A note on spectral velocity approximation at shorter intermediate periods

Abstract

It is common to use the design pseudo spectral acceleration (PSA) spectrum together with a modal combination rule to estimate the peak linear seismic response of a structural system. Some of the modal combination rules proposed so far require an accurate estimation of spectral velocity (SV) spectrum consistent with the given design PSA spectrum in order to account for modal correlations in a simple manner. The traditional pseudo spectral velocity (PSV) approximation of SV ordinates is reliable only for the velocity-sensitive region of the spectrum. More reliable approximations have therefore been developed in the recent years for the acceleration-sensitive and displacement-sensitive regions. In this work, the approximation developed for the acceleration-sensitive region is proposed to be applied on a greater range of periods, involving the shorter periods of the velocity-sensitive region, for a more accurate estimation of the SV spectrum. Regression equations are developed to predict the limiting period of the extended range by using the information available from the given PSA spectrum. A correction factor is also proposed to be applied to the SV estimates in order for those to have a smooth transition near the limiting period.