Assessment of ground motion selection criteria specified in current seismic provisions with an accurate selection algorithm

Abstract

It is important to select proper ground motions for accurately estimating seismic demands using linear and nonlinear response history analyses (RHA). Current seismic design provisions such as ASCE 7–10 provide criteria for selecting ground motions. In this study, an accurate and computationally efficient algorithm for selecting and scaling ground motions is proposed, which satisfies the ASCE 7–10 criteria. The ASCE 7–10 ground motion selection criteria with the proposed algorithm is assessed using the results of nonlinear response history analyses of twelve single degree of freedom (SDF) systems and one multi-degree of freedom (MDF) system. In order to investigate the effect of the numbers of selected ground motions, period ranges for spectral matching, library sizes, and structural periods on selection results, parametric studies are conducted based on the results of nonlinear RHA. This study shows that the target seismic demands for all model SDF and MDF systems can be predicted using the mean seismic demands over seven and ten ground motions selected according to the proposed method within an error of 30 and 20%, respectively.