Ground-motion models for defining seismic actions in Eurocode 8

Abstract

One of the long-term aims of Eurocode 8 is to achieve uniform levels of seismic risk throughout the European Community. Although in its current implementation each country adopting the code develops its own seismic zonation map, the objective of harmonization of risk requires that there must be a harmonized seismic hazard map. A key component of such a harmonized hazard map is a coordinated approach to deriving, selecting or adjusting ground-motion prediction equations, whilst recognizing that there are compelling reasons for different combinations of equations to be used in different regions. Since such a unified hazard map is not likely to be the basis for defining seismic actions in Eurocode 8 at least until the first major revision of the code, the approach to defining ground-motion models for the preparation of seismic hazard maps should also contemplate the possibility that future editions of the code will go beyond the specification of elastic design spectra anchored only to the peak ground acceleration, PGA. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011.