Project Objectives

One of the main objectives of the project is to improve the results obtained and to develop the recommendations proposed in the International Workshop on Nonlinear Static Methods for Design/Assessment of 3D structures (http://www.3dpushover.org/). Twelve famous researchers on the topic from different countries were invited and participated in this Workshop. Names like Anil Chopra, Peter Fajfar, Helmut Krawinkler, Rakesh Goel, Stavros Anagnostopoulos, Andreas Kappos, amongst others, contributed to the high quality of the presented papers, to the lively and fruitful discussions that followed and to the substantial and objectives recommendations produced.

The project aims to verify and improve the recommendations outlined in that meeting (Bento and Pinho, 2008) taking a further step on the 3D Pushover problem. The positive outcome from recent research seems to indicate that it is certainly worthy to continue to pursue the further development and/or verification of NSP, with the objective of arriving at an eventual introduction in seismic design codes and regulations of such procedures, which are, in general, lacking.

One of the aims of the project is to assess the performance of the ACSM (Adaptive Capacity Spectrum Method) in 3D irregular buildings. Suggestions will be made to overcome the specificities of this kind of structures. This method will be compared with other proposed NSP and it is expected to better estimate the seismic response of irregular 3D structures. Recent studies seem to grant some validity in employing pushover analysis in the context of performance-based seismic assessment of 3D irregular buildings, in particular the ACSM. Nonetheless, given the preliminary nature of these studies, it is obviously advocated that additional work considering different 3D buildings must be carried out before any definitive conclusions and recommendations might be made.