PEER Reports

An important aspect of the Next Generation Attenuation for Central and Eastern North America (NGA-East) project led by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) entails assigning seismic wave attenuation values to major crustal regions. In this study, Central and Eastern North America (CENA) is subdivided into four regions based on the geologic and tectonic setting. The regions are the Central North America (CNA), the Appalachian Province (APP), the Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP), and the Mississippi Embayment/Gulf Coast region (MEM). Each region is described by a...

The three-dimensional (3D) beam-truss model (BTM) for reinforced concrete (RC) walls, which was developed by the first two authors in a previously published paper, is modified to better represent flexure-shear interaction and more accurately compute diagonal shear failures under static cyclic or dynamic loading. The modifications pertain to the element formulations and the determination of the inclination angle of the diagonal elements. Moreover the BTM is extended to allow the simulation of RC slabs. The modified BTM is validated using the experimental test data of eight RC walls...

Performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) is based on the premise that the performance of engineered facilities can be predicted and evaluated with sufficient degree of confidence. However, prediction of system response greatly depends on the analyst’s experience and modeling skills. Therefore, the uncertainty with which the engineering community can predict response of a system or one of its components should be realistically quantified in PBEE. A blind prediction contest of a full-scale reinforced-concrete bridge column exposed to six consecutive unidirectional ground motions of...

Since the dynamic response of an isolated structure depends on the combined characteristics of the ground motion, bearings, and structure, standard isolator prototype component tests may not by themselves be sufficient to assess seismic performance and verify the adequacy of numerical models used for computer simulation. Thus, when assessing the applicability of seismic isolation to nuclear power facilities, tests that simulate dynamic response under realistic excitations are desired. However, available shaking tables have limits on the size, strength, and weight of the specimens they can...