Structural vibration control is designed to suppress and control any unfavorable vibration due to dynamic forces that could alter the performance of the structure. Although many vibration control schemes have been investigated so far, additional questions involving their practical application remain to be studied. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in vibration control and safety of structures, in the form of an easy-to-follow, article-based presentation that focuses on selected major developments in this critically important area.

Throughout the past few years, there has been extensive research done on structural design in terms of optimization methods or problem formulation. But, much of this attention has been on the linear elastic structural behavior, under static loading condition. Such a focus has left researchers scratching their heads as it has led to vulnerable structural configurations. What researchers have left out of the equation is the element of seismic loading. It is essential for researchers to take this into account in order to develop earthquake resistant real-world structures. Structural Seismic Design Optimization and Earthquake Engineering: Formulations and Applications focuses on the research around earthquake engineering, in particular, the field of implementation of optimization algorithms in earthquake engineering problems. Topics discussed within this book include, but are not limited to, simulation issues for the accurate prediction of the seismic response of structures, design optimization procedures, soft computing applications, and other important advancements in seismic analysis and design where optimization algorithms can be implemented. Readers will discover that this book provides relevant theoretical frameworks in order to enhance their learning on earthquake engineering as it deals with the latest research findings and their practical implementations, as well as new formulations and solutions.

The papers, from 18 countries in Europe and elsewhere, contain discussions of quite radical innovations in material technology, design philosophy, experimental techniques and analytical approaches that will affect seismic design practice into the next century. Papers are organised into 9 sections: Ground motion and seismic hazard studies; Seismic design of foundations; Seismic design of steel, concrete and masonry buildings; Seismic design of offshore, nuclear and petrochemical installations; Seismic design of bridges, dock and power station structures; Repair and strengthening of bridges and buildings; Active and passive methods of seismic control; Dynamic testing methods; Seismic codes of practice. The proceedings will provide essential material for all those from both industrial and research organisations needing to keep in touch with the state-of-the-art in earthquake engineering and related earch sciences.

This book is a state-of-the-art report on the ductility of steel structures, containing a comprehensive review of the technical literature available, and presenting the results of the authors' own extensive research activities in this area. Analytical and numerical methods are described, and a wealth of practical information is provided. Ductility of Seismic-Resistant Steel Structures will be of great use to advanced students, researchers, designers and professionals in the field of civil, structural and earthquake engineering.

Nowadays research in earthquake engineering is mainly experimental and in large-scale; advanced computations are integrated with large-scale experiments, to complement them and extend their scope, even by coupling two different but simultaneous tests. Earthquake engineering cannot give answers by testing and qualifying few, small typical components or single large prototypes. Besides, the large diversity of Civil Engineering structures does not allow drawing conclusions from only a few tests; structures are large and their seismic response and performance cannot be meaningfully tested in an ordinary lab or in the field. So, seismic testing facilities should be much larger than in other scientific fields; their staff has to be resourceful, devising intelligent ways to carry out simultaneously different tests and advanced computations. To better serve such a mission European testing facilities and researchers in earthquake engineering have shared their resources and activities in the framework of the European project SERIES, combining their research and jointly developing advanced testing and instrumentation techniques that maximize testing capabilities and increase the value of the tests. This volume presents the first outcomes of the SERIES and its contribution towards Performance-based Earthquake Engineering, i.e., to the most important development in Earthquake Engineering of the past three decades. The concept and the methodologies for performance-based earthquake engineering have now matured. However, they are based mainly on analytical/numerical research; large-scale seismic testing has entered the stage recently. The SERIES Workshop in Ohrid (MK) in Sept. 2010 pooled together the largest European seismic testing facilities, Europe’s best experts in experimental earthquake engineering and select experts from the USA, to present recent research achievements and to address future developments. Audience: This volume will be of interest to researchers and advanced practitioners in structural earthquake engineering, geotechnical earthquake engineering, engineering seismology, and experimental dynamics, including seismic qualification.