Feb 01 2011
The 2014 Building Seismic Safety Council Provisions Update Committee (PUC), the body responsible for updating the NEHRP (National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program) Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures, met on December 7-8 during the Institute’s Annual Meeting.
The group reviewed materials comparing the 2005 and 2010 editions of Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, ASCE/SEI 7, to identify exceptions to the standard that need to be considered as the 2014 edition of the Provisions is developed; adopted operating procedures for the 2014 Provisions development effort; and heard reports from four Issue Teams established at its August 2010 meeting. The four active Issue Teams are focusing on:
1. An evaluation of recently published FEMA methodologies for adoption by BSSC as a means of establishing seismic performance factors for structural systems under the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions and as a means of permitting the use of substitute components in a structural system as a replacement for components conforming to requirements in existing standards and codes.
2. An evaluation of performance objectives for structural systems and nonstructural components and of the use of Seismic Design Categories as a means of establishing requirements.
3. An assessment of the state of the art regarding seismic anchorage to concrete including consideration of the usability and conservatism of ACI 318’s Appendix D, Alternate Provisions.
4. Consideration of requirements for response history analysis including acceptance criteria, linear and nonlinear modeling, and ground motion selection and scaling.
Three additional Issue Teams expected to begin work in late 2011 will focus on diaphragm issues, self-centering systems, and liquefaction and other site problems.
