Analytical Cases of Sustainable Seismic Design

This paper reviews the state of sustainable seismic design (SSD) practice. In the present context, “sustainability” interacts with “resilience” to imply the ability of the structure to recover functionality after an earthquake, hence preserving resources and preventing pollution associated with construction activities. Although most modern seismic design guidelines (SDGs) are less than a century old, they are still being developed and improved as new information becomes available. All aspects of earthquake engineering, ranging from geophysics to structural safety, are being rigorously studied worldwide. The advent of electronic computers and high-speed communications have accelerated progress in this field to the extent that practicing engineers may experience several code changes during their professional careers. While contemporary SDGs appear to have served their intended purposes well, no records support the efficacy of such expectations nor their ability to be upgraded to sustainable seismic design (SSD). On the contrary, there is growing concern that the good intentions of the current SDGs may remain “good intentions” with no guarantee for actual “recentering,” “life safety,” “collapse prevention,” or direct application to SSD. This paper discusses and compares the most important items of concern and suggests workable solutions to adapt the proposed archetypes to contemporary SDGs with a view to seismic sustainability, economics, and environmental protection.

کلیدواژه ها:

Seismic guidelines ، Seismic sustainability ، Repairs ، Realignment ، Collapse prevention