MODELING, ANALYSIS AND RELIABILITY OF SEISMICALLY EXCITED STRUCTURES: COMPUTATIONAL ISSUES

Abstract

A critical review of the current state of the art of the computing practices adopted by the earthquake engineering community is presented. Advanced computational tools are necessary for estimating the demand on seismically excited structures. Such computational methodologies can provide valuable information on a number of engineering parameters which have been proven essential for earthquake the engineering practice. The discussion extends from the finite element modeling of earthquake-resistant structures and the analysis procedures currently used to future developments considering the calculation of uncertainty and methodologies which rely on sophisticated computational methods. The objective is to provide a common ground of collaboration between the earthquake engineering and computational mechanics communities in an effort to mitigate future earthquake losses.