Implications of Recent Earthquakes and Research on Earthquake-Resistant Design and Construction of Buildings

摘要

After an overview of the special problems inherent in the design of earthquake-resistant buildings to be constructed in regions of high seismic risk, the states of the art and practice needed to solve these problems in the U.S. are briefly discussed. The implications of the ground motions recorded during the 1985 Mexican and Chilean earthquakes, the performance of buildings during the Mexican earthquake, and the research results previously discussed are then assessed with respect to seismic-resistant design regulations presently in enforce as formulated by ATC3-06 and the Tentative Lateral Force Requirements recently formulated by the Seismology Committee of SEAOC. The rationality and reliability of the values suggested by the ATC for the 'Response Modification Factor R' and by the SEAOC Seismology Committee for the 'Structural Quality Factor Rw' are assessed in detail. The report concludes with general observations and conclusions, and proposes two solutions for the improvement of earthquake-resistant design of building structures: an ideal (rational) method to be implemented in the future, and a compromise solution that can be implemented immediately.