BOOK REVIEWS
direct displacement-based seismic design procedure. In Chapter 3,
Review of Displacement-Based Seismic
Design of Structures by M. J. N. Priestley,
G. M. Calvi, and M. J. Kowalsky
IUSS Press, Pavia, Italy, 2007.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universidad Politecnica De Valencia on 05/12/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
A. Filiatrault
Dept. of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Univ. at
Buffalo, State Univ. of New York Buffalo, NY 14260. E-mail: af36@
buffalo.edu
This book addresses the development and application of the direct
displacement-based seismic design procedure to a variety of
structural systems. The central concept developed in this book is
that the seismic design of a structure is based on a specified target
displacement for a given seismic hazard level. For this purpose,
the structural response is modeled by a secant elastic lateral stiff-
ness and an equivalent viscous damping representative of the glo-
bal behavior of the actual nonlinear structure at the target
displacement. The secant stiffness and damping values developed
for each structural system were calibrated by the authors on the
basis of the results of inelastic time-history dynamic analyses.
The direct displacement-based seismic design procedure
treated in this book offers a number of advantages over the tradi-
tional force-based seismic design procedure currently imple-
mented in seismic provisions around the world: 共1兲 no estimation
of the elastic period of the structural system is required; 共2兲 sub-
jectively attributed force reduction factors do not enter the design
process; and 共3兲 displacements that have been observed to be the
main parameter affecting structural damage in actual earthquakes
drive the design process. The direct-displacement seismic design
strategy, on the other hand, requires detailed knowledge of the
variations of the equivalent secant stiffness and viscous damping
of the structural system with displacement amplitude. To date,
this information was not well established for many structural sys-
tems, and the elaboration of the direct displacement-based con-
cepts into a simple and robust seismic design procedure had not
been established. On the basis of research conducted by the au-
thors over the past 15 years, this book fills this important gap in
knowledge.
The book is divided into four main sections. The first section
includes the first two introductory chapters, which discuss con-
ceptual problems with the current force-based seismic design pro-
cedure and the seismic input required for displacement-based
design.
The second section of the book includes two chapters that lay
down the theoretical foundations leading to the elaboration of the
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JUNE 2008 / 1065
J. Struct. Eng. 2008.134:1065-1065.
the fundamentals of direct displacement-based design for single-
and multi-degree-of-freedom systems are presented. The consid-
eration of a number of factors into the direct displacement-based
seismic design procedure are discussed, including second-order
共P-⌬兲 effects, gravity loads and torsional effects. The analysis
tools required to apply the direct displacement-based seismic
design procedure are discussed in Chapter 4. In particular, the
authors demonstrate that equilibrium considerations within a ca-
pacity design approach can lead to a more advantageous distribu-
tion of strength along the structural elements of a system than that
resulting from only elastic stiffness considerations.
Chapters 5 to 12 represent the third main section and also the
heart of the book. In these chapters, the direct displacement-based
seismic design procedure is developed for a wide range of struc-
tural systems, including reinforced concrete and steel buildings
共frames, walls, and dual wall-frames兲, masonry buildings, timber
structures, bridges, structures with isolation and added damping,
wharves, and piers. In most chapters, enough details are presented
to clearly demonstrate the application of the direct displacement-
based seismic design procedure along with an impressive number
of design examples 共39 for the entire book兲.
The fourth main section of the book includes its final two
chapters. Chapter 13 adapts the principles of direct displacement-
based seismic design to the assessment of existing structures.
Chapter 14 presents the previously developed design information
in the form of a draft building code. This latter chapter is most
unusual for a textbook but at the same time represents a most
useful capstone chapter to the book that could serve as a guideline
for the implementation of the direct displacement-based seismic
design procedure in future model codes.
The target audiences for the book are practicing engineers.
However, since the direct displacement-based seismic design pro-
cedure is relatively new and many details of its implementation
originate from original research by the authors and are not pub-
lished elsewhere, the book should also interest researchers and
graduate students interested in earthquake-resisting design. The
book includes an accompanying CD that contains a number of
computer programs useful for the application of the material
covered.
This reviewer’s overall impression of this book is that it rep-
resents a seminal contribution to the field of earthquake engineer-
ing. It is the first book entirely dedicated to the development and
application of the direct displacement-based seismic design pro-
cedure to a variety of structural systems. Considering the breadth
and the rigor of the material covered in this book, it is a must-read
for the entire earthquake engineering community.