Authors: J. M. C. Estêvão, A. Carvalho

The 1980 and 1998 Azores earthquakes have shown the destructive power against the existent constructions. In this context, it is very important to characterize the buildings seismic action. However, it is not easy to identify the influence of source characteristics and site conditions on structural damage, when using earthquake records. To overcome this difficulty, structural analysis were carried out using simulated earthquakes. The simulated accelerograms were obtained using different source characteristics, namely different slip distributions and stress drops, and also using typical Azores soil conditions. The simulated accelerograms were used for the non-linear structural analysis of a concrete structure, allowing to understand which seismic action characteristics are more important for structural damage. Results seem to show the importance of geological site conditions on peak acceleration and spectral content.

J. M. C. Estêvão¹ | A. Carvalho²
1 CEPAC, Departamento de Engenharia Civil, ISE, Universidade do Algarve
2 Investigadora, LNEC – Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil