Earthquake engineering / edited by Judith Rosales

Prof. Judith is an Ecologist and Environmental Specialist with more than 30 years of academic and consulting experience. She holds a PhD in geography from the University of Birmingham UK and wrote the PhD and Master Academic Programs of Environmental Sciences for the Universidad de Guayana, Venezuela.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of earthquake engineering basics, an overview of methods, and the scientific background on recent developments. Earthquake engineering is an interdisciplinary discipline of engineering that designs and analyzes structures, such as buildings and bridges, with earthquakes in mind. Its overall goal is to make such structures more resistant to earthquakes. Earthquake engineering is one of the more recent additions to the civil engineering specialties. While the need for earthquake engineering has always existed, the concepts and technology are a much more recent development. While all structures have a need to be designed to be earthquake resistant, it is the proliferation of high-rise buildings which has sparked the interest in developing earthquake survivability technology. The earthquake itself can move both laterally and vertically, providing forces to which the structure is not normally subject.

PREFACE: Earthquake engineering is a multi-phased process that ranges from the description of of earthquake sources, to characterization of site effects and structural response, and to description of measures of seismic protection. Earthquake engineering is the science of the performance of buildings and structures when subjected to seismic loading. It also assists analyzing the interaction between civil infrastructure and the ground, including the consequences of earthquakes on structures. One of the most important aims of earthquake engineering is the proper design and construction of buildings in accordance with building codes, so as to minimize damage due to earthquakes. It is the earthquake engineer who ensures proper design of buildings so they will resist damage due to earthquakes, but at the same time not be unnecessarily expensive. The purpose of these technologies is to minimize the seismic effects on buildings and other infrastructure by the use of seismic control devices. When seismic waves start penetrating the base of the buildings from the ground level, the flow density of their energy reduces due to reflections and other reasons. However, the remaining waves possess significant potential for damage when they reach the superstructure. Vibration control devices assist in the reduction of the damaging effects, and enhance the seismic performance characteristics of the building. When the seismic waves penetrate a superstructure, these are dissipated by the use of dampers, or dispersed in a wide range of frequencies. Mass dampers are also employed to absorb the resonant wave frequencies of seismic waves, thus reducing the damaging effects. Seismic isolation techniques are sometimes used to partly suppress the flow of seismic energy into the superstructure by the insertion of pads into or beneath the load bearing elements in the base of the structure. Thus, the structure is protected from the damaging consequences of an earthquake by decoupling the structure from the shaking ground.