Convex-model analysis of the seismic response

An ellipsoidal Fourier-bound convex model (EFB model) is proposed in the present paper to express the uncertainty of seismic excitation, and several methods of selecting parameters of the model are explained. An analytical expression is obtained for the worst response of the single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system with the EFB model. A numerical simulation shows that the traditional prediction of maximum response can yield the value substantially lower than that predicted by the EFB model. This means that the traditional designing method based on standard seismic inputs may lead to unsafe design decisions.Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the PhD Program Foundation of China