On the dynamic foundation factor for the National Building Code of Canada: low to medium rise buildings

Abstract

Site-specific seismic response factors for low-period building structures are presented as an alternative to the recently proposed foundation factor F* for inclusion in the seismic provision of the National Building Code of Canada. These factors are not explicit functions of the site vibration period, and, therefore, are more suitable for the design of small to medium rise buildings for which only limited site investigations are routinely carried out. Key words: earthquake engineering, design spectra, site-specific, building codes.