PEER Strong Motion Database

Listed below are example files for the Northridge earthquake (CDMG Alhambra - Fremont School). These file formats and naming conventions are consistent across the site.

Time history files contain the following header lines:

1. PEER STRONG MOTION DATABASE RECORD. PROCESSING BY (PACIFIC ENGINEERING or other data provider)
2. Earthquake name, date, and time; station location; record component; data source and station number (if available)
3. Acceleration, velocity, or displacement and units. Filter points.
4. NPTS (number of points) and DT (time interval between them)

Response spectra are available for 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 20% damping (indicated by the file extension and header information). Plots in this version are for 5% damping only, with filter points displayed as vertical red bars. If the filter points are missing, the record was not processed by Pacific Engineering, but the original data provider.

Files contain four lines of header information:

1. PEER STRONG MOTION DATABASE SPECTRUM. PROCESSING BY (PACIFIC ENGINEERING or other data provider)
2. Earthquake name, date, and time; station location; record component; data source and station number (if available)
3. Filter points.
4. Column headers: The first number is the number of frequencies for the spectra (112). The second number is the damping ratio (.050 = 5%).