Hysteresis and Soil Site Dependent Input and Hysteretic Energy Spectra for Far-Source Ground Motions

Earthquake input energy spectra for four soil site classes, four hysteresis models, and five ductility levels are developed for far-source ground motion effect. These energy spectra are normalized by a quantity called velocity index (VI). The use of VI allows for the creation of dimensionless spectra and results in smaller coefficients of variation. Hysteretic energy spectra are then developed to address the demand aspect of an energy-based seismic design of structures with 5% critical damping and ductility that ranges from 2 to 5. The proposed input and hysteretic energy spectra are then compared with response spectra generated using nonlinear time history analyses of real ground motions and are found to produce reasonably good results over a relatively large period range.