Seismic Risk and Design Loads

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen K. Malhotra
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Design ◽  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Design Procedures ◽  
Central United States ◽  
Design Loads

The 2003 International Building Code seismic design procedures do not result in uniform risk throughout the country. A comparison is made between the expected lifetime damage to two identical buildings—one in the western United States and other in the central United States. The seismic design accelerations are the same for these buildings, but the expected lifetime damage is very different. The causes of this difference are discussed in the paper.

A Comparison of Estimates of Seismic Risk in the Central United States

1980 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
B. F. Howell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Maximum Likelihood Method ◽  
Likelihood Method ◽  
Type I ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Recurrence Period ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Least Squares Fit ◽  
Central United States

Abstract Using the maximum likelihood method and a simple least-squares fit relating magnitude and the number of earthquakes per year in the central Mississippi Valley, Nuttli obtained equations which predict that the average recurrence period for a New Madrid-size earthquake is 810 and 980 years, respectively. Using different variants of Gumbel’s theory of extreme events, the average recurrence period is found to be 1100 years (Type I) to 215,000 years (Type III based on recent data only). Conventional methods, including Gumbel’s Type I theory, which make no allowance for an upper limit on the size of expectable earthquakes may overpredict the hazard from earthquakes which are larger than any which have occurred in the historic past.

International Seismic Zone Tabulation Proposed by the 1997 UBC Code: Observations for Mexico

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo Tena-Colunga
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Seismic Zone ◽  
Seismic Zoning ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Division Iii ◽  
Civil Structures ◽  
Entire World

The Uniform Building Code (UBC) is perhaps one of the most advanced seismic codes worldwide. The 1997 version of the Uniform Building Code (UBC-97) has important modifications with respect to previous versions, among other changes, the introduction of structural overstrength, redundancy and reliability factors for the design of structural elements. In addition, the UBC-97 code revises seismic zoning for areas outside the United States under Division III, Section 1653. In fact, practically the entire world is zoned by the UBC-97 under this section, and many practicing engineers worldwide may feel confident to use the UBC code for the design of civil structures in countries other than the United States, particularly because it is written in this section that “Note: This division has been revised in its entirety”. This paper discusses whether or not Section 1653 of the UBC-97 code has any justification for Mexico, by comparing the UBC design criteria with the criteria established by ruling Mexican codes. According to Mexican authorities, only the referenced Mexican building codes should be used for the design of civil structures in Mexico, so the UBC-97 cannot be used for the seismic design of civil structures in Mexico legally.

scholarly journals Market Expansion Strategies for Turfgrass Producers in the Western United States

EDIS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 2003 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Haydu ◽  
Alan W. Hodges ◽  
Loretta N. Satterthwaite
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Joint Effort ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Market Expansion ◽  
The Third ◽  
Central United States ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
The University

This paper reports the results of the third and last phase of a turfgrass marketing study in the United States. The previous two phases of this study were conducted in the Eastern and Central United States. This research project was a joint effort by International Turfgrass Producers Foundation (ITPF) and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences. Revised February 26, 2003.

scholarly journals Structure of the upper mantle in the north-western and central United States from USArray S-receiver functions

Solid Earth ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 957-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kind ◽  
X. Yuan ◽  
J. Mechie ◽  
F. Sodoudi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Receiver Function ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Receiver Functions ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rift System ◽  
The North ◽  
Central United States

Abstract. We used more than 40 000 S-receiver functions recorded by the USArray project to study the structure of the upper mantle between the Moho and the 410 km discontinuity from the Phanerozoic western United States to the cratonic central US. In the western United States we observed the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB), and in the cratonic United States we observed both the mid-lithospheric discontinuity (MLD) and the LAB of the craton. In the northern and southern United States the western LAB almost reaches the mid-continental rift system. In between these two regions the cratonic MLD is surprisingly plunging towards the west from the Rocky Mountain Front to about 200 km depth near the Sevier thrust belt. We interpret these complex structures of the seismic discontinuities in the mantle lithosphere as an indication of interfingering of the colliding Farallon and Laurentia plates. Unfiltered S-receiver function data reveal that the LAB and MLD are not single discontinuities but consist of many small-scale laminated discontinuities, which only appear as single discontinuities after longer period filtering. We also observe the Lehmann discontinuity below the LAB and a velocity reduction about 30 km above the 410 km discontinuity.

scholarly journals United States building code approach to variations in regional seismicity

2000 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles A. Kircher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Design ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Building Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Building Codes ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Design Criteria ◽  
Narrow Strip ◽  
Moderate Seismicity

The United States contains regions of greatly varying seismicity ranging from a relatively narrow strip of very high seismicity along coastal California in the West to broad areas of low or moderate seismicity typical of the Central and Eastern United States. The United States currently has three major regional model building codes. While all three codes have traditionally used the concept of seismic zones to identify and distinguish between regions of different seismicity, they have not had a consistent basis for their seismic criteria. Beginning in the year 2000, the three model building codes will merge and become the new International Building Code (IBC) applicable to the whole United States. New seismic design criteria have been developed for the 2000 IBC that now define ground shaking for building design by spectral acceleration contours. This paper describes the background and basis for the new seismic design criteria of the 2000 IBC, and how these criteria address the large variation in seismic hazard across the United States.

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