Activity: ULOs Week 3-5

2a
Let’s Check!

Activity 2. In the space provided, you are tasked to discuss, in your own words:

a. Explain the importance of determining the earthquake occurrence and return

period as seismic consideration in structural design.
- You can improve your chances of surviving an earthquake and lessen its dangerous
and damaging effects by learning about potential earthquake hazards in your area and
taking some precautions now.
- The basic objective of seismically resistant building design is to prevent fatalities and a
catastrophic collapse. Designing structures with a high ductility capacity, which
enables them to withstand inelastic deformation during intense ground shaking with a
low likelihood of collapsing, is the most widely used technique worldwide.
b. What do you mean by “attenuation models”? How is it different from the ground
motion models discussed in ULO1c?
- Where the waves are produced, they are the largest, and as they move away, they
progressively get smaller. Attenuation describes this reduction in the size or
amplitude of the waves. As seismic waves travel away from the earthquake's
epicenter, they weaken as well.
c. Ground motion equations are frequently referred to as attenuation relations, but they
describe much more than just the attenuation of the ground motion; they describe the
probability density function of the ground motion given the properties of the earthquake
source (magnitude, style-of-faulting), the wave propagation, and more. Attenuation of
ground motions is the term used to describe the decrease in strength of shaking as the
distance from the earthquake source increases (distance).
d. What is the difference between linear and nonlinear dynamic analysis in
structures?
- - In a linear analysis, energy dissipation takes the form of viscous damping and strain
energy, whereas in a nonlinear analysis, it takes the form of inelastic energy, a
negligible amount of strain energy, and a large amount of damping.
- - In linear dynamic analysis, the structure's response to ground motion is computed in
the time domain, preserving all phase information. All assumed attributes are linear.
Modal decomposition can be used in the analytical procedure to lower the number of
degrees of freedom in the analysis.
e. The Nonlinear Dynamic Procedure (NDP), also known as Time History Analysis, aims to
accurately depict the seismic reaction of buildings without making any of these significant
simplifications. The NDP is not often employed in the field despite the tradeoffs that come
with simpler analysis methodologies.
f. Why do structures experience “hysteresis loop”?
- - In structural engineering, hysteresis describes the structure's restoring force's
reliance on deformation. Of contrast to the hysteresis loops of steel and concrete
 structures, the morphologies of hysteresis loops in wood-frame constructions appear
to be pinched in the centre.
- The link between the magnetic flux density and the magnetizing field strength can be
seen in the hysteresis loop. The loop is created by monitoring the ferromagnetic
material's magnetic flux while adjusting the external magnetizing field.

Let’s Analyze!
Activity 1. Solve the following problems:

Problem 1

Problem 2
Problem 3

Problem 4

In a Nutshell!
The study of concepts on earthquake engineering is indeed a vital part in the proceeding topics to
be discussed. It is very important for you to understand the content and the terms used in
earthquake engineering because these will be utilized when you are about to consider seismic
design in the analysis and design of vertical structures.

Based from the presented concepts of earthquake input motion, I have indicated some of my
lessons learned.
 1. There key element in the assessment of the seismic hazard in a region is the estimation of
the recurrence intervals of earthquakes of different magnitudes.

Your Turn!
2. 2. When it comes to the destruction of life and livelihood, earthquakes can have
catastrophic impacts. Numerous elements affect an earthquake's capacity for destruction.
Important earthquake features include the size of an event (reported as either intensity or
magnitude), focal depth, epicentral distance, topographical circumstances, and local
geology. However, the types of structures and human density present in the region have a
significant impact on the causes of fatalities and the level of damage. The effects of
earthquakes are devastating to all elements of vulnerable social structures.
3. 3. Buildings, bridges, highways, and other lifelines sustain significant structural damage
during earthquakes. The use of earthquake action-resisting systems and the construction
materials affect how seismically vulnerable a structure is.
4. Services that are essential to a community's health and safety as well as the operation of
urban and industrial areas are referred to as lifelines. Systems for electric power, gas, water,
and wastewater are among them. infrastructures, like transportation networks Lifelines
also include ports, airports, and bridges. The community is financially devastated when
lifelines are damaged. Their seismic performance has an impact on both short- and long-
term recuperation as well as emergency.
5. The built environment is seriously damaged by ground impacts, according to analysis of
earthquake-induced damage.

2b
Let’s Check!

Activity 2. In the space provided, you are tasked to discuss, in your own words:

