Taher Elkhawanky

Earthquakes present one of the most devastating hazards on the planet. They threaten the safety of civilians in seismically active regions, and are of extreme concern in applications that demand a high level of safety, i.e. the nuclear industry. However in nearly all cases, the fatalities that occur are as a result of the collapse of man-made structures. Hence the problems facing Civil Engineers who are concerned with seismic mitigation is evident. The dynamic behaviour of their structures must now be accounted for in the design. As our knowledge broadens, structures can, and are being designed to be earthquake resistant. However there are many buildings still standing in seismically active regions which have been designed for static load cases only, or are now of substandard design. Seismic engineering research and application has progressed rapidly over the last few decades, not least in part due to the evolution of computer technology, and our ability to produce computer models which aid us in the design and analysis processes. Hence the research presented focuses on the global behavior of a typical statically designed tall reinforced concrete building.