Robust Period-Independent Ground Motion Selection and Scaling for Effective Seismic Design and Assessment

A period-independent approach for the selection and scaling of ground motion records aimed at reducing demand variability is proposed for seismic response history analysis. The same set of scaled records can be used to study various structures at the same site regardless of their dynamic characteristics. The statistical robustness of the proposed and current approaches is compared through nonlinear inelastic dynamic analyses performed on single-degree-of-freedom systems and multi-story braced frames. The proposed approach leads to consistent response predictions with a limited number of records. This is advantageous for day-to-day structural design or assessment against code hazard-based seismic demand levels.