1. Which do you think has the most impact? Stiffness, Strength and Ductility in terms of
building resilience. Defend your answer.
- For me stiffness.
- - Reducing the deflection under load of a structural piece by increasing its stiffness or
rigidity. This can be accomplished by strengthening its part or expanding it, although
doing so will typically raise its cost as well.
- - Whereas ductility is mainly concerned with how the element will deflect, particularly
at yielding and beyond, flexibility and stiffness are measurements of how far an
element will deflect under a given force.
- - The stiffness of a structure indicates how much force is needed to move it a specific
distance. We would state that Building A is stiffer if it takes more force to move it than
Building B.
 - The capacity of a substance to be pulled or plastically deformed without breaking is
known as ductility. As a result, it provides information on how "soft" or pliable the
material is. The types and concentrations of alloying elements present affect the
ductility of steels in different ways.
2. What is the difference between “direct design” and “capacity design”. Which do you think
is better? Explain your answer.
- For me capacity design.
- - The direct design method is an analytical technique that determines the area of
reinforcement needed for short reinforced concrete columns or shear walls without
the use of an interaction diagram.
- Capacity design guarantees that the joint has enough deformation capacity as part of a
seismic inspection. The goal of capacity design is to ensure that a building experiences
regulated ductile behavior to prevent collapse in an earthquake with design-level
intensity.
3. What is the difference between “Strong Column Weak Beam” and “Weak Column Strong
Beam”? Which do you think must be practised? Enumerate the ways that one is inferior
from the other.
- As we all know, if a beam of any high rise building fails, it just affects that particular
floor. However, if a column of a structure breaks, it will result in the failure of the
entire building. This phrase, "Strong column-weak beam," refers to this.
- Due to the high bearing strength of the columns and how they are constructed with the
beams and flooring, frame damage happens more frequently in the columns. Retrofitting
for weak columns increases the column bearing capacity.
4. Which is the most recommended energy dissipative zone in the structure? Beam, column,
beam-column connection, floor diaphragm? Explain your answer.
- As required by the code, the frame moment connections at the column to the roof and
floor beams are made for the proper overstrength capacity. The diaphragm acts as a
sizable horizontal beam that spans between the shear walls, which are the supporting end
walls, to withstand the in-plane loads. Shear walls that have been properly constructed
will then withstand the diaphragm reaction that has been produced and pass the shear
load and potential overturning moment to the foundation.Which should exhibit the most
ductile behavior? Beam, column, beam-column connection, floor diaphragm? Explain your
answer.
5. - A segment of a beam will be more ductile if it is under-reinforced and much less ductile if
it is over-reinforced. First, we must be clear about beam reinforcement in order to grasp
this. There are three categories of section reinforcements based on the amount of steel
used: balanced, unde-reinforced, and over-reinforced.
6. Explain the concept of “soft storey” and “storey drift”.
- Most often, soft storeys show higher stresses at the first floor columns, and these
columns fail because plastic hinges do not develop at the intended positions, crushing
the columns. In strong earthquakes, soft storey also weakens the lateral rigidity of the
load-resisting system, causing the building to gradually collapse.
- The storey drift ratio is calculated by dividing the storey drift by the storey height. Storey
drift is the lateral displacement of a floor with respect to the floor below.
7. Explain the concept of “plastic hinges”.
- In structural engineering, a plastic hinge is the deformation of a portion of a beam
whenever plastic bending takes place. Hinge refers to the inability to withstand a
moment. A plastic hinge functions like a regular hinge would, allowing for free
rotation. A type of energy dampening mechanism used in earthquake engineering is
 the plastic hinge, which permits plastic rotation and subsequent deformation of a
normally rigid column connection.
Let’s Analyze!

Activity 1. Problem Solving.

Compare the bending moment capacity of sections at the base of reinforced concrete columns
under monotonic and earthquake loads shown. Assume that stirrups may be either closely spaced
or widely spaced. Is the axial load beneficial for the shear capacity of column members? Illustrate
the answer with sketches.

Reinforced concrete columns: close‐spaced (a) and large spacing (b) stirrups.

Activity 2. Evaluate your own residential dwelling on how safe it is during earthquakes. Use the
infographics above as your reference. Also, indicate your own suggestion and comments on how
further strengthen/reinforce the structure based on what you have learned in structural response
characteristics.
- If you can, find cover beneath a sturdy desk or table. Avoid the exterior walls, windows,
fireplaces, and anything that is hanging. Use blankets and pillows to shield yourself from falling
objects if you are confined to a chair or bed.
- By analyzing the construction and contents of your home, you may make it more resilient
to seismic damage. Check to see if your house is tied to the ground, has weak crawl space walls,
unbraced post-and-pier foundations, masonry walls, or an unreinforced foundation to secure your
area.
In a Nutshell!
The study of concepts on earthquake engineering is indeed a vital part in the proceeding topics to
be discussed. It is very important for you to understand the content and the terms used in
earthquake engineering because these will be utilized when you are about to consider seismic
design in the analysis and design of vertical structures.
Based from the presented concepts of earthquake effects: structural response characteristics, I have
indicated some of my lessons learned.
Your Turn!
1. To be able to design the building with the least amount of damage, it is crucial to
understand how earthquakes or lateral loads affect the structure in terms of the
fundamental building blocks, stiffness, strength, and ductility. As structural response is
directly proportional to ground acceleration, traditionally the peak value observed in a
ground acceleration record (in absolute value terms) is used to describe the intensity of the
ground motion at the recording site.
2. The peak value seen in a ground acceleration record (in absolute value terms) is generally
used to characterize the severity of the ground motion at the recording site since structural
reaction is directly proportional to ground acceleration.
3. The response spectrum can be thought of as the point where an SDOF system will respond
maximally given a particular damping ratio. In order to determine the lateral forces created in
a structure as a result of an earthquake, response spectra can be utilized to obtain the peak
structural responses within the linear range. This aids in the construction of structures that
are earthquake-resistant.