24

Uniform Building
Code-1994
Equivalent Static Lateral
Force Method

Several seismic building codes are currently in use in different regions of the
United States. The Uniform Building Code (UBC) published by the Interna-
tional Conference of Building Officials (1994), is the building code most
extensively used, particularly in the western part of the country. In addition to
the UBC, two other major building codes are used: (1) The BOCA, or Basic
Building Code [Building Officials and Code Administrators International
1996]; and (2) The Standard Building Code, of the Southern Building Code
Congress International (1994).
In addition to the preceding codes, there is the ASCE Standard: Minimum
Design Loads in Buildings and Other Structures, ASCE7-95 (1995), (Revision of
ANSI (ASCE7-93). Several organizations involved in earthquake-resistant design
have published recommendations that form the basis for requirement in the official
codes. These organizations include (1) the Structural Engineers Association of
California [SEAOC (1990)], (2) the Applied Technology Council [ATC3-06
(1978), (3) the Building Seismic Safety Council [BSSC (1994)], and (4) The
Federal Emergency Agency [FEMA (1994)] which leads the National Earthquake
Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) with publications issued by the Building
Seismic Safety Council. These organizations periodically issue recommendations

707

M. Paz, Structural Dynamics

© Chapman & Hall 1997
708 Earthquake Engineering

and requirements for earthquake-resistant design of structures that are based on a

combination of theory, experiment, and practical observations.
Building codes are intended to provide guidelines and formulas that constitute
minimum legal requirements for design and construction within a particular
region. These requirements are intended to achieve satisfactory performance of
the structure when subjected to seismic excitation, although they are not optimal:
The safety of the structure is not assured in the event of a major earthquake.
The objective of seismic codes is that a minor or moderate earthquake will not
damage the structure and that a major earhquake will no produce collapse of the
structure. To understand how structures are affected by earthquake, it is necess-
ary to understand the ground motion produced by earthquake.

24.1 EARTHQUAKE GROUND MOTION

Most earthquakes are caused by energy release at a dislocation or rupture in

crustal plates generated at a point in the interior of the earth known as the
focus or hypocenter. The point on the earth's surface directly above the focus
is the epicenter. The magnitude of an earthquake is commonly measured by
the Richter magnitude (M), I which is commonly defined as the reading regis-
tered by an instrument called a Wood-Anderson seismograph at a specified
distance of 100 km from the epicenter of the earthquake. Specifically, the
Richter magnitude (M) for an earthquake is calculated as

A
M=loglO- (24.1)
Ao

where A is the maximum amplitude registered by a Woody-Anderson instru-

ment located at 100 km from the epicenter and Ao is the reference amplitude
of one thousandth of a millimeter (for A expressed in millimeters, Ao = 0.(01).
When there is no instrument located at this distance, an estimation of the
Richter magnitude based on readings registerd at seismographs in the region
affected by the earthquake. Earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or greater generate
motion sufficiently severe to be potentially damaging to structures. The energy
E in Joules released by an earthquake can be estimated by the formula

E = 104.8 + 1.5M (Joules) (24.2)

I Several definitions for the magnitude of earthquakes are in use in different countries. all

emanating from the original formulation by C. I. Richter. A brief description of seismic magnitude
scales is given in the International Handbook of Earthquake Engineering: Codes. Programs. and
Examples. edited by M. Paz. 1994.