Blog 18: Third Answer

EQ: How can a structural engineer best design a building for earthquake resistance?

Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*

Following all the details in the ASCE 7 code will help provide a basic model in designing earthquake resistance buildings.

3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

Basic Seismic Design Criteria: A list of requirements of a basic seismic design to resist earthquake loads. These requirements can go all the way from types of frames, flexibility structures, deformation, building systems, different types of structures specialized to resist earthquakes etc. Ex: Basic Seismic Design Criteria states, under the frame category, that there needs to be a space frame system to support vertical loads coming from an earthquake.

Seismic Isolation: Seismic Isolation helps stabilize a building from an earthquake's movements. Ex: There four requirements regard seismic isolation: increasing a building's resistance and displacement, limiting an earthquakes degradation, having effective stiffness/dampness, and stabilizing a building from earthquake displacements.

Nonbuilding Structures: Nonbuilding structures are exactly what they mean. They are structures that may or may not be similar to building structures and are typically designed for architectural, electrical or mechanical purposes. However, they are also designed to resist gravity/lateral and seismic loads. Ex: ASCE 7 code has listed requirements in the identification of nonbuilding structures: engines, elevators, tanks, conveyors, etc.

The research source (s) to support your details and answer

 Source ID #: 35, Dowty, Susan. "Seismic Design Provisions of ASCE 7-10: Changes from ASCE 7-05." SE News. Structural Engineer, Nov. 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.

Source ID #: 39, Dowty, Susan. "Is It a Nonstructural Component or a Nonbuilding Structure?" STRUCTUREmag., July 2008. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

Source ID #: 36, Nikolaou, Sissy. "Site-Specific Seismic Studies for Optimal Structural Design." STRUCTUREmag., Feb. 2008. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

Concluding Sentence

ASCE 7 code contains a list of details, including some of the other two answers of my EQ, that are required in designing a building for earthquake resistance.