Earthquake Energy Absorption in SDOF Structures

The energy absorption in, and the inelastic behavior of, simple structures during strong earthquake excitation are investigated. The purposes of the investigation are to evaluate the performance of simple structures during various types of ground motion, and to attempt to identify more succinctly, than at present, the factors that influence structural deformation and damage. The study focuses on the amount of energy imparted to a structure, the amount of energy dissipated by inelastic deformations and damping, the displacement ductility, and the number of yield excursions and reversals experienced during the excitation. Based on the amount of energy imparted to structures, a possible effective motion criterion is defined.