Earthquake Engineering and Seismic Design of Steel Buildings | CENV6134

Module overview

This module provides an overview of the breadth of earthquake engineering as a discipline, providing the most important knowledge and intellectual skills for students to be able to assess earthquake hazards and ground motions (shaking), and then to analyse and design structures for earthquake resistance. Particular attention is paid to performance-based seismic design and assessment of steel buildings. The module will start from the fundamental theory of structural dynamics and earthquake engineering. It will then gradually cover linear and nonlinear structural analysis methods and their application to simplified and rigorous performance-based seismic design and assessment of steel building structures. Relevant seismic design guidelines in Eurocodes will be thoroughly covered. It is emphasised that the course includes an introduction to aspects of structural dynamics relevant to earthquake engineering for students who lack this pre-requisite knowledge. The Module is based on a combination of Lectures (theory) and Computer Lab Sessions (computational implementation of the theory). It involves the use of the commercial software SAP2000 as well as MATLAB. Step-by-step tutorials for using the software and MATLAB will be provided. Computer lab sessions at the last four weeks will solely devoted to the design project carried out by the students. During all lab sessions, the Lectures will provide to students instruction and feedback on their progress towards the completion of their project. Overall the module consists of 20 lectures and 10 computer lab sessions.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Problem solving
Exercising independent judgment
Planning and time management
Communication
Critical appraisal

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

- develop appropriate linear and nonlinear structural models for dynamic analysis
- perform seismic assessment of steel buildings using state-of-the-art nonlinear analysis methods
- perform the seismic design of multi-storey steel buildings
- compute the seismic response of inelastic structures
- compute the seismic response of simple elastic structures

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

- Compute the elastic and inelastic response spectrum of ground motions using MATLAB or any other programming environment
- Process accelerograms and compute important characteristics of ground motions using MATLAB or any other programming environment
- Use commercially available software to perform seismic design and assessment of steel buildings
- Use commercially available software to create nonlinear structural analysis models of buildings

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

- specific seismic design rules for steel buildings
- the dynamics of elastic multi-degree-of-freedom systems
- nonlinear structural analysis methods and their use for seismic assessment
- the dynamics of elastic frames with rotational degrees of freedom
- the framework of Eurocode 8
- different hysteretic rules
- the earthquake hazard (sources, magnitude, seismic intensity and site effects)
- approximate methods for estimating the peak inelastic response
- the behaviour of different seismic-resistant systems such as moment-resisting frames, braced frames, and frames with energy dissipation devices
- the elastic response spectrum
- the dynamics of inelastic single-degree-of-freedom systems
- the dynamics of elastic single-degree-of-freedom systems
- modal time history analysis and response spectrum analysis

Syllabus

earthquake hazard (sources, magnitude, seismic intensity and site effects)
dynamics of elastic single-degree-of-freedom systems
dynamics of inelastic single-degree-of-freedom systems
response spectrum
approximate methods for estimating the peak inelastic response
hysteretic rules
dynamics of elastic multi-degree-of-freedom systems
modal time history analysis and response spectrum analysis
dynamics of elastic frames with rotational degrees of freedom
specific seismic design rules for steel buildings
Eurocode 8
nonlinear structural analysis methods and their use for seismic assessment
seismic-resistant systems

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

10 lectures on theory of structural dynamics and earthquake engineering
10 lectures on nonlinear structural analysis, seismic design, and seismic assessment
10 computer lab sessions with instruction and feedback on the use of software and progress towards completion of their project

Study time
Type	Hours
Preparation for scheduled sessions	10
Revision	30
Tutorial	10
Lecture	20
Seminar
Wider reading or practice	20
Completion of assessment task	60
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Blackboard. All resources will be available on blackboard • Extensive resources for students including thorough step-by-step tutorials on the use of software (SAP2000, MATLAB) and technical reports with real-life step-by-step seismic design examples • Recommended textbooks • Software will be available on the network of the FEE for direct use during lab sessions. A fully functional student version of the software (limitation: no printing capability) is available for download and use on personal computers.

Assessment

Assessment strategy

Repeat year - external repeat as per referral method.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Continuous Assessment	100%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Set Task	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Set Task	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External