MONTE CARLO STUDY OF SEISMIC STRUCTURAL SAFETY

A SIMULATION OF THE LATERAL GROUND MOTION OF STRONG EARTHQUAKES IS PERFORMED USING A RANDOM FUNCTION GENERATOR AND AN ANALOG COMPUTER. THE STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SIMULATED EARTHQUAKE ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE OF ACTUAL EARTHQUAKES. THE SIMULATION IS THEN USED AS THE EXCITATION APPLIED TO A STRUCTURAL SYSTEM, WHICH IS ALSO MODELED ON THE ANALOG COMPUTER. THE STATISTICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE STRUCTURE'S PEAK RESPONSE IS ESTABLISHED USING A MONTE CARLO TECHNIQUE WITH SEVERAL EARTHQUAKE SIMULATIONS AND ASSOCIATED STRUCTURAL RESPONSE. THE ANALOG COMPUTER HAS THE ADVANTAGE OVER THE DIGITAL COMPUTER IN THAT TYPE I DISTRIBUTION OF MAXIMA IS USED TO DESCRIBE THE RESPONSE DISTRIBUTION. THE EXPERIMENTALLY DETERMINED STATISTICAL PARAMETERS RELATE DIRECTLY TO THE SEISMIC SAFETY OF A STRUCTURE. IN ADDITION, A STUDY OF THE SEISMIC RELIABILITY OF THE BILINEAR HARDENING SYSTEM IS GIVEN AS AN EXAMPLE. /ASCE/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 97, No ST 5, PROC PAPER 8118, PP 1497-1519, 16 FIG,
• Authors:
  • Wirsching, P H
  • Yao, J T
• Publication Date: 1971-5

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Journal of the Structural Division
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analog computers; Earthquakes; Information processing; Monte Carlo method; Safety; Seismicity; Seismology; Simulation; Statistical analysis; Structural engineering
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Data and Information Technology; Geotechnology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00209448
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 22 1971 12:00AM