Abstract:
The aim of this new book is to provide an elementary, but comprehensive, textbook
which can be adopted for the courses of earthquake engineering at both the School of
Engineering and the School of Architecture of the Politecnico di Torino, providing
in an easy and accessible way the latest updates in the field. No previous knowledge
of structural dynamics is assumed, making this book suitable for the reader that
is learning the subject for the first time. However, the following background is
required:
• Static analysis of structures including statistically indeterminate structures and
matrix formulation
• Rigid body dynamics
• Mathematics: linear algebra and ordinary and partial differential equation
With respect to other classical books on dynamics of structures, this book
emphasizes the application of energy methods and the analysis in the frequency
domain with the corresponding visualization in the Gauss-Argant plan. Emphasis is
also given to the applications of numerical methods for the solution of the equation
of motion and to the ground motion selection to be used in time history analysis of
structures which are more frequently used in current practice due to the increasing
computational power of computers in the last decade.
The book is organized in three main parts:
I. “Dynamics of Structures”
II. “Introduction to Earthquake Engineering”
III. “Seismic Design of Buildings”
Part I introduces the main concepts of dynamics of structures. Part II introduces
the basic concepts of seismology, the seismic hazard analysis, and the different
analysis methods. Part III describes how to model structures in a seismic zone
and the basic concepts of capacity design (Chap. 15) as well as the new innovative
techniques for the retrofit of new and existing buildings, such as passive energy
dissipating systems (Chap. 17), tuned mass dampers (Chap. 18), and base isolation
(Chap. 19). Chapter 20 focuses on the seismic behavior of masonry structures,
