EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING TERMS

Question 1

it is the space between two adjacent floors

Answer 1

story

Question 2

are rigid horizontal planes used to transfer lateral forces to vertical resisting elements

Answer 2

diaphragms

Question 3

refers to a wall designed to resist lateral forces acting in its own plane, typically wind and seismic loads

Answer 3

shear wall

Question 4

stiffened walls that are capable of transferring lateral forces from floors and roofs to the foundation

Answer 4

shear wall

Question 5

refers to the point where the object “suffers” no torque by the effect of the gravitational force acted upon it

Answer 5

center of gravity

Question 6

refers to the center of resistance of a floor or diaphragm against lateral forces

Answer 6

center of rigidity

Question 7

it is the point through which the resultant of the resistance to the applied lateral force acts

Answer 7

center of rigidity

Question 8

refers to the point through which the resultant of the masses of a system acts

Answer 8

center of mass

Question 9

it is the point through which the applied lateral force acts

Answer 9

center of mass

Question 10

refers to the point point through which the resultant of the restoring forces of a system acts

Answer 10

center of stiffness

Question 11

refers to the distance between the center of rigidity and the center of mass

Answer 11

eccentricity

Question 12

refers to the total design lateral force at the base of a structure

Answer 12

design seismic base shear

Question 13

refers to the lateral displacement of one level relative to the level above or below

Answer 13

story drift

Question 14

refers to the lateral displacement of the story relative to the base

Answer 14

story displacement

Question 15

refers to the discontinuities in a lateral force path

Answer 15

out-of-plane offsets

Question 16

refers to the shear stress that occurs when the structure’s center of mass does not coincide with its center of rigidity

Answer 16

torsional shear stress

Question 17

refers to the phenomenon that occurs when a building period coincides with the earthquake
period

Answer 17

resonance

Question 18

refers to the time period of undamped free vibration of a structure

Answer 18

natural period

Question 19

refers to the rate at which natural vibration is absorbed

Answer 19

damping

Question 20

the effect of internal friction, imperfect elasticity of material, slipping, sliding, etc. in reducing the amplitude of vibration

Answer 20

damping

Question 21

refers to the geographical point on the surface of earth vertically above the focus of the earthquake

Answer 21

epicenter

Question 22

refers to the origin/source of the elastic waves inside the earth which cause shaking of ground due to earthquake

Answer 22

focus

Question 23

refers to the capacity to undergo large inelastic deformations without significant loss of strength
or stiffness

Answer 23

ductility

Question 24

refers to the state in saturated cohesionless soil wherein the effective shear strength is reduced to negligible value

Answer 24

liquefaction

Question 25

condition when soil tends to behave like a fluid mass

Answer 25

liquefaction

Question 26

refers to the measure of the strength of shaking during the earthquake

Answer 26

intensity

Question 27

refers to the measure of energy released in an earthquake

Answer 27

magnitude

Question 28

refers to the instrument used to record the motion of the ground during an earthquake

Answer 28

seismograph

Question 29

refers to the condition in which the lateral stiffness is less than 70 percent of that in the storey above or less than 80 percent of the average lateral stiffness of the three storeys above

Answer 29

soft storey irregularity

Question 30

refers to the condition is one in which the storey lateral strength is less than 80 percent of that in the storey above

Answer 30

weak storey irregularity