2024 Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Department of Architecture and Building Engineering Graduate major in Urban Design and Built Environment
Seismic Design for Nonstructural Components
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Urban Design and Built Environment
- Instructor(s)
- Tadashi Ishihara
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 7-8 Mon
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- UDE.S503
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 14, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This lecture will cover the seismic design of nonstructural components, especially ceilings, which are feared to cause serious damage to human lives and business continuity of society in the event of an earthquake. Non-structural components of buildings include exterior walls, ceilings, partition walls and other finishing materials, furniture and other fixtures, and equipment. This lecture will introduce examples of fall damage that occurred in past earthquakes and explain how to deal with each cause of damage.
Damage to nonstructural components caused by earthquakes is a problem not only in Japan but also in other earthquake-prone countries. This is because research on structural frames has led to improved seismic performance, while research on nonstructural components has been insufficient. The basic concept of seismic design is the same as that of structural frames, but nonstructural members exhibit brittle behavior and require countermeasures against acceleration and relative displacement. It is also necessary to consider that seismic motions are amplified by the vibration of the structural frame, and that the amplified shaking becomes an input to nonstructural components.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Explain the reason why non-structural components suffered from damage in earthquakes
2) Explain the characteristics of the seismic response of structural frames
3) Calculate inertia force acts on non-structural components in earthquakes
4) Find methods to mitigate seismic damage of non-structural components
Keywords
Non-structural components, Seismic performance, Ceiling, Partition wall
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Students will be asked to work on exercises.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | What's non-structural components? | Classification of non-structural components in buildings |
| Class 2 | Damage pattern of non-structural components in recent earthquakes | Classification of damage pattern of non-structural components |
| Class 3 | Seismic response of structural frames (Part 1) | Shear-beam model and modal analysis methods |
| Class 4 | Seismic response of structural frames (Part 2) | Estimation of maximum response by response spectrum method |
| Class 5 | Seismic load acts on non-structural components | Basic concept of inertia forces which act on non-structural components in earthquakes |
| Class 6 | Seismic response of nonstructural elements subjected to both inertia forces and relative displacements of those support points | Modal analysis method. Response differences due to support conditions. |
| Class 7 | Out-of-plane response test of a large-scale partition wall | Seismic design of secondary members for support of nonstructural elements |
| Class 8 | Future works | Future works in seismic design for non-structural components |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to course material.
Textbook(s)
None
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Lecture materials will be distributed as needed.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students' knowledge of non-structural components and seismic design methods of them will be assessed..
Exercise problems 100%
Related courses
- ARC.S301 ： Structural Design I
- ARC.S302 ： Structural Design II
- ARC.S303 ： Structural Design III
- CVE.A432 ： Practical Seismic Design I
- CVE.A433 ： Practical Seismic Design II
- ARC.S422 ： Structural Design Practice
- UDE.S401 ： Dynamics of Structures
Prerequisites
Students must have completed "Dynamics of Structures".