Controlling the Seismic Behavior of Precast Concrete

by Robert E. Englekirk, Univ of California, Los Angeles, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Structural Engineering in Natural Hazards Mitigation

Abstract:

Precast concrete has, through the years the years, acquired a bad reputation insofar as its ability to withstand earthquake is concerned. This reputation, though reasonably based, is not universally appropriate and may be significantly mitigated by design creativity, for precast concrete has the unique attribute of being able to incorporate behavior-mitigating components directly into the constructed system. In effect then the designer of a precast concrete bracing system can dictate the desired performance and eliminate uncertainties or undesirable characteristics inherent in both concrete and steel. A behavior oriented design philosophy must be developed and used to implement a design criterion for precast concrete that exploits its attributes and avoids brittle behavioral characteristics long recognized by the design profession.

Subject Headings: Precast concrete | Structural behavior | Concrete beams | Seismic design | Failure analysis | Dynamic structural analysis | Concrete columns

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