A Comparison of Seismic Design Methods
There are basically four different types of seismic design methods. Most building designers immediately assume that the building code provides the best seismic design method. This is a good assumption, as the engineer must satisfy the building code regardless of their preferences. Besides, the building code seismic design is accepted and relied upon even though no one might check its applicability. This one hour online course presents different seismic design methods to familiarize the design community with these options. The course will not determine the shear forces, but gives a basic comparison of application, and cost of the different design methods. The course is written with respect to pre-1980 versions of building codes primarily to emphasize some of the code changes that have been made since that time. As an extra, the course provides a comparison of seismic coefficients used by different countries giving some surprising results.
This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end.
At the conclusion of the course, the student will:Understand the concept of response spectra designUnderstand the concept of time-history designUnderstand the concept of balanced risk designUnderstand the concept of building code designKnow the difference between building codes, and design & construction guidelinesDiscuss the application, use, and relative costs of each design method
