PEER Reports

PEER Reports

PEER Annual Report 2020–2021, PEER Report 2021-11

Khalid M. Mosalam
Amarnath Kasalanati
2021

The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) is a multi-institutional research and education center with headquarters at the University of California, Berkeley. PEER’s mission is to (1) develop, validate, and disseminate performance-based engineering (PBE) technologies for buildings and infrastructure networks subjected to earthquakes and other natural hazards, with the goal of achieving community resilience; and (2) equip the earthquake engineering and other extreme-event communities with new tools. This report presents the activities of the Center over the period of July 1,...

The PEER International Pacific Rim Forum 2021: Regional-Scale Simulation of Earthquake Ground Motions and Infrastructure Response for Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering, PEER Report 2022-04

David McCallen
Floriana Petrone
Elnaz Esmaeilzadeh Seylabi
Arben Pitarka
Norman Abrahamson
Sherif Elfass
2022

The continued rapid advancements in High Performance Computing (HPC) hardware and supporting computational ecosystems, combined with new understanding of the underlying physics of earthquake processes, are providing the foundation for the simulation of earthquake ground motions and infrastructure response at regional scale. This latest in a series of Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) Pacific Rim Forums brought together a...

PEER Report 2022/04: "The PEER International Pacific Rim Forum 2021: Regional-Scale Simulations of Earthquake Ground Motions and Infrastructure Response for Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering"

July 21, 2022

PEER has published Report No. 2022/04: "The PEER International Pacific Rim Forum 2021: Regional-Scale Simulations of Earthquake Ground Motions and Infrastructure Response for Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering." It was authored by David McCallen, University of Nevada Reno, Floriana Petrone, University of Nevada Reno, Elnaz Esmaeilzadeh Seylabi, University of Nevada Reno, Arben Pitarka, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Norman Abrahamson, UC Berkeley, and Sherif Elfass, University of Nevada Reno.

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PEER Report 2022/03: "Moment Resisting Frames Coupled with Rocking Walls Subjected to Earthquakes"

June 17, 2022

PEER has published Report No. 2022/03: "Moment Resisting Frames Coupled with Rocking Walls Subjected to Earthquakes." It was authored by Mehrdad Aghagholizadeh, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California and Nicos Makris, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. https://doi.org/10.55461/MXXS2889

Access the report and 2 page summary. Access the...

Capacity Limit States for Nonductile Bridge Columns, PEER Report 2022-01

Jin Zhou
Sashi K Kunnath
2022

The ShakeCast software platform, used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), utilizes near real-time ground shaking maps generated by the US Geological Survey in conjunction with demand and capacity models, to evaluate the likely damage to all bridges in the vicinity of an earthquake event. The ability to estimate with reasonable accuracy the likelihood and extent of damage to bridges following an earthquake is crucial to post-...

Micro-Inspired Continuum Modeling Using Virtual Experiments, PEER Report 2022-02

Jose E. Andrade
2022

This report describes the methodology and advances reached for the project “Micro-Inspired Continuum Modeling Using Virtual Experiments.” The objective of this project was to develop new hardening rules for the most common plasticity constitutive models by using accurate micromechanical simulations that can capture the main features of granular behavior under cyclic loading — a crucial feature for earthquake engineering applications. To achieve this objective, laboratory experiments were performed and scanned with X-ray computed tomography (CT). The sample processed with CT was used as...

Seismic Performance of Well-Confined Concrete Bridge Columns, PEER Report 1998-01

Dawn E. Lehman
Jack P. Moehle
1998

Recent earthquakes in California and abroad have provided performance data demonstrating that large losses can result from inadequate performance of highway bridges. An experimental and analytical research program was undertaken to characterize the response of well-confined, circular cross section, concrete bridge columns subjected to lateral loading. In the experimental investigation, columns with varying longitudinal reinforcement ratios and aspect ratios were tested in the laboratory to characterize the response of modern bridge columns to lateral loads. In the analytical investigation...

Seismic Evaluation of 196 kV Porcelain Transformer Bushings, PEER Report 1998-02

Amir S. Gilani
Juan W. Chavez
Gregory L. Fenves
Andrew S. Whittaker
1998

Two identical 196 kV porcelain transformer bushings were evaluated for their response to severe earthquake shaking. Tri-directional earthquake simulator testing was undertaken to investigate the dynamic response of the bushing, to provide data for correlation with the analytical studies, to qualify one of the bushings for moderate earthquake shaking (per IEEE 693), and to evaluate the response of one bushing to extreme shaking effects. For earthquake testing, the bushing was mounted at 20° to the vertical in a stiff support frame. Spectrum-compatible ground motion records derived from...

Repair/Upgrade Procedures for Welded Beam to Column Connections, PEER Report 1998-03

James C. Anderson
Xiaojing Duan
1998

Experimental and analytical studies are conducted on four repair/upgrade details for welded moment connections. The first of these seeks to improve the weld material without doing anything to the beam and column sections at the joint (weld enhancement). The simplest of these removes the cracked weld material and replaces it with a more ductile, notch-tough weld material (weld replacement). A more recently developed procedure places a layer of weld material having a higher notch toughness on top of the existing welds (weld overlay).

The second weld repair/retrofit detail considers...

Defining the Links between Planning, Policy Analysis, Economics, and Earthquake Engineering, PEER Report 1998-04

Mary Comerio
Peter Gordon
1998

The recently established PEER Center is committed to integrating social science and earthquake engineering research. How should integration proceed? What can social scientists contribute to PEER’s interest in performance-based engineering? These and other questions were addressed at a PEER Workshop on Planning, Policy Analysis and Economics in Earthquake Research which was convened (May 14-15, 1998) to help develop an appropriate research agenda.

Generally, it appears that whereas performance-based engineering seeks optimal solutions to the achievement of given standards, social...