On Seismic Design Implications of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake Records

Significant earthquake resistant design characteristics of selected 1994 Northridge strong motion records are evaluated. Instrumental, spectral, and energy content attributes of the records are examined. Seismic design implications of these data are discussed. The weaknesses of the current seismic design philosophy in dealing with near-field strong ground motions representing significant acceleration pulses is demonstrated and recommendations to improve both the demand side and the capacity side of the current seismic design formulations are provided.