Earthquake Load for Structural Reliability

Abstract

An ultimate limit‐state criterion is developed for the seismic reliability assessment of single‐story structures. This criterion is: When the structural precollapse energy absorption capacity is greater than the earthquake energy input, the structure can survive. Thus, the load effect is the maximum earthquake energy input which the building is expected to encounter during its lifetime. For the determination of this load effect, the seismic hazard potential as well as the dynamic characteristics of the structure and the ground motion are considered in this study. The seismic hazard term is determined from seismic source and attenuation models, and the dynamic characteristic term is determined from the energy input spectrum of inelastic single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) systems. The uncertainty involved in these terms is also investigated in order to calculate the failure probability.