Instrumental earthquake intensities vs. ductility demand: correlation study using data from Europe and the Middle East

Abstract

This article is about the degree of association of a number of ground motion parameters with the displacement ductility demands imposed by strong ground motion recorded in Europe and the Middle East. The ground motion parameters used in the study are: peak ground acceleration, spectral acceleration, Housner intensity, Arias intensity and cumulative absolute velocity. For a given combination of strength and initial period of vibration of a structure under analysis, a ground motion parameter with optimum degree of association with displacement ductility demand is identified. The ground motion parameters so identified define the recommended instrumental intensity to be used for the amplitude scaling of natural accelerograms.