et al. EESD , submitted), which showed good agreement with the Silvestri's analytical formulations, even if some theoretical limits of validity were not satisfied. This has encouraged a complete revision and refinements of the theoretical framework, which is the object of this paper. In detail, the static and the dynamic actions exchanged between different grain portions and between the grain and the silo wall are idealised in a more physically consistent way. The analytical developments are carried out by means of simple free-body dynamic equilibrium equations. The refinements yield to a significant extension of the theoretical limits of validity and to a new set of analytical formulas for the wall pressures and for the wall shear and bending moment. A comparison of the analytical formulas with (i) the consolidated Janssen (Zeitschrift des vereines deutcher Ingenieure 39:1045-1049 ) and Koenen (Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung 16:446-449 ) theory for static design of silos and (ii) with the Eurocode 8 provisions for seismic design of silos and with the experimental results is also performed in order to (i) check the updated theoretical model in static conditions and (ii) verify the reliability of the different formulations in accelerated conditions, respectively. The refined theory confirms that the portion of ensiled material that interacts with the silo wall is significantly smaller than the effective mass suggested by Eurocode 8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a series of shake-table tests on a half-scale, four-storey building with reinforced concrete and unreinforced masonry walls. Due to the lack of reference tests, the seismic behaviour of such mixed structures is poorly understood. The test unit was subjected to several runs of increasing intensity yielding performance states between minor damage and near collapse. Before the test, the expected peak table accelerations leading to different limit states were estimated using the capacity spectrum method, and the predicted values corresponded rather well to actual sustained accelerations. Next to these analyses, the paper describes the test unit, instrumentation and input motion, and comments on the response of the mixed structure in terms of damage evolution and global response quantities, such as force-displacement response and drift and acceleration profiles. The raw and post-processed data sets are made publically available, and all relevant information with regard to data organisation and post-processing procedure is described in an appendix to this paper. The test serves therefore as a benchmark for the validation of numerical models of such mixed structures. The project aims at providing a foundation for the development of seismic design and assessment methods of mixed structures, which are currently not covered by structural codes, including Eurocode 8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ground motion with a PGA of 0.39 g, above the 475-year design earthquake specified in the Greek seismic code and the National Annex to Eurocode 8, was recorded about 100 m from the municipal theatre of Argostoli, the capital of the Ionian island of Kefalonia. The building, the largest in volume in the town, was designed and constructed to the 1959 seismic code for lateral loads (about 30 % of those specified today). Suffering also from severe reinforcement corrosion and poor concrete quality, it provided the ground to apply for the first time (in 2005) Part 3 of Eurocode 8 for seismic assessment and retrofitting. The assessment based on nonlinear dynamic analysis showed that the buidling was deficient even under ground motions with PGA less than 0.05 g. Alongside the need to tackle corrosion, the design of the retrofitting had to face several constraints and requirements: minimal disruption of the facility's operation, accessibility to the foundation only along the building perimeter, no change to the façade and minimal intervention to the other lateral sides. A very cost-effective retrofitting was designed, employing: (a) one-sided RC or fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) overlays and two new walls at the perimeter, (b) connection of the two structurally independent and torsionally imbalanced units of the building in a single structure, and (c) one-sided FRP jacketing of selected interior elements. Less than 7 years after the works were completed, the building went unscathed through a Magnitude 6.1 earthquake. Serious damage was limited to four nonstructural masonry infill panels at the penthouse, which, according to the retrofit design, could be sacrificed, so as to protect vulnerable structural elements that could not be retrofitted in the first place. Nonlinear dynamic analyses of the response of the retrofitted building to the recorded ground motions are in agreement with the observed performance. They show also that, had the as-built facility not been retrofitted, it might have collapsed in the earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objections raised by researchers to the design provisions reported in Eurocode 8 make the efficient seismic performance of the eccentrically braced structures designed according to this code unlikely. Given the rationality and the number of the objections, this paper aims to summarize the criticism of researchers and report the opinion of the Authors. The objections raised to the design procedure of eccentrically braced structures regard aspects common to the design of steel structures and aspects specifically related to the design of eccentrically braced structures. The significance of these objections is also shown by means of exemplary cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time history analyses have been preferred commonly in earthquake engineering area to determine earthquake performances of structures in recent years. Advances in computer technology and structural analysis have led to common usage of time history analyses. Eurocode 8 allows the use of real earthquake records as an input for linear and nonlinear time history analyses of structures. However, real earthquake records with the desired characteristics sometimes may not be found, for example depending on soil classes, in this case artificial and synthetic earthquake records can be used for seismic analyses rather than real records. Selected earthquake records should be scaled to a code design spectrum to reduce record to record variability in structural responses of considered structures. So, scaling of earthquake records is one of the most important procedures of time history analyses. In this paper, four real earthquake records are scaled to Eurocode 8 design spectrums by using SESCAP (Selection and Scaling Program) based on time domain scaling method and developed by using MATLAB, GUI software, and then scaled and real earthquake records are used for linear time history analyses of a six-storied building. This building is modeled as spatial by SAP2000 software. The objectives of this study are to put basic procedures and criteria of selecting and scaling earthquake records in a nutshell, and to compare the effects of scaled earthquake records on structural response with the effects of real earthquake records on structural response in terms of record to record variability of structural response. Seismic analysis results of building show that record to record variability of structural response caused by scaled earthquake records are fewer than ones caused by real earthquake records [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]